THINNING PEACHES 



Fruit thinning on peach trees is a slow and expensive job and since chemical 

 thinning results have been far from satisfactory most Massachusetts growers must 

 resort to hand or club thinning. 



The correct thinning distance depends on the leaf area per fruit and the 

 general vigor of the tree. Research has shown that it takes about 40 healthy 

 leaves of average size to produce a peach of good size and quality. When a 

 tree has a uniformly heavy set of fruit, it should be thinned so as to leave 

 only one peach to every six to seven inches of twig. However, if the set is 

 not uniform, it is best to thin according to leaf area rather than a fixed 

 spacing. 



As a commercial practice it is suggested that the grower wait till after 

 the June drop is over before starting to thin. At this time, the extent of the 

 thinning job can be best determined. For the best benefits, thinning should be 

 completed as rapidly as possible; the early maturing varieties being thinned 

 first. Some benefits may be expected from thinning even if it is prolonged 

 until a few weeks before harvest. 



With a number of Massachusetts growers, hand thinning is the usual practice. 

 The surplus fruit are rubbed off, picking out small and damaged fruit as the 

 thinning is done. However, this is a slow and expensive job and because of this 

 some growers resort to club thinning or removing excess fruit with a stick. 



Club thinning consists simply of knocking the peaches off with a club. The 

 clubs are prepared by placing a rubber hose (approximately 12 inches in length) 

 over one end of a four or five foot section of bamboo, broom handle, or other 

 light wood. Some growers use a piece of 3/4 inch spray hose, about fifteen inches 

 long, which Is forced over the end of the pole leaving about eight to ten inches 

 of the hose extended beyond the end of the pole. The p aaches are knocked off by 

 striking the branch with the padded end of the club. The fruit that would nor- 

 mally fall during the June drop and those not firmly attached will be eliminated. 

 The remaining clusters and doubles of fruits can be further thinned by striking 

 the unwanted fruit. It is necessary in thinning to avoid hitting any specimens 

 that are to be left. Fruits can be scarred and badly damaged by clumsy and in- 

 accurate use of the club. With practice, the average workman can become quite 

 efficient with the club and damage to remaining fruit can be kept at a minimum. 

 Some growers find it advantageous to do a "rough job" with the club and complete 

 the job with hand thinning. 



Other growers feel that thinning fruits by jarring the limbs with a heavy 

 club is a somewhat haphazard process since there is no selection of the position 

 and vigor of the fruits removed. They prefer to use small sticks to brush-off 

 unwanted fruits. The peaches upon the upper side of a twig are somewhat more 

 likely to develop good color than those upon the under side. With a sweeping 

 stroke of the stick the fruits on the lower sides of the limb can be removed. 

 The remaining clusters and doubles "thinned-out" by striking the unwanted fruits 

 with the stick. 



---W. J. Lord 



