1796 



THINNING FRUIT 



THINNING FRUIT 



Very often the mistake is made of deferring it too 

 long. The labor spent in late thinning is usually 

 wasted so far as improving the grade of fruit is con- 

 cerned. Although the yield is thus lessened, the ripe 

 fruit generally averages but little if any larger than 

 unthinned fruit. 



No definite rule can be given as to the amount of 

 fruit to be left in thinning. This should be determined 

 according to the environment, vigor and productive 

 habits of the plant. Generally speaking, fruits should 



2498. The results of thinning Japanese plums. Lower branch not th.nned. 



be thinned so that those which are left are separated 

 from each other by a distance of at least three times 

 the diameter of the largest fruits at maturity. Under 

 irrigation, or where a constant plentiful supply of soil 

 moisture can be depended on, the number of fruits 

 which the plant may be allowed to bear is much greater 

 than, in some cases even twice as great as, the same 

 plant could bring to large size if it were located on 

 drier soil. Fig. 2497 shows the stage of development 

 of peaches for early thinning and indicates the per- 

 centage removed and distance apart of those which are 

 left. 



Immature plants should not be allowed to bear a full 

 crop. It is generally best that the plant carry but few 

 fruits for the first crop. Afterwards it may be burdened 

 more heavily, till finally, when a vigorous mature plant 

 is developed it may safely bear a full crop. In con- 

 sequence of overbearing, immature plants are often so 

 weakened that they are easily winter-killed; or they 

 may be left in an unthrifty condition from which they 

 do not recover in several years if at all. In thinning 

 fruit on immature plants, the natural ability of the 

 plant and the influence of environment should be even 

 more carefully considered than with mature plants. 

 This work requires skill and good judgment, which can 

 only be acquired by experience, study and careful 

 observation. 



The question of what kinds of fruit it is best to thin 

 should be considered briefly from the standpoint of the 

 commercial grower. If the markets which are acces- 

 sible do not pay more for the better grades of fruit 

 there can be no profit in thinning except in preventing 

 the breaking down of the tree by heavy crops and, 

 possibly, from increasing the tendency to annual bear- 

 ing. The crop of thinned fruit may sometimes exceed 

 the measure that the unthinned fruit would yield, but 

 not enough to pay for the cost of thinning if the crop is 

 sold at no advance in price over unthinned fruit. 



Where fancy prices are obtained they are brought by 

 evenly graded packages of the larger specimens. Varie- 

 ties which at their best run small or medium size do 

 not usually pay for thinning. It does not pay, for in- 

 stance, to try to increase the size of Damson plums by 

 thinning them. Plums like Lombard or Burbank, which 

 have medium to large fruit, may pay for thinning. 



Fig. 2497 shows the improvement in size attained by 

 thinning the Burbank. Those plums which at their 

 best produce very large fruit, such as Wickson, Dia- 

 mond and Guii, usually give better returns for thinning. 

 With all kinds of fruit, thinning may be expected to 

 return most profit when practiced on varieties well 

 adapted for fancy trade. 



An exceedingly heavy crop of fruit may so exhaust a 

 tree that it either fails to fruit the next year or pro- 

 duces less than an average crop. Such a result is 

 more often seen with some kinds of 

 fruit than with others, and different 

 varieties of the same kind of fruit may 

 vary much in their natural tendencies 

 in this direction. By judicious selec- 

 tion of varieties and by skilful man- 

 agement much may be done towards 

 securing more regular bearing and 

 more abundant crops. Thinning fruit 

 has a place in the management of the 

 commercial fruit plantation, along with 

 the maintenance of soil fertility, til- 

 lage, pruning and spraying. It is a 

 mistake to depend on thinning alone 

 for results which may with difficulty 

 be obtained by all these methods com- 

 bined. In some careful experiments 

 vigorous, mature, well-nourished trees 

 on which the fruit had been systemati- 

 cally thinned annually, bore no more 

 regularly than corresponding trees on 

 which the fruit was not thinned. In 

 other cases the beneficial effects of 

 thinning were unmistakably apparent 

 in somewhat increased fruitfulness the 

 following season. The profit from 

 thinning fruit in any one season comes 

 largely from the increased amount of 

 the better grades of fruit which are obtained by the 

 process. The yield the succeeding year may or may not 

 be greater because the fruit was thinned. 



S. A. BEACH. . 



Thinning Fruit has now come to be an established 

 horticultural practice with those who cater to the best 

 markets and aim at the highest ideals in fruit culture. 

 Thinning assists the grower in securing several results, 

 chief among which are the following: (1) in maintain- 

 ing the vigor of the tree; (2) in producing fruit of 

 maximum size, appearance and quality; (3) in securing 

 annual crops instead of alternate, and (4) in preventing 

 the spread of parasitic diseases. 



It does not pay to thin all classes of fruit. Only 

 early or fancy varieties of apples will reward the culti- 

 vator for the expense and labor of thinning, though 

 it usually pays to pick the earliest varieties succes- 

 sively, removing the largest and best colored specimens 

 first, which in effect is a process of thinning. Standard 

 pears are to be classed with apples; dwarf pears are 

 partly thinned by winter pruning, and partly by the re- 

 moval of surplus fruit in summer. Stone fruits pay for 

 thinning more amply than other kinds. Peaches and 

 plums may be thinned by winter pruning, but this is 

 often inadequate. Our best peach-growers now thin to 

 6 and 8 inches apart and find that when this is coupled 

 with high culture the results are usually satisfactory. 

 Whether it will pay to thin plums or not will depend 

 upon the variety and the market. The Japanese varie- 

 ties are much improved in appearance and quality by 

 judicious thinning. The larger varieties of the domes- 

 ticas may under favorable circumstances be profitably 

 thinned, but the wisdom of thinning the smaller varie- 

 ties of natives and domesticas must be determined by 

 the individual grower. Many varieties have a tendency 

 to overbear ; these should be thinned in the interest 

 of the health and vigor of the tree. Grapes respond 

 to thinning by increased size of bunch and berry, but 

 there is little or no money in the operation, except 

 where the fruit is grown for a very special market or 

 for exhibition purposes. Thinning the grapes should 

 be accomplished by close winter pruning. Strawberries 

 are thinned by special methods of culture, such as 

 growing in hills and narrow matted rows. The way in 

 which the operation is performed varies somewhat with 



