CHAPTER IX 



THINNING, HARVESTING, AND STORING FRUIT 



Thinning. Trees often form more fruit than they can 

 properly develop. The breaking of trees while heavily 

 loaded is one result of overproduction. The practice of 

 picking off part of this fruit before it is matured is known 

 as thinning. All scabby, wormy, small, and otherwise 

 inferior specimens are removed and the remaining fruit 

 thinned to such a distance as to allow perfect development 

 of those left on the branches. This concentrates the 

 strength of the tree into the development of the best speci- 

 mens. 



It is the practice of progressive fruit growers to thin 

 peaches, plums, and pears when the trees are heavily loaded. 

 The thinning of apples has not been so generally practiced. 

 However, the grower endeavoring to produce perfect 

 fruit must practice thinning if he wishes to obtain the 

 highest percentage of good-sized specimens. Thinning 

 does not increase the total yield per tree, but it does greatly 

 increase the total of first-class fruit produced. 



When fruit is set very thickly upon the tree, there is 

 much danger of severe injury from certain diseases and 

 from insects. With the stone fruits, if the weather happens 

 to be warm and moist during the harvesting season, brown 

 rot often proves a serious trouble. When the fruit is so 

 close that the individuals touch each other, the disease 

 spreads very rapidly, but if the fruit has been thinned, 

 the disease will not prove so serious. In thinning the fruit, 



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