282 The Commercial Apple Industry 



and most matured apples for market and allowing the 

 others to remain. Such practices can hardly be classed 

 under the head of thinning, although they may be profit- 

 able in some instances and may be practiced in addition to 

 early thinning. 



The common practice in thinning is to start early after 

 the June drop and pull or clip off all apples according to 

 varying rules of spacing. Some growers leave the apples 

 at a minimum of 4 inches apart, others 6 inches and still 

 others 8 inches apart. This distance will depend largely 

 on the variety, its tendency to cluster, and whether or not 

 the apples of the variety are normally large or small when 

 mature. Generally speaking, spacing 6 inches is a safe 

 rule to follow. 



Many varieties of apples have a tendency to produce 

 their fruit in clusters and often thinning the cluster to 

 one apple is practically all that is necessary. In any case, 

 if systematic -thinning can not be practiced, the clusters 

 should at least be thinned as this prevents much insect 

 injury and promotes general uniformity of the fruit. The 

 amount of thinning will depend on the individual tree, 

 the variety and the amount of fruit on the tree. No def- 

 inite formula may be laid down. The usual method of 

 thinning apples is to pick the fruit off by hand, sometimes 

 putting it into a bag, but usually permitting it to drop on 

 the ground. Many growers, particularly in the North- 

 west, prefer thinning shears, of which several types are 

 on the market. The advantage to be gained in using thin- 

 ning shears is that the apples are clipped instead of pulled 

 off and for this reason fruit-spurs are not likely to be 

 broken or damaged. 



