1796 



THINNINti FRUIT 



THINNING FRUIT 



Very often tlie raistak.- is iikmIc of deferring it tno 

 long. The labur spent in lute thinning i.s nsnally 

 wasted so far as improviTig the grade of fruit is cnn- 

 cerned. Although the yiehi is thus lessened, tlie ripe 

 fruit generally averages hut little if any larger than 

 iinthinned fruit. 



No definite rule can he. given as to the amount of 

 fruit to be left in thinning. This should be deteruiiued 

 acr-ording to the environment, vigor and productive 

 habits of the plant. Generally speaking, fruits should 



2498. The results of thinning Japanese plums. Lower branch not thinned 



})e tliiuTied so that tlms.: 

 fn>ui "'arh other ).iv a <li 

 the diameter of the lar;^^ 

 irriKalinn. or where a cm 

 moisture can be deiiei 

 which the plant may be 

 thiui. in some cases e\' 

 plant cnuld bring to hi 

 <lrier soil. Fiii-. 249T si 

 r'f iHMches for earlv tl 



^-iita-e reii 



:;i\"ed ami distai 



A\tiieh are left are separated 

 tance of at least three times 

 .'St fruits at maturity. Under 

 iistaiit i)lentiful supply of soil 

 UmI (in. the number of fruits 

 Mowed to bear is much greater 

 n twice as great as, the san)e 

 ■L':e si/.i; if it were, located on 

 iws tlie stage of development 

 iniiijig and indicates the per- 



h-rr. 



■■ apart of those whicli are 



itwed tl") bear a full 

 ' pla.nt carry but fi^ 



i.turi_- plants shouhl nnt be 

 crop. It is geuerally best tiiat tl 



fi'iiits frir the first crop. Afterwards it may l>e burdened 

 more heavily, till finally, wiien a vigorous mature plant 

 is devidiiped it may safely liear a full crop. In con- 

 sei|uenee of Overbearing, immature plants are often so 

 w-eakene<l that they are easily winter-killed; or they 

 may l)e left iu an unthrifty rendition from which they 

 do not recover in several yenrs if at all. In tliinning 

 fruit on immature ])huits, the natural ability of the 

 jilant and the intluenc-e r>f eiixii-oiiinent should be evcu 

 more carefully consid<Ted lhan with mature ))lants. 

 This wofk refjuires skill and ij:^"u\ }iu\i:;mtnt. which can 

 only Ite acquired by ex[ierieijcp, study ami careful 

 ohscrvatiou. 



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

 should bi' eousidered brielly from the standpoint of the 

 commercial grower. If the markets which are acces- 

 silde (h> riot pay more fur the better grades of fruit 

 there c;in be no profit iu thinning except in preventing 

 the breaking down of the tree by heavy crops and. 

 possibly, from increasinii; the tendency to annual l)ear- 

 inu:. The crop of thinned fruit may sometimes exceed 

 the uio;isure that the untbinm-d frviit would yield, Imt 

 iMit enniiLTh to pay for the cost of thinning if the cro]i is 

 sold at no advance in price over unthinned fruit. 



Where fancy prices are obtained they are brought l.v 

 evenly graded packages of the larger specimens. V;irie- 

 ties which at their best run small or medium size do 

 not usually pay for thinning. It <loes not pay, for in- 

 stance, to try to increase the size (,f I);imson fdums by 

 thinning them. Plums like Lombard or Jbirbank, which 

 have medium to large fruit, jiuiy pav f<tr thinning. 



Fig. 2497 shows the improvement in size attained bv 

 thinning the Burbank. Those idums which at their 

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

 mond aTid Guii, usually give better returns for thinning. 

 With all kinds of fruit, tliinning may bo expeded 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- 

 iluces less than an average crop. Such a result is 

 more (d'ten seen with smne 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 tliinning alone 

 for results which may with difficulty 

 be obtained by all tliese 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. Iu 

 other cases the beneficial effects of 

 thinning were unmistakably appareut 

 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 gra<les of fruit which are obtained by the 

 process. The yield the succeeding year may or nuiy not 

 he greater because the fruit was thinned. 



S. A. Beach. 

 Thinning Fruit has now come to he 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 nunntain- 

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

 maximum size, appearance and quality; {'.'<) in securing 

 annual crops instead of alternate, and (4J iu 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 

 ])art.]3^ 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. Peaclies and 

 plums may be thinned by winter pruning, but this is 

 often inadequate. Our best peach-growers now thin to 

 I) and 8 inches apart and find that wheu this is C(]nj)lcd 

 with high culture the results ore ustudly salisfactery. 

 Whether it will pay to thin plums or not will depend 

 upon the variety and the market. The Japanese varie- 

 ties are much imyiroved in appearance and quality by 

 .iudicious thinning. The larger varieties of the douies- 

 ticas may nuder favorable circumstances be pri>titahly 

 thinned, but the wisd<mi of thinning the smaller viirie- 

 ties of natives and domesticas must be determined by 

 the individual L^rower. Many varieties have a tendency 

 to overbear ; tliese 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 

 fbere is little or no money in the operation, except 

 where the fruit is grown for a very special market or 

 f(»r 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 wayin 

 which the operation is performed varies somewhat with 



