RESULTS FROM THINNING 



447 



color better. Beyond this point, however, thinning seems to- 

 accentuate development of color. This is particularly true of 

 peaches. The net result is a crop running better in size and 

 color, of greater uniformity, and of more merchantable quality. 



(6) Reduces Breakage of Top. Thinning reduces breakage 

 of the top, sometimes very serious, and the necessity for prop- 

 ping with its attendant cost. The weight of the crop as it ap- 

 proaches maturity is very great, the leverage on the branches 

 tremendous, and the danger of consequent injury, especially in 

 the presence of high or sudden winds, is much aggravated. 

 Thinning insures an even distribution of a crop that the tree is 

 better able to carry. 



(c) Reduces Handling Costs at Harvest, Thinning saves 

 handling costs at harvest time by reason of the elimination of 

 the undersized and defective specimens. Growers know that 

 such fruits increase greatly the costs of grading and packing, 

 without bringing a corresponding return. A crop 75 per cent 

 of which will go in the upper grade with almost no culls is 

 much less expensive to handle than one that runs less than 

 50 per cent in the upper grade with a large proportion of culls. 

 The cost of thinning is therefore largely offset by the reduc- 

 tion in handling costs at harvest time. It is cheaper to pick 

 at thinning time than at harvest because labor costs less and 

 because the specimens are dropped as soon as separated from 

 the stem or spur. 



(d) Does Not Decrease Total Yield. Unless carried to ex- 

 tremes, thinning does not decrease the total yield of fruit. 

 Many growers claim that it results in an increased yield. 

 Careful tests have indicated, however, that there is little in- 

 fluence on total yield, under ordinary conditions. Thinning 

 increases both the total yield of marketable fruit and the pro- 

 portion of such fruit that packs in the upper grades. These are 

 the factors of concern to the grower. 



(e) Does Not Insure Annual Bearing. It is often claimed 

 that thinning promotes or insures annual bearing, and that a 

 biennial bearer may be made to produce a crop each year by 



