Many fruit gardeners have heard of thinning fruit trees. When you thin your trees, you remove a selection of fruit while the fruit is still small. The idea of plucking some of the young fruit before it has ripened may seem counterintuitive. Ultimately, your goal is to grow fruit! It will, however, ultimately work out for you if you thin your fruit trees, and, more importantly, it will benefit your fruit trees in the long run. Missouri owned Stark Brothers has time tested tips [1]. Here are four benefits for pruning your fruit trees.
- It discourages overbearing and early fruit drop. Too much fruit causes the tree itself to drop the fruit because it cannot nourish the fruit- especially during hot, dry summer months.
- It improves remaining fruit tree size, color, and quality. With fewer fruits to grow, more nourishment can enter each fruit, thereby making them larger. Fruits that are spread apart grow healthier.
- It helps avoid limb damage from heavy fruit loads. Too much fruit weighs down a branch. A strong wind can easily break the branch and you would lose all of that fruit.
- It stimulates next year’s crop and helps biennial bearing. This means that it helps the health of the tree to not overbear, but rather bear enough sustainable fruit each year.
Thinning trees is a simple task. All fruit tree owners ought to take advantage of these methods to optimize their fruit output.
Notes:
- ^https://www.starkbros.com/growing-guide/article/4-benefits-thinning-fruit-trees?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7-12-22%20-%20GG%20-%20Thinning%20Fruit&utm_content=7-12-22%20-%20GG%20-%20Thinning%20Fruit+CID_c3068017a66834e4634edb86c0b0f341&utm_source=campaign%20monitor&utm_term=Learn%20More (go back ↩)
