Maintain Healthy Trees Written by Chuck Ingels, Farm Advisor and edited by Judy McClure, Master Gardener Program Coordinator. Illustrated by Walter Dong.
Most trees produce more fruit than they can support or develop adequately.
If weather conditions are right, the far majority of flowers on a tree will set fruit, especially if the tree was not adequately pruned. The excessive fruit compete with each other for carbohydrates and so remain small. Excessive fruit can also lead to alternate bearing, a cycle in which the tree bears excessively in one year and little the next year. Fruit thinning has several benefits. The main benefit is to increase fruit size and quality.