White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1929-06-07
SAYS DO A GOOD JOB IN
THINNING YOUR APPLES

The fundamental principle of APP
pie thinning is to improve the quality
of the apples remaining on the tree.
lAs considered in the past, thinning
has had tendency to increase the
size of apples left as well as the per-
centage OF fancy and extra fancy
fruit. This year when there is a pos
sibility of wider markets for Wash
ington fruits, we believe that the ten
dency on the part of Washington
fruit growers should be to improve
the quality to the highest point pos
sible from the efficiency standpoint
rather than any letting down of the
grades.
Early thinning has a tendency first
to increase the average size of the
apple crop and thus decrease the
amount of grading necessary at pack
ing time. Early thinning also, es-
pecially on trees that are heavily
loaded, allows the tree to overcome
the shock of heavy set of fruit and
come back with set of strong fruit
buds for another years crop. This
is one thing which should be given
careful consideration by fruit growers
as we often have complaint of con-
siderable off bearing in the orchard
and the early thinning should do
much to overcome this. Early thin
ming also by reducing the number of
apples on the tree increases the
concentration Of sugar solution IN
the remaining apples which has
tendency to bring coloring of the APP
pie at an earlier date. There are a
number of other advantages of thin
ming which we will Just briefly men
ton, such as better shaped tree,
better pest control, reduced cost Of
harvesting.
As a result of work done in the
Wenatchi,e district by DR.. Magness
last year, the Experiment Station, has
recommended the thinning of apples
according to the leaf surface upon
the tree. A careful study of the re-
laticnship between the amount of Leaf
surface and the apples on the tree
showed that good quality of apple
was secured only when a definite
amount of leaf surface per apple was
available. For the Jonathan this va
ried from 80 to 40 leaves per apple;
for Rome Beauty. IS to As; and, for
Winesap and Delicious, 40 to so. The
range within this variation would
depend upon the vigor of the tree.
If tree shows plenty of vigor with
an abundance of large dark green
leaves, then one Winesap could be
left for every 40 leaves but If the
tree shows more or less winter in
jury with small leaves of rather light
color, then the thinning should be
done to the point where only one
apple would remain for every 50
leaves, and so on TO- the other vari-
cites.
Many growers will say that one
can moi. Stop to count leaves when
thinning and yet no one stops to
count boxes of apples on the tree
when estimating the crop. One can
learn to estimate the number of leaves
as readily as they can the number
Of apples, and we believe that the
first half day spent in thinning would
he we'll spent if the thinning boss
and those doing the actual thinning,
could stop every half hour and actu-
ally check over the number of apples
left as compared to the leaf surface
on several smaller branches and see
just what kind OF thinning job they
are doing.
According to Mr.. Armstrong, thin
ming pays from 10 to 100 per cent re-
turns and we feel that very few farm
ers could not have afforded to have
given the time necessary to enter
into the meetings held.
E. c. DURDLB. County Agent.