Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/57720
Pollination Use of the Equilifruit disk was evaluated on Golden Delicious, Buckeye Gala, and Honeycrisp. The Golden Delicious and Buckeye Gala trees used in the study had excessive crop loads, due to insufficient chemical thin- ning. The Honeycrisp had a crop load marginally higher than desired, with clusters of fruit occurring on some limbs and not on others. All treatments were applied after June drop. Effect of thinning on fruit size The effect of hand thinning treatments on whole tree yields and fruit size of Golden Delicious, Buckeye Gala, and Honeycrisp. Golden Delicious 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 Control Equilifruit Heuristic TREATMENT Fruit diameter (in inches) 2.50-2.75 2.75-3.00 3.00-3.25 >3.25 <2.50 Buckeye Gala 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 Control Equilifruit Heuristic TREATMENT Honeycrisp 60 Fruit diameter (in inches) 30 40 50 10 20 0 Control Equilifruit Heuristic TREATMENT SOURCE: Pennsylvania State University www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER MARCH 15, 2012 17 2.75-3.00 3.00-3.25 3.25-3.50 >3.50 <2.75 Fruit diameter (in inches) 2.50-2.75 2.75-3.00 3.00-3.25 >3.25 <2.50 YIELD (pounds per tree) YIELD (pounds per tree) YIELD (pounds per tree)