May 15th 2013 Issue

Achieving the optimal crop load

Precision pruning takes away much of the burden of thinning later.

Precision pruning is a good first step to adjusting crop load and producing fruit of the best size and quality. Pruning to a specified number of buds starts the fruit thinning process at the earliest possible stage. PHOTO BY GERALDINE WARNER The world doesn’t need little, green apples, and growers need to stop making them. There has always been a penalty for small apples with poor color, and in some years, it’s worse than others. Last year, processors needed apples, and they paid good prices for apples that wouldn’t make it on the fresh market. But in most years, processing […]

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May 15, 2013

Production, Apples, Richard Lehnert

Richard Lehnert

After growing up on a Michigan dairy farm, Richard Lehnert began writing about farming in 1962, while still a junior studying journalism at Michigan State University. He worked at newspapers for a year before joining the staff of Michigan Farmer, where he spent 26 years, the last 15 as chief editor. He was a member of the staff of Good Fruit Grower from 2010 until 2015. Read his stories: Story Index

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