When using the Equilifruit, it should fit tightly around the selected limb, about an inch away from the trunk. The F-values on the disk show the recommended number of fruit for limbs of certain diameters. The delta value, also shown on the disk, can be added to or subtracted from the F-value to adjust amount of thinning depending on the variety or tree age, etc. Apple growers use a variety of untested hand-thinning heuristics (rules of thumb) to adjust final crop load after insufficient chemical thinning. Depending on the cultivar and market, there are often financial incentives for growers to […]