Balancing the crop load is particularly important with Honeycrisp, which is more susceptible than other apple varieties to problems involving mineral nutrition. The fruit disorder bitter pit, which is associated with low calcium levels, can be a serious problem, especially in young trees, trees with a light crop load, or trees in warm sites, Dr. Lailiang Cheng, horticulturist at Cornell University, New York, reported during a Honeycrisp Fruit School presented by Washington State University in December. On the other hand, when the tree is heavily cropped, the apples don’t color up, are smaller, and have lower sugar levels. “To grow […]