A drum shaker to thin off green fruit in soft fruit orchards is being tested in Pennsylvania. Mechanical thinning is being studied as a way to reduce hand fruit thinning, which is one of the most labor-intensive and costly practices in stone fruit production. Growers have reported spending as much as $1,000 per acre to hand thin fresh-market peaches. Tests of mechanical thinning of peaches in Pennsylvania show that the need for hand thinning of green fruit can be cut by half, says Dr. Tara Baugher, extension educator for Penn State University in Adams County. In addition, eliminating competition between […]