How to Thin Flowers and Fruits on Pear Trees: A Detailed Explanation of the Latest Technical Points
Pear trees produce a large amount of flowers. If too many fruits set, the tree bears an excessively heavy load, which affects fruit quality and results in small fruits. Moreover, because nutrients are consumed in large quantities, it causes alternate bearing (biennial bearing), and sometimes regreening and reflowering also occur. Therefore, flower and fruit thinning of pear trees is a necessary measure in production. So how should it be done? Let's take a look together.
1. Flower thinning methods
Thinning flowers on pear trees saves tree nutrients better than thinning fruits. Removing surplus flowers promptly and as early as possible concentrates the tree's nutrients on flower and fruit growth and tree development. When there are many flowers and few natural disasters, flower thinning is more beneficial than fruit thinning for pear varieties with a high fruit-setting rate. Flower thinning on pear trees can be done during winter pruning by judging the flower buds, and by re-checking before spring flowering, but the main flower-thinning time is still before the flowers open. The first two can only play a role in saving nutrients. If you thin buds, it is equivalent to thinning away branches, and it cannot change the branch-to-fruit ratio, whereas flower thinning can retain the fruit spur axillary shoots, improving the branch-to-fruit ratio and the leaf-to-fruit ratio, which has a good effect on improving fruit quality and overcoming alternate bearing. The flower-thinning time is generally from April to May, and it can be carried out from the inflorescence separation stage to full bloom; the earlier, the better. Generally, thin the center and keep the two sides; for the tree, thin the top and keep the middle.
2. Fruit thinning time
The fruit-thinning time for pear trees is related to their variety. Generally, sand pears start one week after flower fall and complete fruit thinning within half a month after flower fall, while green-skinned pear varieties must be bagged 10 days after flowering, so fruit thinning cannot be too late either. For general pear varieties, fruit thinning should be finished at the latest 26 days after flower fall. Within one month after flowering is the fruit cell division period. Thinning fruits as early as possible at this time can promote an increase in the number of young fruit cells and their volume expansion. If fruit thinning is too late, it has little effect on fruit cell division, which not only affects yield and quality but also wastes nutrients and inhibits the plant's flower bud differentiation.
3. Fruit thinning methods
For fruit thinning of pear trees, first remove fruits that are damaged by pests and diseases, poorly fertilized, misshapen, have persistent calyxes, or have shorter longitudinal diameters. The fruit's shape and growth potential are directly related to the position of the fruit in the inflorescence. Fruits at low positions have shorter longitudinal diameters and thick, short fruit stalks; during the young fruit stage, the fruit is obviously large, but its later growth potential is small. Fruits at high positions have long longitudinal diameters, small young fruits, and slender fruit stalks, with even smaller growth potential. Only fruits at the middle position have relatively long longitudinal diameters, medium-to-large young fruits, and thick, long fruit stalks, with the greatest growth potential. Generally, the first and second positional fruits are thinned because their longitudinal diameters are short, the fruits tend to be small, and after ripening, both yield and quality are not high.
The above is an introduction to how to thin flowers and fruits on pear trees. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.