Detailed Explanation of the Key Operating Points of the New Technique for Flower and Fruit Thinning of Apricot Trees

New Technique for Flower and Fruit Thinning of Apricot Trees

Apricot trees have the characteristics of fast growth, early shaping, early fruiting and early returns. In recent years, the planting scale in various places has expanded year by year, especially in comprehensive ecological parks near the suburbs of cities, where apricot has become an indispensable fruit for regulating the supply of fresh fruit. However, most growers blindly pursue yield, or lack labor, and do not carry out flower and fruit thinning management, resulting in small fruit size, poor color, low sugar content, etc., and the poor quality cannot be sold. The new flower and fruit thinning technique we have explored can not only achieve the production of high-quality fruit, but also extend the time for flower and fruit thinning, solving the problem of insufficient manpower due to concentrated work. It is introduced as follows.

1 Thinning of flower buds

Thinning flower buds can not only reduce the consumption of stored nutrients, but also reduce the work of fruit thinning. Thinning flower buds is carried out after the flower buds swell and ends at flowering. Only the flower buds on both sides facing downward or upward are retained, and all others are removed, with no flower buds retained at the base (Figure 1, Figure 2).

Figure 1 Apricot fruiting branch before flower bud thinning

Figure 2 Apricot fruiting branch after flower bud thinning

2 Flower thinning

Flower thinning can be carried out from the beginning of flowering until the end of flowering. Keep the flowers on both sides, and remove all the rest. Medium fruiting branches and short fruiting branches should be thinned more, long fruiting branches should be thinned less, and excessively vigorous fruiting branches may not be thinned (Figure 3, Figure 4).

Figure 3 Apricot fruiting branch before flower thinning

Figure 4 Apricot fruiting branch after flower thinning

3 Thinning of young fruit

Thinning of young fruit is carried out when the fruit enters the pit-hardening stage, fruit set is stable, and large and small fruits can be distinguished. Thinning too early, when fruit set is not stable, will cause reduced yield, while thinning too late affects fruit growth. Keep fruits that are free from disease and insect damage, medium-sized, and dark green in color. Keep the fruit in the middle part of the fruiting branch with many leaves or the fruit toward the front of the middle. The number of fruits retained should be flexibly controlled according to fruit size. Generally, 2 to 5 are retained on long fruiting branches, 1 to 3 on medium fruiting branches, and 1 on short fruiting branches (Figure 5, Figure 6).

Figure 5 Apricot fruiting branch before fruit thinning

Figure 6 Apricot fruiting branch after fruit thinning