Thinning tree fruit by hand

You may need to step in after the June drop, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

THE June drop, when fruit trees shed their excess fruitlets, is over now so it's time for gardeners to step in and remove the final necessary few.

There are several reasons for doing this. The first is to give the fruit left in place enough sunlight and good airflow to ripen healthily and to a good size.

Thinning also helps protect against over-fruiting, which can lead to overladen branches breaking under the weight of too many fruits.

It also reduces the risk of biennial fruiting, when trees produce a huge crop one year then take a year or two 'off'.

There are different 'rules' for different fruits. When thinning a cluster of apples, take the large central fruitlet, the 'king', which is often misshapen.

Leave two fruits per cluster, making sure they are the healthiest looking and have the best exposure to light and air.