Chemical thinning: a tool for managing biennial bearing

September 2012 | AgFirst | Australian Fruitgrower article

This Australian Fruitgrower article examines chemical thinning as a practical tool for managing biennial bearing in apple orchards. APAL’s Future Orchards® archive identifies the article as an AgFirst resource from September 2012.

Biennial bearing develops when a heavy crop suppresses flower initiation for the following season. Effective crop-load management therefore needs to remove excess fruit early enough to protect return bloom while still retaining the crop needed for target yield and fruit size.

The article sits within a wider Future Orchards® body of work that links chemical thinning with pruning, crop-load targets, flower strength and block history. This approach recognises that the right treatment can vary by variety, vigour, tree age, weather and whether the block is entering an “on” or “off” year.

For growers, the key planning principle is that chemical thinning is not only about reducing hand thinning; it is also a tool for stabilising production and protecting future cropping potential.