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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Plum size - what affects it?

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  • From: Doug Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Plum size - what affects it?
  • Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:28:58 -0400

To spell things out a bit:

Japanese plums are even more sensitive in size than most fruits to fruit set and I prsume to other factors affecting available resources for the fruit., like the division of resources between growth and fruiting on the part of a young tree. The growth of a given fruit depends on what was there before, so factors affecting early growth (drought?) are crucial (thinning late has less effect on the remaining fruit than thinning early). I have read that calcium moves into apples mostly in the early stages of the fruit's development (affecting the development of bitter pit if it is lacking later), and I suppose that this might apply to other nutrients in other species.

The size of your Wicksons could be a function of circumstances of culture and weather *this year* as well as to the situation of your tree, so be cautious in drawing general conclusions.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada


Lon J. Rombough wrote:
Another factor? Temperatures around and just after bloom time have an effect. If it's warm, there is more cell division in the developing fruit, and with more cells, the fruit will be larger when it ripens. Cold weather at bloom and in the first few weeks means less cell division and fewer cells, hence smaller fruit at ripening.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, *The Grape Grower, *at http://www.bunchgrapes.com Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
For even more grape lessons, go to http://www.grapeschool.com
For growing supplies and more; http://www.grapegrowersolutions.com

On Jul 30, 2007, at 2:39 PM, Lisa Almarode wrote:

Besides thinning fruit, what factors affect fruit size? nutrients,
grass competition... I know these affect tree size, etc., but I was
under the impression that fruit size was mostly genetics.

My Wickson plums are quite small (it sets very heavily, thinned to
1 in 10 but not enough), and friend's Shiro are cherry size; granted
her tree was planted this spring.

Lisa in Ashland Oregon
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