North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Rodney Eveland" <reveland@collinscom.net>]

I would hate to see you destroy a tree. Have you tried various methods
to prevent cracking? It seems to be a "water/various minerals
problem" - mostly water, so you might try putting a tarp around the
tree to keep it's roots from absorbing more water after the apples
reach a certain stage of growth. Here are some URLs about cracking:

http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/pgDisplay.php?article=N5I1B   Mushy
apples - cracking cherries

boron deficiency can lead to lumpiness in papaya (see colour section,
Figure 4); hollow stem in cabbage and cauliflower; the cracking of
outer skin in beets.

Growth cracks: tomato skin hardens when growth stops during a dry
period; when growth resumes after rain, the skin cracks <T0073E02.jpg>

http://res2.agr.ca/kentville/pubs/pub1737/g1737_e.htm   Disorders of
Pears/Apples

http://www.kalender.com.tr/eng/mikro.htm   Chemicals sold to prevent
cracking (Calcium/Boron)

http://pestdata.ncsu.edu/cropprofiles/docs/ncapples.html   Chemical
(Pro Vide) which claims to prevent cracking in apples. I have no idea
what it is, but it's expensive.

http://ipm.osu.edu/fruit/03icm9.htm#linkg    managing Gala cracking
(mentions use of Calcium to prevent cracking)

If you can keep excessive water away form your tree and make sure it
has proper nutrition (all of the trace elements), maybe you can cut
the cracking to an acceptable percentage.