North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Bob Hartman <hartmansfruittrees@wport.com>]

Jim,

I see no one has answered your question so I will take a stab at it.  I don't 
know about the bumpy part but the pitted part could be what is known as 
bitter pit.  If at the pitted points underneath the skin it is brown that 
would
be another indication that it is bitter pit.  If the soil gets too acid 
apples will sometimes get the bitter pit.  Some varieties are more prone to 
bitter pit.  I noticed some bitter pit on some of my apples too and I am
correcting it by the addition of dolomite lime.  One of my books says that it 
is caused as a result of calcium deficiency within the fruit and may occur 
even on calcium-rich soils.  It says that in order to take up calcium, the
plant needs an adequate supply of moisture.  If this is not available and the 
tree does not get sufficient calcium, small areas of cells within the 
developing fruit collapse and turn brown.  Goodly amount of water and a good
mulch will also help prevent it.

I hope this helps your situation since Sweet Sixteen is one of my favorite 
apples.

Bob Hartman
Western Washington

"Erdman, Jim" wrote:

> Hello,
> This year I got my first good crop from many of my apple trees, and also my 
> lone pear tree.
> Almost all of my Sweet 16 apples have a simiilar problem.  The skin is 
> slightly bumpy or pitted, sort of like an orange in a way.  The flesh has 
> dark areas and is sometimes a little bitter, and not crisp, but sometimes 
> mushy.
> Does anyone have any ideas what the problem with them might be?  I have 
> looked in many of my books and references with no luck, although I seem to 
> have a tendency to miss the obvious sometimes.
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Jim, in Menomonie, WI, cold edge of zone 4
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