Who's who inchemical thinnersAnd what are best practices for use

摘要

Most fruit trees set far more fruit than they can support. Trees respond naturally by shedding fruitlets. In apples and some pear cultivars, this response is usually too weak to produce fruit of the size growers want. We therefore apply chemical thinners to stimulate fruit drop.There are several thinning chemicals registered for use on apples and pears in South Africa: 6-benzyladenine (6-BA), 6-benzyladenine plus gibberellic acid (6-BA plus GA), 1-naphthaleneacetamide (NAD), 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA), metamitron and carbaryl.These are available in different formulations under various trade names. Different formulations are registered for different cultivars and each has its own instructions for use. The summary below is a broad overview: always study product labels carefully for the details.