Nibbling For Dollars:Growers seeking high-dollar apples need the courage to thin early and often

摘要

MANY researchers call it "Precision Cropload Management." Phil Schwallier prefers the more descriptive term, "Nibble Thinning." It means taking a number of little bites out of your apple crop until it's just the right size to make you the most money."It means applying multiple thinning approaches," says Schwallier, who as a Michigan State University District Horticultural MarketingEducator, must himself use research-speak from time to time. "It means gradually bringing down the initial crop load to our target crop load."