{"id":16606,"date":"2023-01-27T13:11:16","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T21:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/?p=16606"},"modified":"2023-03-19T11:20:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T18:20:03","slug":"which-avocado-fruitlets-should-you-remove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/which-avocado-fruitlets-should-you-remove\/","title":{"rendered":"Which avocado fruitlets should you remove?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At times an avocado tree will set more fruit than it can grow to maturity without negative consequences. The tree might be too small such that carrying much fruit will stunt its growth, or the fruitlets might be too numerous on a single branch such that it will bend from the weight of the fruit and get sunburned or even break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pinkerton branch laden with fruit and sunburned.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Or the fruitlets might have set on a low branch and will be resting on the ground once they are big and heavy, which can cause peel problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these situations you might want to remove some fruitlets. But which do you remove?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fruitlets that have obvious defects, such as scarring or damage to their stem, should go. Fruitlets hanging outside the canopy and vulnerable to sunburn should also go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about choosing between small and large fruitlets? Last July, a Yard Posts reader named Brandon asked<\/a> if the young fruit on his Hass tree that were of different sizes then would ultimately all harvest at about the same size, or would the small ones remain small. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I replied: “They might be different sizes just based on when they started growing. Some might have been pollinated in March while others weren\u2019t pollinated until May, for example.” Then I suggested that we both tag a few of the fruit that are exceptionally big or small at that time (July) and see if they end up remaining relatively big or small at harvest time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in July I tagged the smallest and biggest young avocado fruit on five of my trees. I revisited the trees last week (early January). See the results in this video:<\/p>\n\n\n\n