Re: Culling
In a message dated 7/19/00 6:57:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
dewig1@excite.com writes:
<< Hello all,
I need some advice on culling and have a few questions;What is the idea
location for fruit on secondaries,I know you want the stem perpendicular to
the vine,but is there anything else to consider? At what size should I be
making my decisions? Is a nice round one better to keep,or keep the football
shaped one? Most of mine were pollinated between July 8 and 15,some just
about basketball size. Just having a hard time deciding which to cut
off,what are some of the thing you all take into consideration when culling?
Thanks for any response.
Dewight Blanton
<<
Dewight:
Here's the guideline I used. It certainly simplifies things.
First off, you are right to examine the fruit, vine and stem for cracks,
fungus, bruising, vine/stem breakage and splits. The stem should be long and
the fruit's position should be close to 45 degree angle from the vine, with a
clear space for uncrowded growth. Cracks and splits in the stem or vine can
mean poor overall growth. Be sure the stem and vine are grossly intact, if
possible.
Pollinate your females as their flowers open, keeping track of the parentage.
Then, for each fruit, keep a record of the circumference measurements on all
fruits 10 days after EACH pollination. 20 inches circ. at 10 days is good
growth.
Measure each fruit again at 20 days from pollination. 60 inches at 20 days is
also good growth. This can keep you hopping if you have many plants with lots
of fruits! It's worth it in the long run, as the info is invaluable. This is
the only way to determine which fruit is making the best growth progress.
You and Mother Nature will have culled many fruits by this point. You will
have to decide in the next week or two which ones to cull if you have more
than one fruit on the plant. Also, you will now have a better look at shape,
growth rate, position on vine, stem and vine integrity, etc. before making
your final choices. Your fruits will be larger at this point, and the longer
you deliberate, the harder it gets to make the cuts.
This is one of those times where grower luck plays a large role in the
outcome of the season. Statistics show that most of the prizewinning fruits
in this hobby have been grown on the main vine. Does this mean you should
automatically cull side vine fruits? NO. Of course not. You just have to
weigh all of the facts before making your decisions.
Hope this helps.
Barb Kincaid
Orlando, FL
Just back from the Adirondacks
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