Question
Q
I planted some fruit trees fall 2009 and am noticing tons of fruit on them already in this first year. I've heard I should pick them all and wait until the second year to let them mature. Is this right?
Answer(s)
A
It would be better for you to remove the fruit from your trees this year. Right now your goal is to establish strong, healthy scaffold branches for your trees. If you allow the fruit to remain on your new trees the weight of the developing fruit will interfere with that branch development.
We have a couple of useful resources that are available online. I recommend that you visit utahpests.usu.edu/ipm to sign up for free email advisories for fruit trees. You will also find lots of great information in the Utah Home Orchard Pest Management Guide, available at htt://extension.usu.edu. Click on "publications" and then type the name into the search bar and it should show up at or near the top of the search results.
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