Results of a Research Project about the influence of pruning intensity on cost of thinning by hand with the Variety ’Elstar’ in 2004 and 2005

This trial took place in an organic fruit growing farm located near Lake Constance with the variety ‘Elstar’ planted in 1995. In 2004 and 2005 one variant (control) was pruned normally during the winter, the other variant was pruned more intensively to reduce the amount of flower buds. In 2004 at both variants the number of apples was reduced to 165 apples/tree at the end of May. Time for thinning by hand was cut down significantly in the intensively pruned variant. In addition at harvest the number of apples with bigger diameters, especially 75-80 mm, increased. Moreover the number of flower buds for the next season rose by 20 %. Therefore in 2005 the yield per tree at the intensively pruned variant increased about 15 %, but also the working hours for pruning rose, too. The research project was financed by the Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau