How do you increase the yield of an apple tree?

Nitrogen and potassium are key elements in boosting shoot and leaf growth, maximizing flowering, fruit set and fill, as well as yield potential. Phosphorus is important for early growth and rooting, and then again for producing a large number of healthy flowers clusters, and good fruit size.

How do I encourage my apple tree to produce fruit?

In order for fruit to be produced, most trees must be pollinated. Cold weather and a reduction in pollinating insects can cause trees to blossom but bear no fruit. For best results with apple trees, plant two different varieties close together for cross pollination.

How do you make apples grow bigger?

You will need to prune your apple tree—to train it to a central leader the first year and for maintenance every year after that—to stimulate fruit production and to keep the tree open and balanced. Without regular pruning, an apple tree produces lots of vegetative growth that then turns into fruiting wood.

What is the biggest threat to apple trees?

A disease called fire blight, easily managed for a long time in apple and pear orchards, is becoming more virulent as the climate changes and as growers alter the way the trees are configured to produce higher yields. Some researchers say newer varieties may be more vulnerable, too.

How long until an apple tree bears fruit?

Apple trees need at least 8 hours of sun per day during the growing season. Two varieties are required for successful pollination; one can be a crabapple. Dwarf apple trees will start bearing fruit 2 to 3 years after planting. Standard size trees can take up to 8 years to bear fruit.

How do you force an apple tree to bloom?

Apple cultivars have very specific chill requirements, meaning a certain number of hours during winter dormancy must be under 45 degrees F in order for the tree to bloom. If they do not receive these chilling hours, their internal signals get crossed and they don’t receive the message that spring has arrived.

How many years does it take an apple tree to bear fruit?

Do apple trees produce every year?

Many species of apple tree will produce fruit every year — provided they’re grown in the right conditions and don’t sustain any damage. The low water content means the tree can’t produce a large crop, leading to too many flower buds the next year.

Why are my apples so small on my tree?

A. Apple trees often set more fruit than they can mature to a good size and quality. If you permit all that fruit to stay on the tree until harvest time, you will wind up with a lot of small apples. Commonly known as June drop, it occurs from competition among the fruits for water and nutrients.

What is attacking my apples?

Major Insect Pests Affecting Apples There are quite a few pests listed above, but the big three most detrimental to the apple tree are: Apple maggot flies, plum curculio, and codling moth.

How often do apple trees bear fruit?

Dwarfs and semi-dwarfs will bear in 3 to 4 years, yielding 1 to 2 bushels per year. Standard-size trees will bear in 5 to 8 years, yielding 4 to 5 bushels of apples per year. The variety of apple selected should be based on fruit characteristics, bloom time, and pollen compatibility.

How can I increase the size of my apple tree?

Planting multiple trees of different varieties will help increase the amount of fruit your tree bears every year. You can plant a tree that blooms at the same time as your tree for larger fruit yields, or one that blooms at different times, so you can harvest fresh apples at different times of the year.

Can you let an apple tree grow too many apples?

After your apple tree sets its first crop of fruit, you should not let every apple on the tree grow to maturity because too many apples can damage the branches or the fruit. Thinning the apple crop on your trees requires you pulling off immature, 1-inch, apples so the fruit that is left will not touch by the time it is fully grown.

Can you plant apple trees that bloom at the same time?

You can plant a tree that blooms at the same time as your tree for larger fruit yields, or one that blooms at different times, so you can harvest fresh apples at different times of the year. Some varieties of apple trees are actually sterile and cannot pollinate other apple trees.

How does drought affect apple tree rootstock?

When leaves are scorched, their edges dry out, and the leaves turn brown. Due to considerable differences in root growth, rootstocks have great influence on drought tolerance of apple trees. Large, established trees with deep roots and trees on standard-sized or semi-dwarfing rootstocks, such as M.26 and MM.111, tolerate short periods of drought.