JNRBRONC
Well-Known Member
Bonk,
I think the best thing to do is try to decide on an apple variety and then research it to see if it has a tendancy for biennial production. A general rule of thumb would be that if the variety is a "heavy cropper", it probably will take the next year off to rest. You can make biennial varieties even out their crops by using sprays to thin the apples in the heavy years, but that becomes too much work for me!
While trying to find info on biennial production, I came across this interesting site:
Penn State Guide
And this site about Indiana apple cultivars: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/ho-165.pdf
I think the best thing to do is try to decide on an apple variety and then research it to see if it has a tendancy for biennial production. A general rule of thumb would be that if the variety is a "heavy cropper", it probably will take the next year off to rest. You can make biennial varieties even out their crops by using sprays to thin the apples in the heavy years, but that becomes too much work for me!
While trying to find info on biennial production, I came across this interesting site:
Penn State Guide
And this site about Indiana apple cultivars: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/ho-165.pdf