Orange, turqoise, apricot, brown, dirt, soil, water, sky and sulfur were my first bricks while building this collection. Ifound them in the pictures I took in Yellowstone, in the summer of 2010. While being in Yellowstone I thought aboutthe artist Georgia O´Keffee, an artist I’ve long liked. The landscape of Yellowstone reminded me about her landscapepaintings so I researched her life and work. She was a genuine feminist without saying it, she just lived like she wasequal to other women and men. This led me to a book about forgotten goddesses where I found references todrapings that I’ve developed and interspersed with flat pattern cutting. One of my key objectives, in this project andother projects, has been to push the limits of menswear towards feminine elements. I believe that there’s a certainreason why a woman can wear a suit without anyone looking twice but it’s very striking if a man wears a dress. Inthis collection I’ve looked into various reasons for this and I aim to let men dress the same way as women do aswell as the other way around. / Program: Modedesignutbildningen

In this study, characterization of activated carbon produced from apricot stones by chemical activation technique using phosphoric acid (H3PO4) as activating agent, at relatively low temperatures (300, 400 and 500oC), was investigated. To produce activated carbon acid impregnated samples were heated / at a heating rate of 20oC/min to the final carbonization temperatures, 300oC, 400oC and 500oC. For each temperature four different carbonization time (90, 120, 180 and 210 min.) were used to produce twelve different activated carbons. The pore structures of activated carbons were determined as follows: The volume and area of macropores in the pore diameter range of 8180-50 nm were determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry. Mesopore (in the range of 50-2 nm) areas and volumes were determined by N2 gas adsorption technique at -195.6oC, BET surface areas of the samples were also determined, in the relative pressure range of 0.05 to 0.02, by the same technique. The pore volume and the area of the micropores with diameters less than 2 nm were determined by CO2 adsorption measurements at 0oC by the application of Dubinin Radushkevich equation. N2 (BET) and CO2 (D-R) surface areas of the samples were in the range of 444-709m2/g and 433-650m2/g, respectively. AC4.2 sample (carbonization temperature of 400oC and carbonization time of 120 min.) was found to have the maximum BET and CO2 area as 709m2/g and 650m2/g, respectively. Surface areas of the samples consisting of around 10% mesopores and over 90% micropores. N2 adsorption isotherms also confirm that pores are in the micropore range.

Thesis (MSc Food Sc)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Post-storage quality of the stone fruit, apricots and peaches, is the major factor determining their suitability for canning after cold storage in South Africa. Short harvesting periods and the limited capacity of the factory to process the large quantities of fruit within two days after delivery, necessitates cold storage until canning. Apricots develop internal breakdown, whereas peaches develop internal breakdown accompanied by loosening of the skin and adhesion of the flesh to the stone. The deterioration takes place within the fruit during a cold storage period of one to two weeks. The tendency of the fruit to develop internal defects can, to date, not be identified prior to storage and are only discovered after destoning during canning. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with chemometrics were investigated as a non-destructive method to predict post-storage quality in Bulida apricots and clingstone peach cultivars. Near infrared (NIR) spectra (645-1201 nm), measured on the intact fruit just after harvesting, were correlated with subjective quality evaluations performed on the cut and destoned fruit after cold storage. The cold storage periods for apricots were four weeks (2002 season) and three and two weeks for peach cultivars for the 2002 and 2003 seasons, respectively. Soft independent modelling by class analogy (SIMCA) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) were applied to the spectral and reference data to develop models for good and poor post-storage quality. The ability of these models to predict post-storage quality was evaluated in terms of recognition (sensitivity) and rejection (specificity) of the samples in independent validation sets. Total correct classification rates of 50.00% and 69.00% were obtained with Bulida apricots, using SIMCA and MARS, respectively. Classification results with apricots showed that MARS performed better than SIMCA and is thus recommended for this application. Total correct classification rates of 53.00% to 60.00% (SIMCA) and 57.65% to 65.12% (MARS) were obtained for data sets of combined peach cultivars within seasons and over both seasons. Additional aspects of fruit quality were investigated to identify possible indices of post-storage quality. Classification trees were used to find correlations between the post-storage quality and the fruit mass, diameter, firmness and soluble solids content (SSC). Among these, fruit diameter and firmness were the major indices of post-storage quality. Accurate predictions of firmness could not be achieved by near infrared spectroscopy (NlRS), making the combination of NIRS and classification trees not yet suitable for predicting post-storage quality. NIRS was further used to predict poststorage SSC within seasons in Bulida apricots and intact peach cultivars. This confirmed sufficient NIR light penetration into the intact fruit and also provided a further application of NIRS for ripeness evaluation in the canning industry. Validations on peach samples obtained correlation coefficients (r) of 0.77-0.85 and SEP-values of 1.35-1.60 °Brix using partial least squares (PLS) regression. MARS obtained r = 0.77-0.82 and SEP = 1.42-1.55 °Brix. Predictions of sse in apricots were less accurate, with r = 0.39-0.88, SEP = 1.24-2.21 °Brix (PLS) and r = 0.51-0.82, SEP = 1.54-2.19 °Brix (MARS). It is suggested that the accuracy of sse measurements, and the subsequent predictions, were affected by the cold storage periods as well as internal variation within the fruit. This study showed that a combination of NIRS and chemometrics can be used to predict post-storage quality in intact peaches and apricots. A small scale feasibility study showed that 4% (R117 720) (apricot industry) and 3% (R610 740) (peach industry) of production losses can be saved if this method is implemented in the South African canning industry. Although it was difficult to assign specific chemical components or quality attributes to the formulation of the storage potential models, important hidden information in the spectra could be revealed by chemometric classification methods. NIRS promises to be a useful and unique quality evaluation tool for the South African fruit canning industry. Several recommendations are made for the canning practices to reduce losses and for future research to improve the current prediction models. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die kwaliteit van die steenvrugte, appelkose en perskes, is die hoof bepalende faktor vir hul geskiktheid vir inmaakdoeleindes na koelopberging in Suid-Afrika. Die vrugte moet opgeberg word by lae temperature vir een tot twee weke, aangesien die oestydperk kort is en die kapasiteit van die fabriek te beperk is om die groot hoeveeheid vrugte dadelik in te maak. Tydens hierdie opbergingstydperk vind agteruitgang in die vrugte plaas. Dit word in appelkose gekenmerk deur interne verval en in perskes gekenmerk aan interne verval, tesame met enlos skil en die vaskleef van die vrugvlees aan die pit. Tot dusver, bestaan daar geen metode om hierdie tipe agteruitgang in vrugte voor opberging te identifiseer nie. Dit word eers na opberging opgemerk wanneer die vrugte ontpit word. Naby-infrarooi spektroskopie (NIRS), gekombineerd met chemometriese metodes is gebruik om opbergingspotensiaal in Bulida appelkose en taaipitperske kultivars te bepaal. enKorrelasie is gemaak tussen naby-infrarooi (NIR) spektra, gemeet op die heel vrugte voor opberging en subjektiewe evaluering van kwaliteit, geïdentifiseer op die gesnyde vrugte na opberging. Die opbergingstydperke vir perskes was vir drie en twee weke vir die 2002 en die 2003 seisoene, onderskeldeflk, terwyl die appelkose vir vier weke opgeberg is. Twee chemometriese metodes, "soft independent modelling by class analogy" (SIMCA) en "multivariate adaptive regression splines" (MARS) is gebruik om die spektra en ooreenstemmende subjektiewe data te kombineer en modelle is ontwikkel vir goeie en swak opbergingspotensiaal. Die vermoë van die modelle om die vrugkwaliteit na die opbergingstydperk te voorspel, is geêvalueer in terme van herkenning en verwerping van vrugtemonsters in onafhanklike toetsstelle. Totale korrekte klassifikasies van 50.00% and 69.00% is verkry vir Bulida appelkose, met SIMCA en MARS, onderskeidelik. Die klassifikasie resultate het gewys dat MARS beter gevaar het as SIMCA en word dus sterk aanbeveel vir hierdie toepassing. Totale korrekte klassifikasies van 53.00% tot 60.00% (SIMCA) and 57.65% tot 65.12% (MARS) is verkry vir gekombineerde perskekultivars tussen seisoene en oor seisoene. Verdere aspekte van vrugkwaliteit is geêvalueer om enmoontlike indeks van opbergingspotensiaal te verkry. Klassifikasiebome is gebruik om en korrelasie te vind tussen kwaliteit na opberging en vrugmassa, deursnee, fermheid en totale oplosbare vastestowwe (TOV). Diameter en fermheid het die meeste gekorreleer met die kwaliteit na opberging. Voorspellings van fermheid deur die gebruik van naby infrarooi spektroskopie (NIRS) was ~gter nie akkuraat nie. Dus word die kombinasie van klassifikasiebome en NIRS om opbergingspotensiaal te voorspel nie tans aanbeveel nie. NIRS is verder gebruik om TOV te voorspel binne seisoene in heel Bulida appelkose en perskekultivars. Dit is uitgevoer om voldoende NIR ligpenitrasie in die vrugte te bevestig en ook om 'n verdere toepassing van kwaliteitsbepaling (as indeks van soetheid en rypheid) vir die inmaakindustrie te verskaf. Validasies is op perskemonsters uitgevoer en korrelasiekoêffisiente (r) van 0.77-0.85 en voorspellingsfoute van 1.35-1.60 °Brix is verkry met "partial least squares" (PLS) regressie. MARS het r = 0.77-0.82 and voorspellingsfoute = 1.42-1.55 °Brix verkry. Die akkuraatheid van die TOV meetings en gevolglike voorspellings is waarskynlik beïnvloed deur interne variasie binne die vrugte sowel as die opbergings tydperke wat verloop het tussen metings. Hierdie studie wys dat NIRS en chemometriese metodes wel gebruik kan word om opbergingspotensiaal in heel perskes in appelkose te voorspel. 'n Kosteberekening het gewys dat besparings van 4% (R117 720) (appelkoos industrie) en 3% (R610 740) (perske industrie) moontlik is indien NIRS en MARS geïmplementeer word. Alhoewel dit moeilik was om spesifieke chemiese komponente en .sekere kwaliteitsaspekte aan die ontwikkeling van die modelle te koppel, is belangrike verborge informasie in die spectra uitgebring deur chemornetriese metodes. NIRS beloof om 'n bruikbare en unieke kwaliteitskontrole maatstaf te wees vir die Suid-Afrikaanse inmaakindustrie. Verskeie aanbevelings is gemaak vir die inmaakpraktyke om verliese te voorkom en ook vir toekomstige navorsing om die huidige klassifikasiemodelle te verbeter.

Magister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS) / Amygdalin, a controversial anti-cancer agent, is a cyanogenic glycoside plant compound found in apricot and peach kernels. Both amygdalin and its patented form, Laetrile®, have been promoted and sold as "vitamin B-17", although neither compound is a vitamin. No consensus on the efficacy of amygdalin regarding the treatment of different cancers has been reached. Cancer is now the third leading cause of death worldwide. More than 7.6 million deaths were estimated to have occurred in 2007 and by 2030 it is projected to increase to 17 million cancer deaths per year. Cancers of the lung, breast, colon/rectum, liver and prostate are no longer largely confined to Western industrialized countries but are among the most common cancers worldwide (Thun et al. 2010). In South Africa it is estimated that one in every four males and one in every five females will be affected by a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. The most common cancers in males are prostrate, lung, oesophagus, bladder and colorectal and in females they are cervix, breast, colorectal, oesophagus and lung (Haggar & Boushey 2009). Colon cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, especially in western societies and is nutrition dependent (Klenow et al. 2009). It is one of the leading causes of death in both men and women in industrialised western countries. Colon cancer development involves both hereditary factors and lifestyle factors which include absence of physical exercise, unbalanced nutrition and long term smoking (Forman et al. 2004; Heavey et al. 2004). Colon cancer is traditionally treated by the resection of the colon, chemotherapy, radium therapy, and pharmaceutical hormonal drugs (Willson et al. 1987; Padussis et al. 2004)). Epidemiological studies supports evidence that colon cancer is preventable by adjusting the diet (Forman et al. 2004) and a protective effect is attributable to polyphenols and foods such as fruits and vegetables (Araújo et al. 2011). It was reported by Ruan et al. (2006) that the addition of Chinese Herbal Medicine in conjunction with chemotherapy notonly raised the efficacy of the chemotherapeutic drug, but also reduced the toxic side-effects. The aim of this research was to carry out a comparative in vitro study of the anti-tumour effect of the Chinese , South African and Turkish apricot (Xing ren / Armeniacea Semen) and Chinese and South African peach (Tao ren / Persica Semen) kernel extracts on the HT-29 colon cancer cell line.All the extracts significantly reduced cell viability and inhibited proliferation in the HT-29 cancer cells after 24 hours with the lipophilic and total fractions of CAK being the most effective. After 72 hours, it is clear that the inhibitory effects have been abolished and replaced by a stimulatory effect as the cell viability is higher in the treated cultures than the untreated controls. Results show that the total and the hydrophilic fractions of all the kernels increased cell viability more than the lipophilic fractions. It cannot be said with certainty that it was the amygdalin metabolite cyanide that affected the cell viability or induced apoptosis on its own. If hydrolysis of amygdalin indeed happened and cyanide was produced, it would affect the cells by shutting down aerobic respiration. Since cancer cells have more β- glucosidases and less rhodanese than normal cells, it is a possibility that the HT-29 cancer cells had some rhodanese to convert cyanide into a relatively harmless compound thiocyanate. It could be that in vitro this conversion, in light of the low enzyme levels in the HT-29 cancer cells, happened slowly and that the effect was only seen after 48 hour. However, this does not explain the overall inhibition even by the lipophilic fractions that should not contain any amygdalin or the eventual stimulatory effect, observed from 48 hour onwards.The S phase block observed, was mostly seen after 24 hour exposure to organic extractions, with the SAK showing 86% of cells in the S phase in contrast to the aqueous extractions which only slightly increased the S phase fraction. This could indicate that synergistic and/or additive effects between polyphenolic compounds may also be responsible for the reduction of cell viability, proliferation and apoptosis. All the kernels and the various fractions affected cell viability and to an extent cell cycle progression, but more studies is needed to establish the most effective kernel and specific fraction or signature active component. Inhibition of cell viability and proliferation and the induction of apoptosis could be an important preventive approach in chemoprevention. Understanding how dietary components regulate proliferation and cell survival could play a critical role in development of new enriched agents that can prevent and treat cancer with reduced risk of toxicity.

The diploma thesis deals with the design of **** Hotel Hrůdek with Salon of Wines in the locality Hrůdek near Velké Pavlovice. Hrůdek is located at Velké Pavlovice on the Velké Pavlovice - Bořetice bicycle route and it is very good location for tourism. The aim is to design Hotel Hrůdek with Salon of wines with adjoining public spaces near the town of Pavlovice, specifically in the locality Hrůdek. The Wine Hotel is the center of everything. It is associates the customer with vineyard and apricot products. The wine salon serves as a unique opportunity to individually taste any of the stored wines. During the tasting of the visitors, sommelier is available, which provides information on wine and individual wineries on request. The investor plan is to attract visitors to the local specialty called apricot wine. A beautiful, pure apricot aroma returns visitors back to July, until the time of collection of fresh Velvavlovice apricots. The freshness of this apricot wine is underlined by spicy acidity in harmony with a pleasant touch of residual sugar. Thatis why Hotel Hrůdek and Salon of Wines must provide support in the form of good food and quality sleep after a guided tasting for all visitors throughout all the year.

The Master’s thesis is focused on the analysis of biologically active substances in apricot kernel oil. Apricot oil has recently begun to be widely used in the cosmetics industry, particularly as a part of massage oils or as part of moisturizing creams. The aim of this thesis is to characterize and assess the quality of apricot oil, determination of the content of selected active ingredients, through a series of analytical methods, and subsequent use of this oil in cosmetics and food industry. The thesis is based on the comparison of the quality of pure apricot oil and the oil after the fermentation process. It has been found that apricot kernel oil actually contains large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. The excellent antioxidant activity of apricot kernels was proven too, especially those after fermentation. In addition to antioxidant activity, the samples contain a relatively large amount of tocopherol after the fermentation. Tocopherol is important for the uptake of free radicals in lipid bilayers, thus slowing down aging, protect the membranes and also prevent from possible cardiovascular and oncological diseases. Furthermore, in the Master’s thesis there were confirmed not only the hydration effects of creams with apricot oil, but also their ability of inhibic transepidermal loss of water from the epidermis. Creams were tested on five probands, aged 23–24, with different skin types. After the application of creams to their skin, these properties greatly improved, the skin has been regenerated and hydrated for 24 hours after the treatment.

L’abricotier cultivé (Prunus armeniaca L.) appartient au genre Prunus, de la sous-famille des Prunoideae qui comprend la totalité des arbres fruitiers à noyaux de la famille des Rosaceae. Il fait partie de la section taxonomique Armeniaca (Lam.) Koch. qui se présente comme un complexe d’espèces diploïdes, inter-fertiles avec un génome d’environ 200-220 Mbp (n=8). La section Armeniaca comprend deux espèces cultivées, P. armeniaca (fruitière) et P. mume (ornementale) ; mais également cinq espèces encore disponibles à l’état sauvage en Asie Centrale et en Asie du Nord-Est, le plus souvent en altitude. Dans ce contexte, mon travail de thèse vise à mieux comprendre les différents processus de l’histoire évolutive d’une espèce fruitière pérenne et comment ceux-ci influent sur la variabilité et la structuration génétique de l’espèce cultivée. Ceci inclut son adaptation à de multiples et changeantes conditions environnementales mais également à l’action de l’Homme au travers de la domestication, de la sélection et de l’amélioration génétique et son effet sur l’architecture génomique de l’abricotier.Dans un premier temps, des études de diversité réalisées à l’aide de marqueurs moléculaires de type microsatellites ont été réalisées chez l’abricotier et ses espèces apparentées, sauvages, afin de clarifier les généalogies et révéler les processus évolutifs qui sont à l’origine de la forme cultivée, fruitière. Notre étude de phylogéographie nous a permis de détecter des groupes génétiques différenciés résultant de l’histoire climatique passée de la planète mais également d’hybridation interspécifique et de flux de gènes récurrent entre individus sauvages et domestiques. Plusieurs événements indépendants de domestication ont ainsi été mis en évidence, ils sont à l’origine de l’abricotier cultivé en Occident, en Chine et en Asie Centrale.La même approche a été utilisée dans un second temps afin de décrire la diversité et la structuration génétique de P. brigantina Vill., la seule espèce européenne de la section Armeniaca, ce qui nous a conduit à préciser sa classification dans le genre Prunus.Enfin dans la troisième partie de cette thèse, la diversité génétique a cette fois été étudiée à l’échelle du génome complet de l’abricotier. L’objectif ici était de rechercher les régions génomiques permettant de différencier les groupes domestiques, européens et chinois, des populations sauvages d’Asie Centrale. Ces zones de forte différenciation dans les génomes correspondent à des signatures de balayages sélectifs. Nous avons ainsi identifié plus de 1700 régions génomiques comme cibles probables de l’adaptation et de la domestication de l’abricotier, pour lesquelles 136 présentaient un fort degré de similarité pour tous les cultivars d’abricotiers indiquant 56 régions génomiques de domestication homologues, non-chevauchantes. Pour 48 de ces régions, nous disposons d’annotations fonctionnelles qui permettent de déterminer les gènes sous sélection et leur fonction. Il apparaît que la plupart de ces gènes sont connus pour affecter l’expression de phénotypes liés 1) à la réponse aux pathogènes et au stress abiotique, 2) à la qualité du fruit ainsi qu’au 3) contrôle moléculaire de la floraison et de la transition entre période végétative et reproductive. Ce résultat constitue un premier pas vers la compréhension des mécanismes responsables du processus de domestication chez une espèce fruitière, pérenne. Il montre que des évènements de domestication indépendants ont impliqué des régions génomiques homologues. Les travaux aÌ venir devront également permettre de préciser les cibles génétiques des processus adaptatifs chez cette espèce fruitière, pérenne, et de fournir des cibles pour les programmes d’amélioration génétique de l’abricotier dans un contexte de changements climatiques. / Nowadays, increasing attention is focused on perennial crop species and their wild relatives. The domestication of perennials is expected to follow different processes than annuals, and there is limited knowledge about how perennial plant species evolve in response to human intervention or changing environmental conditions. Indeed, the diversity of perennial species results from a series of mechanisms of evolution, which include natural and artificial selection, gene flow between wild and cultivated compartments, and dynamics of dispersion at large scales, often over long periods. Unraveling the evolutionary history and domestication processes of long-lived tree species is expected to provide insights into the potential differences and similarities between annual and perennial species, and furtherly to facilitate breeding efforts for traits of interest.In the current PhD thesis, we focused on apricot species, Prunus armeniaca L., and its related species from the section Armeniaca (Lam.) Koch.. We characterized genetic diversity and variability and addressed a few important questions related to fruit tree origin, evolution and domestication, and further identified candidate genes and loci underlying important agronomic traits that have been under selection during domestication.Our microsatellite data and approximate Bayesian computation revealed that the wild species P. armeniaca and P. sibirica diverged ca. 8 to 16 Mya ago, followed by interspecific hybridization leading to a new, isolated species, in Western China. We also showed that the European and Chinese apricots were domesticated independently either both from the Central Asian wild progenitor or from the hybrid species.Following the same strategy, we studied the genetic diversity and structuration of the only European Armeniaca species, P. brigantina Vill. and thus questioned its classification among the genus Prunus.Finally, taking advantage of the de novo assembly of a high-quality apricot reference genome and of extensive resequencing data, we focused on how selection has influenced genomic architecture in apricot (P. armeniaca). To test for common or distinct signatures of selection, we took advantage of the parallel history of domestication in the European and Chinese apricots and compared with their wild, Central Asian progenitor. We detected evidence for artificial selection at a genome-wide scale, both for European and Chinese apricots, with a significant number of homologous genomic signatures of domestication, thus indicating convergent yet independent selection of a common set of genes during two geographically and culturally distinct domestication processes. We also identified signatures of selection which could be associated with local adaptation in either wild or cultivated apricots.Therefore, a better knowledge on apricot evolutionary history combined with comparative population genomics enables the identification and utilization of adaptive and domestication traits that are important for apricot cultivation, It is expected to provide an unprecedented opportunity to identify the genetic basis of long-lived perennials’ adaptation and domestication.

studies were conducted to better understand the influence of temperature on the rest period of dormant peach and apricot buds. Gleason Elberta peach and Chinese apricot trees in the field at Howell Experiment Station in Ogden were used to evaluate rest intensity, respiration, and cold hardiness in relation to temperature. A rest intensity curve was obtained for both species using various concentrations of gibberellic acid. It was found that temperature had no direct effect on the depth of rest and that the depth of rest had no measurable influence on respiration and cold hardiness. Respiration of flower and leaf buds was not affected by temperature until after the rest period was over and the temperature rose above 40 F. However, cold hardiness was directly affected by temperature during the rest period. As the temperatures dropped the cold hardiness increased in both species. Lovell peach seedlings were placed in 5 gallon containers and placed in controlled temperature chambers. At 3 different periods, 3 trees were removed from 9 different temperature treatments. It was found that 40 F was generally more effective in breaking rest than was 32 F. Light did not seem to affect the rest period significantly.

This thesis investigates pricing to market behavior in the exports of Turkey, which is a small economy. The investigated sectors are hazelnut, dried grape, dried apricot, dried fig and feldspar. The sectors are selected because Turkey is the leading producer and exporter for these products in the world. We apply pricing to market model for the exports from Turkey to each of the largest importer countries and the world in total for each product to check whether there is monopolistic behavior in the markets. We also check whether there is complete local currency price stability in the investigated markets. The relationship between the import shares of destination markets in the Turkey&amp / #8217 / s exports and the estimated pricing to market elasticities are compared as well. In general, we find that there is pricing to market in the exports of Turkey for the investigated sectors.

Revised; Originally Published: 2000 / 7 pp. / The mid elevations (3,500 to 6,000 feet) in Arizona can be ideal for growing tree fruit. Site selection can make a pronounced effect on how well fruit will grow and produce. The warmer the site the greater the chance of success. Areas where cold air settles are a poor choice for tree fruit production. Variety selection is very important for good fruit production.February and March are the best months to plant bare root trees, although they can be planted anytime during the dormant season. Try to plant 30 days before bud break. Containerized plants are best planted in late September through early October. The open center pruning system allows for more sunlight to reach all the branches of the tree. Whereas the central leader is used with those trees that are less vigorous. Training trees when young is an important step in ensuring a strong scaffold system when bearing. Fruit thinning helps to control fruit size and consistent bearing. Proper fertilization, irrigation, and pest control will promote healthy productive trees.