It's ironic … in order for farmers to know if their fruit is ripe, they regularly have to pick and analyze pieces of that fruit, reducing their yields. Utilizing a new technique, however, they could ...

How can you tell if fruit has reached its optimal ripeness without picking it, touching it or carrying out any test that might damage it? A research team from the Department of Analytical Chemistry ...

Autumn drapes gardens in gold, but that cosy leaf blanket hides a costly surprise for anyone who tends fruit trees. Many home growers love the idea of letting nature do the tidying. It looks gentle, ...

Winter fruit tree pruning starts as soon as leaves drop from the trees. It’s easier to see the branching structure of the tree — I call it the tree’s “architecture” — after the leaves are gone. This ...

Q: I have a 9-year old apricot tree that produced a bumper crop of delicious apricots each year. However, this year there is an abundance of fruit set but not many leaves. Unless the number of leaves ...