I have one branch of Pink Parfait that gets bitterpit real bad. I will try dissolving an excess of calcium compound, like eggshells, in in vinegar and spraying the resulting calcium acetate on that particular graft all next summer. LINK to calcium acetate.
I don't see why garden lime or oyster shells would not work as well.
I'm mulching my fruit with coffee grounds (because it makes the blueberries happy) and egg shells. I dunno if the coffee grounds are going to please or displease the apple trees, but I'm hoping the egg shells will be a bitter pit prophylaxis.
Haven't done it for long enough or gotten enough fruit to know if that kind of casual calcium feeding will do any good.
mh
Apple trees vary in how much they are prone to 'bitter pit'. The old local oddball, 'Buckley Giant' had it every year. I think it is important to keep the pH up above 6.5 and you need to test for that. Do not do any radical pruning in any one season. Do not over fertilize with nitrogen. A good annual application of limestone flour and monitoring pH, "which is pretty easy", is important.
Of course, read up on varieties before you plant, and don't plant Buckley Giant, unless you like bitter pit.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fa...../1403.html
We like clams and oysters and we put those and eggshells below all our fruit trees for the calcium and other minerals. We smash the clamshells first to make the nutrients more quickly available and to make them sharper We also like them because they annoy slugs. They probably also improve drainage.
John S
PDX OR
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
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