“…The elimination of fruiting structures would favor light distribution and the naturally occurring return bloom (Lauri et al, 1997(Lauri et al, , 1998Wünsche and Lakso, 2000). However, lower values of light intensity increase the likelihood that apple fruits 8-30 mm in diameter will fall from the tree (Byers et al, 1991). Likewise, shading by the canopy produces diminished photosynthesis (Burnside and Bhöning, 1957;Rom, 1991), flowering (Lauri et al, 1996), fruit set (Lauri et al, 2004), fruit size (Raffo Benegas et al, 2004;Rodríguez and Raffo, 2006) and fruit coloration (Raffo Benegas et al, 2006), and increases the susceptibility to diseases during storage (Flore and Lakso, 1989).…”