Guoshun Zhang

Zhejiang Tangyuan Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, 311106, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Genomics and Applied Biology, 2026, Vol. 17, No. 4   
Received: 13 Jul., 2026    Accepted: 17 Aug., 2026    Published: 29 Aug., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Fruit thinning is an important horticultural practice for regulating fruit load, improving resource allocation, and enhancing fruit yield stability and quality in loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) production. Excessive fruit setting often leads to intense competition for assimilates, resulting in reduced fruit size, uneven development, and inferior commercial value. This review summarizes recent advances in the effects of fruit thinning on loquat yield formation, fruit quality improvement, and physiological regulation mechanisms. Fruit thinning can optimize the source-sink relationship by reducing fruit competition, increasing individual fruit weight, improving external appearance, and promoting the accumulation of soluble sugars, organic acids, vitamins, and bioactive compounds. Furthermore, thinning regulates photosynthetic performance, hormone metabolism, and carbon-nitrogen balance, thereby facilitating fruit expansion and quality formation. The effects of thinning intensity and timing vary among cultivars and cultivation environments, highlighting the need for precise management strategies. Case studies demonstrate that the integration of fruit thinning with fertilization, irrigation, canopy management, and digital orchard technologies can significantly enhance production efficiency and economic benefits. Future research should focus on developing cultivar-specific thinning models, exploring molecular mechanisms underlying fruit load regulation, and applying precision agriculture technologies to achieve sustainable and high-quality loquat production.

Fruit thinning; Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica); Yield regulation; Fruit quality; Source-sink relationship