How crop load density affects apple juice, hard cider quality

(American Society for Horticultural Science) 'York' apple trees were hand-thinned to different crop loads to assess the impact on hard cider chemistry. Total polyphenol content in juice did not differ among fruits at harvest, but, after fermentation, medium crop load had 27 percent, and high crop load had 37 percent greater total polyphenol content than low crop load. Yeast assimilable nitrogen concentration in juice from low crop load was 18 percent and 22 percent greater than the medium and hi...