Thinning fruit to prevent alternate bearing?

[TexasTycoon]

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/patiocitrus/containers.html

^That page on container citrus from TAMU recommends thinning fruit in the spring to one fruit per every 42 leaves. I generally take TAMU's advice at face value because I figure they've done the research and know what they're talking about, but I'm having a hard time digesting this recommendation which would leave my new Seto satsuma mandarin (which currently has over 20 fruits set and at least as many blossoms) with about 3 or 4 fruit for this season.

It is so tempting to leave everything on that has set and just see what happens, but I've already jacked up one satsuma by not heeding advice, so I don't really want to repeat that.

What say you, citrus-growing members of T-ville?

[Worth1]

Kelly I have no idea but I can tell you that a lot of the Texas A&M stuff is way antiquated and they need to update it or remove it from the internet.
Depending on what link you click on just might send you the wrong direction.
If it were me I would thin the fruit at a distance to 1/2 the diameter of the intended size of the fruit.
In other words if the fruit is to be 3 inches in diameter thin to 3 inches apart.
This will give each fruit 1 1/2 inch to grow on each side.
I will show you a picture of why in a bit.
Another reason for thinning is so the fruit wont break the limbs.
You can get around this by supporting the limbs.

Like I said I will have to take a few pictures and show you what I am talking about.

Worth

[Worth1]

Here are my Loquat trees this year in the pictures you may be able to see the difference in fruit size depending on whether they are crowded or not.
The trees are loaded with them.
Worth
IMG_20160317_16311.jpg

IMG_20160317_25141.jpg

IMG_20160317_3549.jpg

IMG_20160317_44570.jpg

[TexasTycoon]

Okay that makes sense and leaves me with more fruit! There are a few clusters so they would definitely be crowded if I left them all to ripen. How would I support the limbs in a container? I have stakes, so I guess maybe tying the limbs to stakes if needed? Thanks for the pictures, they did help me understand what you meant.

[Worth1]

Strings from fruit bearing limb to main branch/trunk or stakes in the container up to the branch.
After this years crop on one of the trees the larger one I am going to prune it again and cut off a main fork at the bottom that is in the way.
When I bought these two trees they were in gallon containers and about a foot tall.

Worth

[Worth1]

I planted a Hamlin orange and the deer kept eating it.
Soon the sour orange sprouted below the graft and the part I wanted croaked.
I let the sour orange continue to grow until there was a sprout on the Hamlin graft.
Here it is after I cut off the sour orange root stock suckers a new Hamlin sprout.
One thing for certain it has one heckler of a root system now.
Worth
IMG_20160317_6202.jpg

[TexasTycoon]

Hopefully the deer won't get it this year!

Worth I meant to tell you, I felt like such a smartypants at my mom's birthday dinner last night when both her and my Gram were wondering why they didn't have as many peach blossoms this year as last year. I remembered what you'd said in another thread when I was talking about trying to grow a peach tree from a pit, that they need enough cold days to produce, so I told them that was probably the reason since we didn't have much cold this winter at all. Neither of them knew that and my grandparents have had peach trees on their property all my life!