"Juco" wrote in message
k...
Every year I have the same problem....Tree blossoms lots of little apples
form and then most fall off I usually end up with 2 or 3 apples. The ends
of
each branch are usually misformed and looks like shrivalled or eaten.The
tree is about 10 years old about 3 mtres high.

To pick up on what Kay posted:

the thing that made me think of poor nutrition was the shrivelling of the
branch ends.

We have a Queen Cox which has never done particularly well, and this year it
didn't even blossom.
Each year it started off fine, but then the leaves started to go discoloured
with brownish patches, not the healthy green you expect, and the new shoots
at the ends of the branches tended to shrivel.
The shrivelling was mainly due to attack by aphids, but the other fruit
trees are strong enough to resist this.

This year (finally) I cleared a much larger area around the tree, dug it
over and added chicken manure, Growmore, spent mushroom compost. I then
watered everything well over the next weeks.

The tree is now looking much happier and is putting out new healthy robust
shoots.
The older leaves are greening up, although still showing the results of the
earlier damage.

Sunlight is not a problem, but the area surrounding the tree is old
established lawn, which doesn't seem to have much organic stuff in the soil
(pale colour) and is generally dry and hard as rock.

So the digging over and feeding seem to have made quite a difference.
The wetter June/July may also have helped.

Trees in general are very hardy and spread their roots around to get food.

However if there isn't much of anything available they will still struggle.

Feeding them usually helps, as does keeping a clear area around them to
reduce the competition with lawns etc. for the available food and water.

Cheers
Dave R