Abstract
A five-year experiment was conducted on 10-feet-tall Valencia trees on Swingle rootstock to determine the effects of skirting (lower limb removal) at 20 and 36 inches above ground level on yields and fruit quality. Average yields were not significantly affected by skirting at 20 and 36 inches. Fruit from the bottom of the unskirted trees showed significantly increased rind blemishes, were generally smaller in size, but had juice qualities at least equivalent to other fruit on the tree.
