By Patthorpe
Gloucestershire,
United Kingdom 
what is causing my herefordshire russet apples to split , turn black and stop developing. tree bought 3 years ago and no fruit to eat so far despite plenty of blossom
1 Oct, 2010
If the first thing that happens is splitting of the skin, the cause of that is irregular water supply once the fruitlets have formed - they start to grow, stop because of lack of water, then once water arrives, they grow too fast and the skin can't keep up, splits, and then you get other diseases entering the fruit, such as rot, etc.
1 Oct, 2010