One thing that usually baffles new tree growers is that the fruits produced by their trees are much smaller than the ones they used to see at the grocery store. "What's wrong with my tree?", "Oh my God! What have I done!?" Some are crying out, you may hear from a disgruntled tree grower. However, small fruits are a natural phenomenon. But while smaller fruits may be what nature originally intended, it is possible to obtain larger fruits without any genetic changes or additional chemicals. It is only through advanced techniques that professionals reach such great sizes with their fruits.
Usually in the early stages of growing fruit trees, giants do something called "fruit thinning." The theory behind this process is that with fewer fruits focused on, the tree will be able to send the remaining fruit to cells more efficiently. When there are hundreds of tiny fruits on a tree that compete for the available materials needed for growth, you will most likely end up with a bunch of fruits. To combat this problem, pluck a third of the fruit very early in the process. You should notice larger fruits in that season.
On almost any tree, the success of each individual fruit depends on the distance. There should usually be no fruit within six to eight inches of each other. During the fruit thinning process, this is the distance you should typically aim to optimize the amount of nutrition each fruit receives. Any closer and you'll find they're crowding each other. This is usually the first mistake a new tree grower makes. It's not always a good thing to start growing tons of fruit!
Sometimes small fruits are caused by conditions beyond the gardener's control. During the process of cell division in which all the new fruit comes into being, cold weather can be fatal to your fruit size. Likewise, if the weather turns cloudy especially early in the season, there will be fewer carbohydrates available to your plants. Sometimes, if all factors are against the well-being of your fruit tree, the fruit will drop to the ground before it is ripe. Lack of water or certain nutrients, or excessive pests and diseases can also harm fruit development. If you notice these things going on early in the season, you should be thinning the fruit more than usual. Sometimes up to three quarters of the fruit should be removed, so that the remaining ones can get full nutrition.
The best way to find out how to get bigger fruit sizes is to experiment. If your tree has been around for some time, there is almost nothing you can do to make it die or stop producing fruit. Just try different thinning techniques or anything else you can think of to make the fruit bigger. You can also go to your local nursery and ask what they would suggest. They will be able to advise you based on your area and the specific tree, which is better than anything I can tell you. So don't compromise on small fruits. Go out there and find out what exactly you need to do to improve shape.
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