Ahhhhhhh, to bite into a sweet fresh apple!!!!! Or maybe you prefer it in a hot pie, topped with ice cream! Either way, alot goes into getting that flavor, much like what it takes to grow in Christ.
First, when you buy an apple tree, it needs good soil to grow and it needs to be staked or grounded. New christians are the same! Studies say that in the first 12 weeks of a new christian's life if they are not discipled, prayed with, and encouraged in their walk, they'll fall away.

Apple trees are not self-pollinating, nor do they pollenate with apple trees of their variety. They need cross pollenation to grow the best fruit, meaning they need another variety of apple tree to pollenate with. God's design of different spiritual gifts and personalities had a reason, try grouping a new christian with a new christian and see how little growth you get. But, group that new christian with a more mature christian and watch them both grow!

Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it.  This is the infant stage of a christian. A central leader apple tree has one main upright trunk, called the leader. This is it's strength. For the first few years, you prune away branches, making room for strong branches from the leader trunk. These branches will eventually be strong enough to bear "much" fruit.  Little by little, as christians, branches are pruned, although at times it seems painful, God has a reason.

That reason is so we enter into the intermediate stage of fruit bearing "That it may bear more fruit".
There is still pruning during this stage. Winter pruning of an apple tree invigorates it, causing it to grow and produce more branches, while summer pruning, devigorates it, causing it to grow less. What? Cause it to grow less? Yes, that is the time that undesirable branches are pruned. Christians go through winter and summer pruning also. Winter pruning is that mountain top high, when something great has opened your eyes to God's greatness and whew! you are ready to grow and on fire for the Lord. Summer pruning, well it's in that valley that God shows us alot of the undesirable that has to be pruned to keep growing and producing fruit.

Big, juicy, succulant apples, my mouth waters thinking about it. But, even in the apple tree's "mature" stage of life, there is pruning. There are still dead branches to deal with and thinning out. Growth never stops. Even the fruit gets thinned out. Would you rather have a bowl of small apples or a few large ones? Also, by not thinning fruit, sometimes the result is no fruit the next year. As an infant and intermediate christian, we sometime dive into everything that comes along that is of God. This isn't always bad, we need to find our talents and gifts for Him. But, we often burn out, sometimes completely. A mature christian has learned to hone in on what they do best for God. Therefore, some of the fruit is thinned so the fruit left grows bigger and better.
Yes, it says "more" fruit! But that goes back to the infant stage, if we're not growing quality fruit, then there is no fruit :) God deserves the best from us!