A Complete Guide to Peach Tree Propagation Timing and Methods

SummaryPeach tree propagation timing: Generally, propagation can be carried out around April-May in spring, or around August-September in autumn. Propagation method: First, harvest the ripe fruit, remove the flesh and keep the seeds, then soak them in clean water for about 5 days, take them out and place them in a spot with diffused light and moisture; after one week, they can be sown for propagation. This treatment method can greatly increase the seed germination rate. When the seedlings grow to about 3cm, reasonable close planting can be carried out.

I. Peach tree propagation timing and methods

1. Generally, peach trees can be propagated around April-May in spring, or in August-September in autumn. Usually, the ripe fruit is harvested, the flesh is removed, and the seeds are kept.

2. Before sowing in autumn, the seeds need to be soaked for about 5-7 days. Before sowing in spring, the seeds need to be stored in wet sand for about 4 months. The sowing rate per mu is about 25-30 kg. When the peach seedlings grow to about 3cm, thinning and final spacing can be carried out, with a plant spacing of about 20-25cm.

II. Peach tree planting techniques

1. Propagation

(1) The seedlings can generally be used as rootstock. When the seedlings grow to 25-30cm, the growing tips can be pinched off, which helps the seedlings thicken. Around late summer and early autumn, they can reach the thickness required for rootstock grafting.

(2) Transplanting is generally carried out in early spring or after leaf fall in autumn. Seedlings can be transplanted bare-root or with mud slurry coating, while large seedlings need to be transplanted with a soil ball.

(3) Large seedlings need proper shaping and pruning during later cultivation to help form a framework. They can generally be trained into a natural open-center canopy or a natural cup-shaped canopy.

2. Field planting

(1) Peach seedlings can generally be field planted after leaf fall until before bud break, with a plant spacing of about 3-4m, a row spacing of about 4-5m, and about 500-840 plants per hectare.

(2) Peach orchards are not suitable for continuous cropping, otherwise it easily leads to slow growth of young trees, leaf chlorosis, gum exudation on branches, and discolored new roots with many forks.

(3) Residual roots of the previous crop decompose in the soil and produce toxic substances such as benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid, which inhibit and poison the root system. Therefore, in sandy soil or soil with lower fertility, this continuous cropping intolerance is more severe, and soil nematodes also increase during continuous cropping.

3. Reasonable fertilization

(1) During the growth process of peach trees, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium requirements is roughly 1:0.5:1.

(2) To prevent excessive vegetative growth in young peach trees, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied should be properly controlled. During the full fruit-bearing period of peach trees, in order to strengthen tree vigor, more nitrogen fertilizer should be applied. The potassium content in peach fruit is about 3.2 times that of nitrogen. In order to promote larger fruit and increase yield, potassium fertilizer should be appropriately increased.

(3) Bearing trees generally need fertilizer application 3 times per year. In October-November, base fertilizer can be applied together with deep plowing and land preparation, mainly organic fertilizer, which can account for about 50% of the annual fertilization amount.

(4) From the end of April to May, during the fruit pit-hardening stage, fruit-strengthening fertilizer can be applied. Early-maturing varieties are mainly given potassium fertilizer, while for mid-to-late-maturing varieties, nitrogen accounts for about 15-20% of the annual amount, potassium about 40%, and phosphorus about 20-30%.

(5) Apply post-harvest fertilizer before and after harvesting peaches, accounting for 15-20% of the annual amount. In addition, regular intertillage and weeding are needed to keep the soil loose, and timely drainage should be carried out to prevent waterlogging and root rot.

4. Shaping and pruning

(1) Peach trees are generally pruned in winter and summer, mostly trained into a natural open-center shape, with the trunk set at about 60cm, retaining 3-4 main branches, and each main branch can retain 1-2 secondary main branches.

(2) After 3-4 years of field planting, because peach trees grow relatively vigorously, there are many excessive vegetative branches and the shoots are relatively dense. In order to keep the fruit balanced, proper pinching, bud removal, shoot twisting, and so on should be carried out.

(3) During the full fruit-bearing period, peach tree vigor is relatively moderate, but the proportion of medium and short fruit branches increases, so proper heading back is needed to remove overly dense or strong distal branches, thereby improving light conditions for the fruit trees.