A Detailed Guide to Flat Peach Planting Methods and Precautions

The flat peach that the general public knows as a food comes from mythological dramas; in reality, it is simply a variety of peach, but it holds a very high status among peaches. Because it has nutritional and edible value such as replenishing qi and blood and nourishing yin and promoting fluid production, it is loved by the public. However, many people know nothing about how to grow this kind of peach.

How to Grow Flat Peaches

1. Planting method: The plant and row spacing for flat peach planting is 4×5 m or 3×4 m, with 35-55 plants per mu. Planting can be done anytime from leaf fall to before bud break. Continuous cropping must be avoided, otherwise young trees will noticeably weaken in growth, leaves will lose green color, new roots will turn brown and become highly branched, and the trunk and branches will exude gum.

2. Rational fertilization: The approximate ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium requirements for flat peaches is 1:0.5:1. For young trees, care should be taken to control nitrogen fertilizer application, otherwise excessive vegetative growth is easily caused. After the full fruiting stage, increase nitrogen fertilizer application to strengthen tree vigor.

3. Tree pruning: The flat peach is a light-loving fruit tree with weak apical dominance, strong growth vigor, and a relatively short lifespan. Its sprouting ability and branching ability are both very strong, and it easily produces second- and third-order secondary shoots. If pruning is improper, fruiting will be poor. Therefore, for training or pruning, an open-center tree shape without a central leader is mostly used.

Flat Peach Planting Methods and Precautions

I. Planting Methods

1. Orchard site selection: Peach tree species are all drought-tolerant and afraid of waterlogging, and their roots have high oxygen requirements for respiration. When establishing an orchard, choose land with a relatively low groundwater level, convenient drainage and irrigation, good soil permeability, and moderate acidity and alkalinity, such as sandy soil.

2. Variety selection: There are many peach tree varieties. China alone has more than 800 varieties, and together with quite a few varieties introduced from abroad, it is estimated that there are 1,000 peach varieties. Each region should choose varieties suitable for local cultivation according to actual conditions. It is most ideal to select a combination of early-, mid-, and late-maturing varieties for orchard establishment according to manpower and material resources.

3. Planting seedlings: Before planting seedlings, place the selected peach seedlings at the edge of the pit according to the planting plan, and cover the roots with moist soil. Shape the upper part of the pit into a mound, place the seedling in, and work in pairs, with one person holding the seedling and one person filling soil. The person holding the seedling should turn the grafted bud to face due north, and align the plants and rows from front to back and left to right so they look straight. When the soil has firmly covered the root area of the seedling, the person holding the seedling should grasp the seedling with both hands and gently lift it up and down and left and right, shaking it while pressing the soil around the seedling firmly with both feet.

II. Precautions

1. Irrigation: Immediately after planting in the peach orchard, irrigate, and the first irrigation must soak through thoroughly. After the soil surface reaches suitable moisture, go into the field to inspect. Straighten and firm seedlings that have tilted or fallen. Seedlings that appear too deep after settling should be pulled up to a reasonable position, and those with exposed roots should be covered with soil taken from elsewhere. When peach buds begin to sprout, irrigate a second time in time, and stop irrigation as soon as the water flows to the spot.

2. Training and pruning: This is the core supporting key point of creeping peach cultivation technology, and it concerns whether cultivation succeeds and how benefits are reflected in the early, middle, and late stages. Adjusting the orientation of retained trunk and branch positions and balancing light penetration toward rationality is the central work of creeping cultivation. The reasonable arrangement of branches distributed on the trunk can ultimately be displayed only through training and pruning. This is one point. The second is that it concerns the yielding ability, stability, and fruit quality of creeping cultivation in many causal relationships, and it is the technical focus of success or failure in peach orchard establishment.

How to Keep Flat Peaches Fresh

1. Room-temperature storage method: The sugar content in peaches is relatively rich at 30 degrees. If placed in a refrigerator, the sugar content may decrease due to the low temperature, so if you want to eat sweet peaches, it is best to keep them at room temperature and not in a low-temperature refrigerator.

2. Chemical storage and fresh-keeping method: During storage, peaches often rot in large quantities because of brown rot disease. Before storing peaches, if they are soaked in a 0.1% mass fraction benomyl suspension at 40℃ for 25 minutes, peach rot can be prevented, but this peach preservation method is not highly recommended by everyone.

How to Select Flat Peaches

1. Look at color: If the outer skin of a flat peach is all green, then the inside is probably very sour too. If you like sweet ones, you can choose those with a larger red area on the peel. These are relatively sweeter and taste good.

2. Look at weight: Choose relatively heavy flat peaches. These have more flesh and are refreshing to eat. You can compare with both hands to see which one is heavier, and choose that one.

3. Look at shape: Generally they are flat little round discs. Everyone can just choose this kind. Do not choose strange ones, as that kind will also have a very unusual taste. They are either very sour or very astringent.

4. Look at size: Flat peaches that are too large will have no flavor and taste dry, while those that are too small have little flesh left after removing the pit. It is recommended to choose slightly larger ones, but not very large. One or two rings larger than the small ones is enough. Eaten this way, whether in sweetness or texture, they are just right.

5. Look at peach fuzz: Generally, peach-type fruits all have fuzz. We can observe the fuzz to judge the freshness of the fruit. If the peach fuzz stands up and looks lively, then it must be very fresh. If no peach fuzz can be seen, it should have been stored for a relatively long time. It is recommended to choose flat peaches with more fuzz.

The flat peach has fine names such as “immortal fruit” and “longevity peach.” Its shape is flat and round, and in real life it is also considered one of the relatively precious fruits. Eating some appropriately can indeed achieve health-preserving and health-care effects, but it should not be eaten too much, as it may cause internal heat.