Understanding the Latest Management Practices for Peach Trees in One Article

I. Spring Restoration Pruning

1. Remove dead branches, dead twigs, blind branches left over from winter, and autumn shoots with no leaf buds in the middle.

2. Bud removal: buds on the upper side of extension branches should be removed; for the terminal bud (tiger bud) of extension branches, two should be reduced to one; water sprouts near large wounds should also be removed.

3. For trees where winter pruning left branches too dense, the bearing branches on the upper side should be appropriately thinned so that bearing branches do not cross each other and do not overlap vertically.

II. Pest and Disease Control

Around May 10, when new peach shoots have not yet hardened and leaves are young and tender, various pests and diseases are most likely to occur, mainly newly hatched scale insects, stink bugs, brown rot, and anthracnose. At this time, for control, use 10 grams of thiophanate-methyl per tree, plus one packet (10 grams) of methomyl per tree.

Around May 25, before bagging, ensure the fruit is bagged with pesticide applied; spray once with pyridaben-copper at 20-25 ml per tree, plus 30-35 grams of oxytetracycline. This is a very important comprehensive control application, effective against red spider mites, stink bugs, shot hole disease, gummosis, and scab.

III. Timely Pinching Back

1. For newly planted peach saplings trained in the open-center form, when new shoots reach 45 cm, pinch back promptly at 40 cm. If not pinched back in time, the basal angle of the three main branches will become too wide, so be sure to pinch back before the new shoots become woody, ensuring the basal angle of the main branches is 45°-50°. For those planted in the central-leader form, pinching back is not necessary; let them grow freely, but after new shoots reach 20 cm, they must be tied to bamboo poles promptly, about three times a year, so the trunk can reach about 160 cm in height.

2. For two- to three-year-old young bearing trees, extension branches are generally pinched back at 40 cm. For water sprouts in the inner canopy on the middle and lower parts, it depends on the available space; thick branches can be pinched back higher, but limited to 35 cm; small branches can be pinched back lower, preferably 10—20 cm; where too dense, they can be appropriately thinned.

IV. Reasonable Fruit Thinning

The purpose of fruit thinning is, first, to improve the fruit quality of the current year, and second, to regulate the relationship between fruiting and growth of the peach tree, which is beneficial for continuous high yield and quality. Generally, the yield per mature peach tree should preferably not exceed 50 kg, that is, a maximum of 300 fruits retained per tree. The key is how to reasonably retain fruit: generally, long bearing branches retain 2 fruits, and medium and short bearing branches retain 1 fruit; for fruit retention, choose round, large fruits at the tip or in the middle; remove fruits on the upper side, basal fruits, small fruits, deformed fruits, and misshapen fruits. Thinning time: for Hujing Mihu and Xinfeng Mihu, start from May 15; white flower series varieties can be appropriately delayed. The number of fruits retained should be flexibly controlled according to tree size and vigor. Follow the principles of retaining fewer on the lower part and more on the upper part, fewer in the inner canopy and more on the outer periphery. Vigorous bearing branches can appropriately retain a few more fruits.

V. Bagging

Bagging helps improve fruit quality, helps reduce residual pesticide contamination on fruit, and helps control pest and disease damage, so bagging must be done at the right time. For varieties without physiological fruit drop during the pit-hardening stage, such as Hujing Mihu and Xinfeng Mihu, bagging can be done after May 15; for white flower series varieties such as Baihua and Datuan Mihu, bagging should be done promptly after May 25, but in all cases pesticide must be applied before bagging.

Post-bloom Management of Peach Trees

1. Watering and spraying after bloom. First, water half a month after petal fall; this watering should be later rather than earlier, as early watering easily causes fruit drop. Second, spray two weeks after petal fall, focusing on controlling aphids. This period is when aphids reproduce rapidly; if not controlled well, they can cause disaster. Spraying acetamiprid is quite effective. If red spider mites were not controlled earlier, spray abamectin once after wheat harvest. After the rainy season and for a period afterward, some peach orchards may suffer leafminer damage; control according to your own orchard conditions, and spraying diflubenzuron No. 3 works very well.

2. Fruit thinning and bagging. Fruit thinning is generally carried out from the end of natural fruit drop to the pit-hardening stage. The number of fruits retained should be determined according to tree age, tree vigor, soil fertility conditions, etc., with the yield generally set at about 2500 kg per mu. For bagging, choose paper bags. Because peach fruits are relatively large, choose somewhat larger paper bags. Remove bags 3-5 days before harvest. Bagging can not only improve the external quality of the fruit, but also effectively prevent damage from fruit borers, scarab beetles, birds, and hail.

3. Topdressing before fruit ripening. From 5-30 days before peach fruit ripening, it is a period of rapid growth and requires a large supply of fertilizer and water. Topdressing and watering during this period both increases yield and improves quality. Peach trees are potassium-loving fruit trees; biological potassium fertilizer should be the first choice, followed by potassium sulfate.

4. Summer pruning. Peach trees generally use the open-center form, with bearing branch groups selected and retained on the three main branches. The fruiting habit of peach trees is that shoots at the top bear fruit well; therefore, when pruning, appropriately retain more bearing branch groups and bearing branches on the upper and middle parts of the main branches, and retain more fruit. In summer pruning, paclobutrazol can be sprayed instead of pinching back; especially in early July, spraying 100-fold paclobutrazol on young trees works very well. If PBO is used instead of paclobutrazol, spraying twice in succession can also prevent freeze damage (peach tree gummosis is generally caused by freeze damage), prevent sprouting, etc.