How to make cherry field management more effective

The key points of the annual management techniques for cherry trees are as follows:

1. November to early March of the following year: winter pruning and orchard cleanup. Three tree forms are mainly used in current production:

① Natural open-center form; the trunk heading height is generally 45-60 cm, the trunk height is 30-50 cm, with 3-5 main branches, and the main branch angle is about 30°. On each main branch, 5-7 lateral branches are trained, borne in tiers, generally 4-5 tiers, with 1-2 per tier, a tier spacing of 60 cm, a lateral branch spacing of 30 cm, and a lateral branch angle of 50°, mainly training laterals on both sides or the dorsal-oblique side;

② Clustered natural form; generally 5-6 main branches, with the trunk and main branches clustered near the ground. On the main branches, 3-4 lateral branches or large fruiting branch groups are borne;

③ Central-leader tiered form; the trunk height is 50 cm, and the tree height is 2.5-3 m. There are 6-8 main branches, borne in 3-4 tiers. The first tier has 3-4 main branches, each bearing 4-6 lateral branches respectively, and the main branch angle is 60°. The second and third tiers have 2 main branches each, with an angle of 45°. The main branch angle of the fourth tier should be less than 45°. The lateral branches borne on the main branches of tiers 2, 3, and 4 are all 2-4 in number. The tier spacing between the first and second main branch tiers is 70-80 cm, and the tier spacing between the second and third main branch tiers is 60-70 cm. The trunk heading height of cherry is determined according to the requirements of different high-yield tree forms. In the first year after planting, generally 3-5 branches can be produced, and during pruning, good main branches should be selected and retained according to the specific branching situation. To train the tiered form, first retain the upright vigorous branch below the pruning cut as the central leader, and a pruning length of 50 cm is appropriate; then select 2-3 vigorous branches with suitable angles as main branches. To train the natural open-center form, first select and retain 2-4 vigorous branches with suitable angles as main branches. After trunk heading, if the branching position is too low, it can be trained into the clustered natural form. In the second year after planting, to train the natural open-center form, select and retain branches with suitable angles as lateral branches at 60 cm from the base of the main branch. For the central-leader tiered tree form, select the lateral branches on the first-tier main branches well, and select the second-tier main branches well on the central leader at 70-80 cm from the upper first-tier main branches. In the third to fourth years after planting, continue to train the main and lateral branches. Cherry grows rapidly. During the young tree period, it is necessary to maintain the dominant-subordinate relationship of the tree body, pay attention to balancing tree vigor, and open the branch angles. Make full use of measures such as summer pinching to increase the amount of branches and leaves, and train fruiting branch groups as much as possible to lay the foundation for early fruiting and early high yield. After entering the initial fruiting stage, the focus is on training scaffold branches and fruiting branch groups. For those trained as branch groups, leave 20 cm and short-cut in the first year; in the second year, short-cut the first bud branch again, thin out or leave unpruned the dense and weak branches among the remaining branches, and short-cut moderate branches to promote branching; in the third year, thin out the strong and vigorous branches at the tip of the branch group, and leave the middle and weak branches in the lower part unpruned, gradually training them into compact branch groups. For varieties with strong branching ability, when using moderate branches to train fruiting branch groups, first heavily short-cut; in the second year after branching, pinch the new shoots to promote branching; in the third year, thin out the strong branches at the tip. Leave the moderate and weak branches unpruned and gradually train them into fruiting branch groups. After entering the full fruiting stage, in order to maintain and rejuvenate the growth vigor of scaffold branches, heavily cut the extension branches of scaffold branches. Retract large and medium fruiting branch groups, appropriately thin flower-bud-like fruit branches, promote branching, and enhance tree vigor. Thin out strong upright branches and overly dense branches. Other 1-year-old branches are generally not short-cut, and can be capped at blind nodes or have their terminal buds broken to promote the growth of leafy cluster short branches. In full-fruiting-stage trees, the proportion of short fruit branches is relatively large, and short fruit branches die after 5-6 consecutive years of fruiting, becoming budless empty branches, so reserve branches need to be retained during pruning. To prevent the fruiting area from moving outward and the crown interior from becoming bare, branch groups within the crown should be strengthened by retraction, renewal, and rejuvenation.

2. Mid-to-late March: fertilize and irrigate, and prepare pesticides. If base fertilizer was not applied in autumn, it should be supplemented in spring. Irrigate the whole orchard once with thorough water. Boil lime sulfur mixture.

3. Early-to-mid April: intertillage, spraying, foliar fertilization during the flowering period, and frost prevention. After irrigation, intertillage should be carried out in time, and a loosening depth of about 6 cm is appropriate. When the tree buds swell, spray 3-5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture generally once to eliminate overwintering pests and diseases. Spray 0.1%-0.2% borax or 0.3%-0.4% potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Cherry flowering is easily damaged by late frost. In places with more late frost, irrigate once before cherry flowering to delay the flowering period and avoid frost damage.

4. Late April to early May: topdressing after flowering, summer pruning, irrigation, and pest and disease control. Start topdressing after cherry petals fall; on average, each fruiting tree can be applied with 1 kg of nitrogen fertilizer, while small trees with 0.25 kg. Remove double buds and overly dense buds. From petal fall to harvest, irrigate once a week on average. After harvest, the number of irrigations can be determined according to soil moisture conditions. During this period, pests such as red spider mites, aphids, and scale insects are prone to occur. Corresponding insecticides should be applied for control, and weeds in the orchard should be removed.

5. Mid-May to late June: harvest. Early-maturing varieties such as Zaozi are generally harvested in mid-May. After that, mid- and late-maturing varieties such as Nahewang and Huangyu also mature successively. Harvested cherries should retain the fruit stalk, and care should be taken to pick and place them gently, and pack and transport them carefully to avoid damage.

6. July-August: intertillage and weeding, summer pruning, and pest and disease control. Remove all weeds in the orchard and transport them outside the orchard to make green manure. When new shoots grow vigorously in the rainy season, pinch them in time to ensure ventilation and light penetration of the tree body. In autumn, boat-shaped caterpillars are prone to eat leaves, so corresponding insecticides should be sprayed.

7. September-October: fertilize, irrigate, loosen soil, and plow the land. Apply base fertilizer by the ring-shaped trench method; apply 100-250 kg of organic fertilizer per large tree and about 50 kg per small tree. After fertilizing, irrigate once with thorough water. After irrigation, when the soil is no longer sticky, the whole orchard can be plowed once generally.