Six key points for autumn management of peach trees

1. Timely pruning. The peach tree originated at high altitude with strong sunlight, which formed its light-loving characteristic. In addition, peach shoots can undergo repeated extension growth, peaks and multiple secondary shoots, so timely pruning in autumn to create good ventilation and light conditions is more important for peach than for other tree species. ① Thinning. Timely remove excessively dense branches, weak twigs, diseased and insect-damaged branches, upright useless branches and long leafless branches, etc. ② Bending. For upright peach trees that tend to grow vigorously, use bending, hanging and propping methods to increase the angle of the main branches and moderate tree vigor. ③ Twisting. For competing branches and upright branches with space to retain, twisting or pressing down can be carried out. For strong vigorous branches or branch groups on the upper part of the canopy, the vigorous shoots can be thinned and then twisted or pressed down, to control their growth, promote flower bud differentiation, and use them for fruiting. Be careful when twisting: from the base they can be twisted 180 degrees, but must not be broken, so that upward growth turns into horizontal growth. ④ Retraction. For overlapping branches, crossing branches and old weak branch groups within the canopy, shorten and retract them. For medium and long branches whose tips have already fruited, retract them in time, leaving 2-3 reserve branches at the base to promote vigorous growth and fruiting. ⑤ Pinching. To make branches plump and mature, pinch the tips of late-autumn shoots that are still growing late.

2. Drought prevention and drainage. Experiments have shown that when soil water-holding capacity is 20-40%, peach can grow normally, but when it drops below 15%, adverse phenomena such as wilting will occur. Although peach is a drought-tolerant tree species, to obtain high yield and good quality, water supply must be ensured in time at each growth stage. In the dry and rain-scarce north, if autumn drought lasts a long time, measures should be taken to replenish water, which is especially important for mid- and late-maturing varieties.

Peach trees are intolerant of waterlogging. In rainy autumn, special attention should be paid to drainage. In the rainy season, combined with intertillage and weeding, the tree disk should be shaped higher inside and lower outside to prevent water accumulation at the root crown and cause root crown diseases. For peach orchards on lower terrain, drainage ditches should be dug well and drainage carried out in time to eliminate future trouble. The method used by fruit growers of mounding soil at the root crown of peach trees to prevent waterlogging should be promoted. In northern fruit regions, the method summarized by many fruit growers of shallow hoeing after light rain and deep hoeing after heavy rain is greatly effective for drought prevention and drainage and should also be vigorously promoted.

3. Pest and disease control. Protecting peach leaves and trunks from pest and disease damage in autumn can improve photosynthetic efficiency, enhance stored nutrients, and greatly affect the yield and quality of late-maturing fruit in the current year, as well as the flowers and fruit of other peach trees the following year. For autumn pest and disease control on peach trees, insecticides can include imidacloprid, diflubenzuron No. 3, chlorpyrifos, etc., and fungicides can include polyoxin, Yibao, Daconil, thiophanate-methyl, etc. For example, spraying leaves with polyoxin 500 times solution + diflubenzuron No. 3 2000 times solution can have a good effect on controlling pests and diseases, reducing early leaf fall and trunk damage, and enhancing photosynthetic products. For trees with gummosis, first scrape off the gumming lesions and loose bark, then apply raw gypsum powder to the gumming sites; thiophanate-methyl wettable powder mixed with an equal amount of plant ash or edible vinegar solution can also be applied to the affected parts.

4. Applying base fertilizer in autumn. Practice shows that applying base fertilizer in autumn results in earlier flowering, more flowers, larger flowers and a higher fruit-setting rate than applying base fertilizer in spring. Base fertilizer should be mainly organic fertilizer with an appropriate amount of chemical fertilizer added; the chemical fertilizer should be mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, with appropriate amounts of medium and trace elements added. The amount of base fertilizer applied should account for 60-70% of the total annual fertilizer application. For mature trees, fertilizer application should be based on fruit yield and overall tree vigor, calculated as about 200 kg of organic fertilizer, 0.7 kg of available nitrogen, 0.5 kg of phosphorus and 1.0 kg of potassium for every 100 kg of peach fruit produced. For newly planted young trees, organic fertilizer should be emphasized, with little or no nitrogen fertilizer, and fertilization should be based on the principle of not stimulating excessive vegetative growth of young trees. As for varieties, early-maturing varieties can be given appropriately less nitrogen; varieties with strong upright growth are prone to strong upper growth and weak lower growth and should also be given less nitrogen. Old trees and weak trees should have the nitrogen application rate appropriately increased. The best time for autumn base fertilizer application is around September, and it can also be carried out before and after leaf fall in combination with autumn plowing. The fertilization method is by radial trench or ring trench, with depth reaching the main root distribution layer. In dry mountain areas where roots are shallow, apply at a depth of 20-40 cm; in plains with fertile and thick soil, apply at a depth of 30-50 cm. When digging pits for fertilization, topsoil and subsoil should be placed separately, fertilizer should be mixed evenly with topsoil and filled into the bottom of the pit, and old soil should be placed on the surface. In recent years, experienced fruit growers have achieved notable results by spraying leaves 2-4 times at 10-15 day intervals with 0.3-0.5% monopotassium phosphate after fruit harvest on trees with high fruit load.

5. Sufficient winter irrigation. To ensure water supply for peach trees during the overwintering period, it is necessary to irrigate once with freezing water from late October to mid-to-late November in early winter after autumn base fertilizer application, and the water should soak through the dry soil layer. If there is a lot of autumn rain, the soil moisture is good, and the soil is relatively clayey, light irrigation or no irrigation may be used. After irrigation, loosen the soil in time to preserve moisture and prevent freezing.

6. Autumn plowing and soil mounding. In the northern dry plateaus, when there is more autumn rain, only weed rather than loosen the soil. Before and after leaf fall, carry out intertillage and soil loosening in combination with base fertilizer application and irrigation. The depth should be about 25 cm, and near the trunk circumference it should be shallow, about 10 cm, to the extent of not injuring thick roots, gradually deepening from inside to outside. During autumn plowing, appropriately mound soil around the trunk to protect the root crown for safe overwintering and reduce freezing injury and disease. Protecting the root crown of peach trees well, not allowing the area around the trunk to be low-lying, and preventing water accumulation at the root crown from causing disease and damage are important measures that must not be ignored to ensure healthy growth, high yield, good quality and stable production of peach trees.