Key Management Techniques for Apple Trees After Harvest
It is now late autumn, the apples have ripened, and some have already begun to be harvested. After harvest, fruit growers should pay attention to the three major post-harvest management measures.
Apply base fertilizer early. After the fruit is harvested, the third peak growth period of the root system arrives, and this is a good time to apply base fertilizer. For orchards in full fruit stage, the base fertilizer application rate per mu is 4000-5000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, 80 kg of phosphate fertilizer, and 30 kg of potash fertilizer. At the same time, add an appropriate amount of trace elements according to the nutrient deficiency situation, broadcast over the whole orchard and deep plow about 20-30 cm; for young bearing orchards, base fertilizer can be applied by digging radial or strip trenches, with the depth and width of the trench reaching more than 50 cm, and the fertilization rate halved compared with full-bearing orchards.
Post-harvest pruning. First, remove the water sprouts within the canopy, the upright tender shoots that sprouted in autumn, the sprouts near girdling and ringing cuts, and the restraining branches kept in summer. Second, cut back slender branches, senescent drooping branches, and branches dragging on the ground, and thin out weak slender branches, ineffective branches at the bottom that receive no light, and excessively vigorous branches in the middle and upper parts, so as to reduce nutrient consumption, promote branch fullness and plump buds, and help overwintering.
Clean up the orchard. After harvest, in combination with pruning, cut off all kinds of diseased shoots and buds and damaged branches, saw off and scrape off branches and trunks suffering from rot disease, and properly collect them at any time for destruction. Thoroughly clean up the residual branches, fallen leaves, and diseased and rotten fruits in the orchard and bury them deeply, destroy the insect cocoons on branch tips and the hiding places of pests in rough and cracked bark, thoroughly clean the orchard, eliminate sources of disease and pests, and leave no dead corners, so as to create a good ecological environment for apple production the following year.