Pruning Methods and Technical Points for Akizuki Pear Trees
Akizuki pear trees have strong growth vigor in young branches, a low germination rate, and relatively high branching ability. They readily form short fruit spurs, and one-year-old branches can form axillary flower buds after being left unpruned. So, what are the pruning methods for Akizuki pear trees?
1. What are the pruning methods for Akizuki pear trees?
They are mainly divided into winter pruning and spring pruning. Winter pruning is the removal of residual branches, useless branches, duplicate branches and crossing branches to reduce nutrient consumption so that more nutrients are stored over winter; spring pruning mainly involves trimming branches and leaves, cutting short excessively vigorous branches and removing weak branches, to promote the growth of damaged buds and more flowering later on, improving fruit quality and yield.
2. Cultivation techniques for Akizuki pear trees
1. Orchard establishment
Choose a plot with irrigation available and fertile soil to establish the orchard. When establishing the orchard, select large, strong seedlings. When planting, decide whether to dig planting holes according to the soil conditions. On hilly land, planting holes need to be dug, gravel cleared out, and soil replaced and backfilled. On flatland sandy loam, there is no need to dig planting holes.
2. Planting
On fertile flatland, a spacing of 1m×4m or 2m×4m is generally used in the early stage, and later (after 8-9 years) changed to 2m×4m or 4m×4m; on hilly land, 0.75m×4m or 1m×3m is suitable in the early stage, and later changed to 1.5m×4m or 2m×3m. For pollinator varieties, cultivars with relatively high economic value such as Nansui and Kisui can be chosen, with a pollinator tree ratio of 7-8:1.
2. Flower and fruit management
Thin flowers during the flower cluster separation stage of Akizuki pear, pollinate when 25% of flowers are open, and thin fruit in suitable weather.
Flower thinning: generally leave 1 flower cluster at a spacing of about 25cm, and remove all the rest;
Pollination: use mixed pollen for artificial pollination, which can noticeably increase fruit size;
Fruit thinning: remove fruit damaged by pests and diseases, poorly fertilized fruit, misshapen fruit, leaf-rubbed fruit, upward-facing fruit and downward-hanging fruit.
3. Fertilizer and water management
Akizuki pear belongs to the sand pear group and has relatively strict requirements for fertilizer and water, preferring heavy fertilizer and abundant water. The principle of fertilization should be mainly organic fertilizer, supplemented by chemical fertilizer.
Under normal circumstances, before the soil freezes, apply 150-200kg of granular organic fertilizer with an organic matter content of more than 30% per mu to 4-6-year-old trees, together with 100-150kg of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizer.
To improve fruit quality and prevent physiological diseases, apply 150g of borax per tree to the soil, applied every other year, 200g of calcium nitrate, 1-1.5kg of crushed peanut shells (or rice hulls), 0.5-1.0L of 100-fold diluted EM microbial fermentation liquid, 0.25-0.3kg of peat soil, and 8-10g of magnesium sulfate (to improve the fruit’s surface gloss), thoroughly stirred and then applied.
Shallow fertilization is recommended, generally at 10-20cm below the soil surface. Topdressing should be done in early August, that is, in the late fruit growth stage, mainly with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. Foliar fertilizer spraying should generally be carried out 4-5 times a year.
Akizuki pears are juicy and sweet; as long as they are carefully tended during the planting process, their yield will also be very high.