A Complete Guide to Peach Planting Methods and Techniques

Peaches are a nutritious fruit; the fruit is generally eaten fresh or made into preserved peaches, canned peaches, and so on, and the kernel can also be eaten, making it fairly popular on the market. Let's take a look below at the planting methods and techniques for peaches.

1. Planting Peaches

For peaches, it is best to choose well-drained, loose sandy loam soil, with a south-facing slope being best, but continuous cropping should be avoided, meaning land where peaches have already been planted cannot be planted with peaches again. Before planting peaches, the soil must be deeply turned and improved; sloped land should be terraced, the soil layer thickened, and then planting holes or planting trenches dug according to the row and plant spacing. This should generally be determined according to variety characteristics, terrain, soil conditions, training system, and cultivation method. Varieties with strong tree vigor can be planted a bit more sparsely, while varieties with weak tree vigor can be planted a bit more densely.

2. Soil Management

In young orchards, vegetables can be planted in summer and green manure crops in winter, which can both increase orchard income and improve soil fertility; mature orchards are not intercropped; ② in summer, cultivate and loosen the soil and remove weeds; in autumn and winter, deeply turn the soil and expand the planting holes, apply more organic fertilizer, and improve the soil's physical and chemical properties.

3. Fertilizer and Water Management

Fertilizer and water management for peach trees in the first year after planting: the first year after planting is key for the peach tree's growth and formation, and in fertilizer and water management, “light fertilizer applied frequently” should be practiced. From March to June, apply fertilizer about once every half month, for a total of 8 applications. The first 6 applications are one bucket of clear manure water plus 2 liang of urea applied to 4 trees, to encourage more branch growth and leaf development and rapid formation; the last 2 applications are one bucket of clear manure water plus 2 liang of monopotassium phosphate applied to 4 trees, to promote branch maturity and flower bud differentiation. Fertilizer and water management in the second year after planting and thereafter: peach trees are more tolerant of poor soil than citrus, apples, and so on, but after they begin bearing, fertilizer should be applied at least three times a year.

4. Pest and Disease Control

With peaches, attention must be paid to preventing and controlling pests and diseases. The common main ones include the following:

Peach brown rot: mainly harms the fruit. At first, brown round spots appear on the fruit surface, then spread to the whole fruit, and the flesh turns brown and soft-rots. Control methods: remove overwintering sources of the pathogen, control spreaders such as weevils and stink bugs, spray 4-5 degree Baume lime sulfur mixture at bud break, and antifungal agents such as zineb and thiophanate can also be used.

Peach anthracnose: mainly harms the fruit, with heavier onset under damp, rainy conditions, and May is the peak period of onset; after young fruit is affected, it becomes mummified fruit. After the fruit swells, water-soaked spots expand into round, reddish-brown, sunken spots. Control methods: remove overwintering sources, spray 4-5 degree lime sulfur mixture and thiophanate in early spring, and use antifungal agents such as carbendazim and thiram.

Peach leaf curl: overwintering pathogens invade after peach buds sprout and leaves unfold, causing shrinkage and distortion into deformed leaves; diseased leaves become thicker and gradually turn reddish-brown. The control methods are basically the same as the above two diseases.

Peach planting and management are relatively simple. Shaping and management in the first year are fairly critical, and in the following years management can be reduced, allowing them to grow naturally.