Ripening Time of Peaches in China and Methods for Preventing Fruit Drop

The peach (honey peach) is a fruit native to China, also known as honey peach, peach fruit, or peach. It generally begins to bear fruit 2-3 years after planting, reaches full fruiting at 6-7 years, and gradually enters decline after 15-20 years. So when does it usually ripen? How do you prevent fruit drop?

When do peaches ripen?

Peaches usually ripen from June to August, but due to factors such as growing region and variety, their ripening time also varies. For example:

1. Chongqing region

Peaches in the Chongqing region ripen from May to July, with varieties such as Guifei peach, yellow peach, and flat peach.

2. Fenghua, Zhejiang

Fenghua peaches ripen each year from late July to early August, with individual fruits averaging 125 grams.

3. Nanhui District, Shanghai

Nanhui peaches ripen and come to market mainly from mid-July to early August, and can be purchased from online stores, fruit shops, or picked on site.

4. Longquanyi District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province

Longquanyi peaches come to market from mid-to-late May and finish in early October, with a supply period of more than 120 days. More than 20 varieties are mainly promoted, including Chunlei, Jingchun, Zaoxiangyu, Qingfeng, Chunmi, Chunxue, Zaochun, Xiahui No. 6, and others.

5. Shangping Town, Lianping County, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province

Shangping peaches ripen around July and are famous for their bright color, large fruit, tender flesh, and sweet, crisp taste.

6. Fu'an City, Ningde City, Fujian Province

Muyang peaches ripen from May to July, with individual fruits weighing 110-160 grams; the flesh is milky white, the juice is abundant, the taste is richly sweet, and the flesh is soft and juicy.

How do you prevent peach fruit drop?

For growers, besides good fruit quality, high yield is also a major part of increasing income, so preventing fruit drop is especially important. Below is an introduction to the causes of fruit drop and prevention methods.

1. Variety issues

Some varieties drop fruit due to genetic reasons and their own varietal characteristics, generally called “pre-harvest fruit drop”;

Solution: choose peach varieties with strong disease resistance, vigor, and good quality.

2. Uneven soil moisture

Peach trees especially like water, but they are also especially afraid of “waterlogging”; peach trees lose their leaves after 24 hours of flooding and die after 48 hours. Because the root respiration of peach trees is especially intense and requires sufficient oxygen, once flooded, the roots lack oxygen and cannot grow, causing fruit drop above ground;

Solution: in summer, when there is a lot of rain, the groundwater level in the peach orchard rises, so farmers should promptly dig ditches and drain water to lower the groundwater level. Ditches should be properly coordinated throughout the entire orchard and between fields, paying attention to the overall humidity conditions of the orchard and the basic soil conditions. When digging ditches, dig them deeper to form a relative slope. In plain areas, the roots of peach trees should be “ridged,” and can be raised 50 cm above the flat ground.

3. Damage from pests and diseases

Brown rot, white rot, fruit borers, and others are all factors that cause peach fruit drop.

Solution: check whether there are pathogens at the roots of the peach tree. If tumor-like protrusions are found, it can be diagnosed as “crown gall.” This disease spreads quickly, and there is currently no cure. If one tree is found, dig it out and burn it immediately, otherwise the entire peach orchard may die. If it is other pathogens, simply apply the appropriate treatment in time. In addition, in winter before peach trees sprout, applying lime sulfur mixture to branches and trunks where disease may occur has a certain preventive effect.

Now is exactly the time when peaches are on the market. Friends who like to eat them can buy them at fruit shops or online stores, or bring family and friends to the orchard for picking.