6 Major Precautions That Cannot Be Ignored in Yellow Peach Cultivation

Yellow peach, also known as yellow-fleshed peach, is named for its yellow flesh. It is praised as a health fruit and a peach for nourishing life. At present, the yellow peach cultivation area in China is increasing year by year, but yellow peach cultivation is by no means simple. The following precautions must be kept in mind!

1. Choose suitable varieties according to your own actual situation

The main varieties of yellow peach include:

1. Fresh-eating varieties: Jinxiu, Jinxiang, Jinyuan, Jinchun, Jinhuangjin, etc.

2. Processing varieties: NJC83, NJC19, Huangjinguan, etc.

3. Dual-purpose fresh-eating and processing varieties: Zuanshijinmi, Huangjinshi, Huangzhonghuang, Huangjinkui, Jinhuanghou, etc.

Therefore, it depends on which direction you personally tend toward when choosing to grow yellow peaches.

2. Orchard site selection for planting yellow peaches

Peach trees are drought-tolerant and suitable for planting in places with relatively loose soil. Therefore, in the process of cultivating yellow peach trees, sandy soil with good drainage performance should be selected. The soil salt content needs to be controlled below 0.1%, the organic matter content needs to be above 1%, and the groundwater level needs to be below 1 m.

In addition, when planting yellow peaches, the distance between trees should be controlled within a reasonable range of 2~4 m, and the row spacing should be controlled at 4~6 m. Controlling the row spacing can effectively ensure light between yellow peach trees, help promote the growth and development of yellow peach trees, and make management easier.

When planting on flat ground, dig planting holes 1 m in length, width and depth respectively, and adopt ridge cultivation; pile subsoil and topsoil separately. Apply 1500~2000 kg of decomposed chicken manure, pig manure, cattle pen manure, etc. per mu, 100~150 kg of commercial organic fertilizer, and 50~100 kg of superphosphate. Mix the topsoil with the base fertilizer and backfill it in the lower layer, and build the subsoil into a tree slightly raised.

3. Pay attention to row and plant spacing when planting

In the process of planting yellow peaches, a suitable planting time should be chosen. Either after leaf fall in autumn or the following spring can be chosen. Plant the yellow peach trees before they sprout in March.

Before cultivation, choose relatively high-quality strong seedlings. If the roots are too long, they can be pruned appropriately. The planting depth should be such that the grafting interface is exposed 3~5 cm above the soil surface. Plant according to the method of “three burials, two tramplings and one lifting of the seedling” (that is, the process of burying soil three times, trampling firmly twice, and lifting the seedling upward once), so that the root system is fully in close contact with the soil.

After cultivation, the young yellow peach trees should be irrigated uniformly, and after straightening the seedlings, soil should be banked up.

4. Pay attention to pruning and shaping during young tree management

Before sprouting, young trees should be trimmed accordingly. Based on the growth condition of the seedlings, leave 50~70 cm for trunk determination. Thinner seedlings should have a shorter trunk determination, and thicker seedlings should have a correspondingly longer trunk determination.

Using the plump bud zone of the seedling as the standard, cut off the remaining branches and buds. Prune the tree shape into a “Y” shape, and maintain the trunk height at 30~50 cm. The opening angle of the main branches is most suitable when maintained at 45~50°.

When yellow peach trees are in the period of vigorous growth, more attention should be paid to pruning yellow peaches, especially summer pruning.

For young yellow peach trees, the main focus is shaping, expanding the crown as much as possible so that the shapes of the backbone branches at all levels are more distinct. For non-backbone branches, appropriate pruning should be carried out to gradually cultivate fruiting branches.

5. Pay attention to flower and fruit management

1. Pollination: Depending on the varieties planted, decide whether to configure pollinizer trees or use artificial pollination. For artificial pollination, select robust peach trees, pick open flowers, and gently shake the picked flowers by hand to separate the anthers from the stamens and obtain golden-yellow pollen. Mix the pollen thoroughly with clean talcum powder or fine dry starch at a ratio of 1:10~20, put it into a gauze bag, and pollinate with a special tool.

2. Thinning buds and flowers: For varieties with many flower buds and a high fruit-setting rate, thinning buds and flowers has a better effect. It can save a large amount of nutrients and promote the growth of new shoots in the early stage and the development of fruit. The reserved amount for bud and flower thinning should be 20~30% more than planned. First thin the flowers at the base of fruiting branches, keep the flowers in the middle and upper parts, and in the middle and upper parts thin double flowers and keep single flowers; all those on reserve branches should be completely thinned.

3. Fruit thinning: It should be carried out from two weeks after flower drop to before the hard pit stage. The method is to thin from the inside first and then the outside, and from the top first and then the bottom. First remove small fruits, double fruits, deformed fruits, and insect-damaged or diseased fruits, then remove fruits facing upward and fruits on leafless fruiting branches. Select and keep fruits that are large and well-shaped. The preferred retained positions are fruits on both sides of the fruiting branch and growing downward. The spacing between fruits on the same fruiting branch should be 4~5 cm. Keep 3~4 fruits on long fruiting branches, 2~3 fruits on medium fruiting branches, and 1 fruit or none on short fruiting branches and bouquet-like fruiting branches. Keep 1~2 fruits on secondary shoot fruiting branches, keep none or few on extension branches, and keep none on reserve branches.

4. Bagging: After fruit setting is completed, bagging should be carried out in time. Special bags for yellow peaches need to be used, and a suitable time should be chosen. The bagging order should follow the principles of early-maturing first and late-maturing later, inside first and outside later, and top first and bottom later. Bag removal needs to be carried out within 10~20 days before the fruit ripens. Before removing the bag, the single-layer bag needs to be opened and slowly removed. For double-layer bags, the outer layer should be removed first, then the inner layer. In some areas with concentrated rainfall, the bags cannot be removed during the fruit ripening period.

6. Pay attention to pest and disease control

Common yellow peach pests and diseases mainly include fruit borers, peach aphids, leafminers, bacterial shot hole disease, anthracnose, brown rot, gummosis, peach leaf curl, etc. Attention should be paid to prevention first, timely medication, and integrated control.