Must-know! 5 Key Points of High-Efficiency Cultivation Techniques for Late Honey Peach

As a late-ripening peach variety, the honey peach, with its characteristics of high sweetness, bright color, late ripening, large size, good storability and high yield, fills the gap of very few excellent late-ripening varieties in the country and meets the urgent demand of the current market. Below let us take a look at the 5 key points of high-efficiency cultivation techniques for late honey peach.

1. Key point of high-efficiency cultivation techniques——Planting

The planting time is spring planting. In the winter before planting, use an excavator to deep-plow the ground once, and apply 2000-5000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu. The planting density is 3 m×4 m on plains and 2 m×4 m on hills and mountainous land. When planting, dig planting holes, water thoroughly after planting, and cover with plastic film to increase the survival rate.

2. Key point of high-efficiency cultivation techniques——Fertilizer and water management

In the first two years after planting, adopt the intercropping method, that is, interplant short-stalked crops such as peanuts and ginger between the rows. After entering the fruiting stage, take technical measures such as growing grass in the orchard and covering the tree disk with grass to improve the soil.

Jinqiu Hongmi is a late-ripening peach that matures in mid-September. After harvesting the fruit, base fertilizer should be applied immediately, mainly by trench application, applying 2000-5000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure per mu, mixed with 50 kg of compound fertilizer.

Topdressing is carried out 3 times each year. For the pre-flowering fertilizer, a compound fertilizer with 15% each of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is best, and 0.5-1 kg is applied per mature tree. The 2nd time is from late May to early June, applying a three-element compound fertilizer, in the same amount as the 1st time. The 3rd time is from late August to early September, applying a high-potassium compound fertilizer, generally about 0.5 kg per tree, so as to increase fruit sugar content and improve coloring.

Peach trees are drought-tolerant but not tolerant of waterlogging, and this variety is no exception. Therefore, in a normal year only 1 watering is needed, that is, watering after autumn base fertilizer application (especially trench application) to settle the soil. In dry years, pre-flowering water, post-flowering water, fruit-swelling water and freezing water can be applied. In case of heavy rain, drain promptly to keep the orchard free of standing water.

3. Key point of high-efficiency cultivation techniques——Shaping and pruning

At present, the tree form used for planting Jinqiu Hongmi is still mainly the natural open-center form, and some also use the trunk form for shaping and pruning, with good performance.

The trunk form is characterized by having a central leader and no main or lateral branches. Large, medium and small fruiting branch groups are borne on the central leader, and the canopy is cylindrical. The tree height is 2.0-2.5 m, the canopy is 2 m, and 15-20 fruiting branch groups are retained, with the branch groups spaced about 0.2 m apart and arranged in a staggered manner.

Growing-season pruning is carried out from flower drop to leaf fall, once a month, generally 5 times. The pruning methods can be summarized in 6 words: “remove the umbrella, open the window, thin the dense”:

►Remove the umbrella means thinning out the fruiting branch groups on the upper part of the tree or on the scaffold branches that seriously affect light, as well as upright water sprouts.

►Open the window means thinning out overly dense fruiting branch groups on the scaffold branches.

►Thin the dense means thinning out overly dense new shoots. Use methods such as bud removal, pinching, branch bending and branch twisting in alternation.

Winter pruning adopts the long-branch pruning method, basically without heading back.

4. Key point of high-efficiency cultivation techniques——Flower and fruit management

(1) Use artificial pollination, mason bee pollination, etc. to improve the fruit-setting rate.

(2) Reasonably thin flowers and fruits. Flower thinning is generally carried out from the large bud stage to the early full-bloom stage, and the amount of flower thinning is generally 1/3 of the total number of flowers. Fruit thinning should be done as early as possible, generally in two rounds. The 1st fruit thinning is about 20 d after flowering, mainly thinning out deformed fruits, such as double-stigma fruits, leafless fruits and twin fruits; the 2nd fruit thinning is carried out during the hard-pit stage of the fruit, first thinning out withered and yellow fruits, diseased and insect-damaged fruits, and deformed fruits, and then thinning out upward-facing fruits and small fruits on weak branches in the inner canopy.

(3) Fruit bagging. Bagging is carried out after fruit thinning. Before bagging, spray the whole orchard once with an insecticide and fungicide. The paper bags used are dark-colored double-layer bags.

5. Key point of high-efficiency cultivation techniques——Pest and disease control

►Before March 15, spray the whole orchard once with 5 degrees Baume lime-sulfur mixture or 500 times highly concentrated strong orchard-clearing agent. When the flower buds show red, spray the whole orchard with imidacloprid at 2500 times.

►In late April, spray the whole orchard once with Mieyawai at 1000 times plus carbendazim at 700 times plus potassium dihydrogen phosphate at 250 times.

►In mid-May, spray the whole orchard with abamectin at 2000 times plus chlorpyrifos at 1000 times plus zineb at 700 times.

►In mid-June, spray once with avermectin at 4000 times plus cypermethrin at 1500 times plus Daconil M-45 at 800 times.

►In mid-to-late July, spray bifenthrin at 1500 times plus thiophanate-methyl at 700 times plus life essence at 3000 times.

►In mid-to-late August, spray beta-cypermethrin at 1500 times plus Daconil M-45 at 800 times plus life essence at 3000 times.

►In late September, spray the whole orchard once with chlorpyrifos at 1000 times + carbendazim at 800 times.