Is Fruit Tree Antifreeze Effective? Analysis of the Most Effective Methods to Prevent Frostbite in Fruit Trees

Whether fruit trees can safely overwinter is crucial, as it directly relates to the fruit harvest of the coming year and the benefits for fruit growers. Sois fruit tree antifreeze effective? What can be done to prevent frostbite in fruit trees? Which method is most effective?

I. Is fruit tree antifreeze effective

1. Yes. After fruit trees are coated with antifreeze, a white tight protective film forms, thereby greatly reducing damage to the tree from frost, severe cold, late frost, sunscald and so on. The tree can rely on this tight film to block the invasion of pathogens and pests, and to prevent adult insects from laying eggs and pests from overwintering.

2. Which fruit trees need antifreeze for cold protection?

Fruit trees are a type of tree species with special uses. Such trees can not only play a role in greening and beautifying the environment, but also provide humans with various delicious fruits for tasting and eating. The growth and development of such trees are fundamentally different from the common greening tree species we generally see, especially in terms of physiological growth and nutrient reserves, where there are great differences. Below I will introduce the characteristics of the physiological growth of fruit trees.

(1) Fruit trees consume more nutrients, and their nutrient reserves are relatively small.

(2) Fruit trees have relatively more pests and diseases. If control is not strengthened, it is unfavorable for the fruit trees to overwinter safely.

(3) Fruit trees tend to produce vigorous shoots and autumn shoots, and the degree of lignification cannot reach the level needed for safe overwintering.

(4) Fruit trees exhibit alternate bearing and weak trees, and their resistance to external low temperatures decreases.

(5) Fruit trees undergo relatively heavy artificial pruning, resulting in more wounds, which easily causes frost damage.

(6) Improper management of fruit trees easily causes nutrient deficiency and nutritional imbalance in the trees, which is unfavorable for safe overwintering.

3. Plant antifreeze has the following prominent advantages on fruit trees, so that in fruit tree frost protection we should give priority to using Kuaihuolin antifreeze to fundamentally change the cold and frost resistance of fruit trees to adverse external environments

(1) It can regulate the growth vigor of trees and improve the development of fruit trees toward a robust direction.

(2) It can promote the increase of the degree of lignification of fruit tree branches and trunks and make the buds robust and plump.

(3) It can promote the accumulation of dry matter and nutrient reserves in fruit trees, making the nutrition of fruit trees balanced and their resistance enhanced.

(4) It contains a special callus-promoting agent, which can repair injured or frostbitten plant cells and enable frostbitten fruit trees to gradually recover healthy growth.

(5) It can increase the thickness and tolerance of plant cell walls, so that the plant body temperature reaches balance, and cools or warms at a uniform or slow rate, effectively reducing the harm of large temperature differences. 

(6) It can increase the sugar content of fruits, increase the coloring degree of fruits, and reduce cold damage and the storage and transport tolerance of fruits.

4. Timing of antifreeze use: 

After fruit harvest in autumn or at the Autumn Equinox, begin spraying plant antifreeze, until 3—5 days before leaf fall;

In spring, prevent late spring cold and repair frostbitten fruit trees. Combined use with Chunyu No. 1 and potassium fertilizer gives better results.

II. What can be done to prevent frostbite in fruit trees

1. Increase fertilizer to strengthen trees

Before the cold wave arrives, apply base fertilizer to fruit trees. Supplement the fruit trees and enhance their cold resistance. Apply early and deeply to promote root growth of fruit trees, enhance photosynthesis, and improve the nutrient reserves of fruit trees. This plays an important role in the overwintering of fruit trees! Base fertilizer should mainly be organic fertilizer, combined with quick-acting chemical fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

2. Freezing irrigation

Water releases a large amount of latent heat when it freezes. Taking advantage of the effect of soil “freezing at night and thawing during the day”, irrigate the orchard before the soil freezes. Balance the surface temperature and reduce damage to fruit trees from overwintering insects. During winter irrigation, the amount of water should preferably soak through the fruit tree root zone (40~60 cm). After irrigation, the maximum soil moisture in the field is 60%-85%.

3. Whitewashing branches

Before winter begins, use whitewash to paint the branches, trunks, roots and other parts of fruit trees white. While effectively preventing freezing, it can also remove pests and pathogens inside the branches. The commonly used whitewash formula is: 1 part sulfur powder, 0.1 part vegetable oil, 10 parts quicklime, 1 part salt, 20 parts clean water. The prepared whitewash should have good viscosity and be able to adhere to the trunk when applied to fruit trees. At the same time, when brushing, the whitewash should be applied into the inner parts of the bark cracks. Areas such as diseased branches should be brushed with emphasis.

4. Covering the ground

Cover straw, rice straw, dry grass and so on between the rows of fruit trees to prevent cold waves from attacking the root crown of fruit trees. Reduce the loss of soil moisture and enhance soil temperature. When covering, straw, stalks and so on should be cut into small pieces of 15-20 cm, and after covering, add a layer of soil to prevent them from being blown away by the wind.

5. Burying soil for cold protection

Before the soil freezes, bury young trees with fine moist soil, with a soil depth of 15-20 cm, without air leaks. For larger fruit trees, soil can be buried at the root crown, with a thickness of 20-30 cm, to prevent the root system from being exposed and frozen.

6. Wrapping the tree body

For fruit trees with weaker cold resistance, before the cold wave arrives, use straw rope or rice straw to wrap key parts such as branches and the main trunk. Prevent fruit trees from being attacked by cold waves and reduce water loss in the trunk.

7. Covering the tree canopy

For some evergreen fruit trees, non-woven fabric, plastic film, shade netting and so on can be used to cover the canopy area to prevent freezing. During the day when the temperature is above 5°C, open the covering, and cover it again at night to prevent frost damage.

8. Setting up windbreaks

Set up shelterbelts and so on to improve the microclimate of the orchard and reduce the attack of cold waves on fruit trees. Shelterbelts use a combination of trees and shrubs. For orchards without shelterbelts, dry grass, straw and so on can be used to set up 2-3 rows of windbreaks. Protect the root crown of fruit trees from freezing.

9. Spraying lime

Before the cold wave arrives, spray lime and antifreeze on the orchard to ease the sharply dropping temperature in the orchard, and at the same time regulate the cell permeability of fruit trees. Spraying lime at 50-100 kg is appropriate.

10. Smoke heating

On the coldest nights in winter, use weeds, chaff, firewood and so on as fuel. Choose the upwind area of the orchard to ignite, so that smoke fills the entire orchard, and stop smoking at dawn. It is appropriate to have 3-4 ignition points per mu.

III. Which method is most effective

Fruit tree antifreeze can often achieve very good control results, but the cost is relatively high. Whitewashing tree trunks has low cost and obvious effects, and is a common method for preventing frostbite in fruit trees.