How Long Is the Peach Tree Growth Cycle? Detailed Explanation of the Reasons for and Methods of Pruning During the Growing Season

The peach tree (a deciduous tree in the rose family, Rosaceae) generally refers to the peach, a small deciduous tree grown for its fruit, which is eaten as a fruit; its flowers are ornamental and its fruit is juicy.So how long is the growth cycle of the peach tree? Why should it be pruned during the growing season? How should it be pruned?

How long is the growth cycle of the peach tree?

The life cycle of the peach can be divided into the young tree stage, the early fruiting stage, the full fruiting stage, the late fruiting stage and the senescence stage.

April (flowering period):

1. In late April, apply topdressing and irrigate after flowering (with a smaller amount of water); carry out artificial pollination and flower thinning.

2. Spray foliar fertilizer (urea, monopotassium phosphate, photosynthetic micro-fertilizer, etc.) once every 10 to 15 days.

3. Control aphids, bacterial shot hole disease, etc.

4. After the flowers fade, spray a 500-fold solution of amino acid micro-fertilizer plus a 300-fold solution of monopotassium phosphate once every 10 days, for 3 to 4 consecutive sprays; this can reduce fruit cracking in peaches, especially late-maturing peaches, and increase yield.

May (rapid shoot growth period):

1. Thin the fruit; bag the fruit of early-maturing varieties.

2. In mid-to-late May, apply the pit-hardening fertilizer, then irrigate and loosen the soil.

3. From late May, begin summer pruning (pinching, ring girdling, bending branches, etc.).

4. Control peach scab, red spider mites, peach fruit borers, etc.).

June (fruit enlargement period):

1. Complete the first summer pruning in early June and finish bagging late-maturing varieties.

2. Mulch the orchard with grass.

3. From late June, begin harvesting early-maturing varieties.

4. Spray pesticides to control the first generation of the peach fruit moth, the peach leafhopper, and other pests.

July (flower bud differentiation period):

1. In early-to-mid July, apply pre-harvest topdressing for mid-maturing varieties, and irrigate and loosen the soil according to soil moisture conditions.

2. Carry out the second summer pruning in mid-to-late July.

3. Spray pesticides to control the pale noctuid moth and other pests and diseases.

August (shoot growth cessation period):

1. In early August, apply topdressing and water, and harvest mid-maturing varieties.

2. Control the second generation of the peach fruit moth and other pests and diseases.

September to October (fruit ripening period)

1. Apply base fertilizer early for early- and mid-maturing varieties.

2. Harvest late-maturing varieties.

3. Spray foliar fertilizer and fungicides to protect the leaves.

4. Spray pesticides to control pests and diseases,

November (leaf fall period):

1. Apply sufficient base fertilizer and irrigate with winter water

2. Spray the whole tree once with a high-concentration 40- to 50-fold half-strength Bordeaux mixture to control peach leaf curl and other diseases.

December to February (dormant period):

1. Clean up the orchard (remove old and diseased branches and leaves, scrape off loose bark).

2. Winter pruning (for young trees, mainly shaping; for mature trees, mainly balancing tree vigor and maintaining high and stable yields).

3. Apply wound protectant.

March (before bud break):

1. After the soil thaws, promptly dig around the tree base to loosen the soil and help the roots spread.

2. From late March to early April, apply topdressing (mainly nitrogen fertilizer) and irrigate.

3. Before bud break, spray 3 to 5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture to prevent bacterial shot hole disease, fruit shrinkage disease and anthracnose.

Why should peach trees be pruned during the growing season?

1. The role of pruning peach trees

Pruning peach trees during the flowering period must be carried out on the basis of good soil, fertilizer and water management and pest and disease control in order to ease the conflict between vegetative growth and reproductive growth, delay the outward movement of the fruiting zone, extend the full fruiting period and increase the commercial value of the fruit, thereby achieving the goals of high yield, high quality and low consumption.

2. The main reasons for pruning during the flowering period

From late February to late March, peach trees often encounter late spring cold spells and rain and hail disasters. This is exactly the bud swelling and flowering period of peach trees, when they are extremely vulnerable to spring cold and rain and hail disasters; in addition, some peach trees are pruned too lightly in winter, leaving too many fruiting branches, which affects fruit quality. For the above reasons, it is necessary to prune peach trees during the flowering period.

How should peach trees be pruned?

Growing-season pruning runs from the end of flowering to leaf fall, once a month, generally 5 times. Pruning a little many times saves more labor than pruning a lot a few times, and is more conducive to the growth and fruiting of peach trees. The main pruning methods for growing-season pruning can be summarized in 6 words: “remove the umbrella, open the window, thin the dense”:

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

2. Open the window: thin out overly dense fruiting branch groups on scaffold branches.

3. Thin the dense: thin out overly dense new shoots.

4. Points to note

Growing-season pruning has a relatively strong inhibitory effect on tree growth, so the pruning amount should be light; each pruning should not exceed 5% of the total branches and leaves of the tree.

5. Pruning results

Through 4 consecutive years (a) of flowering-period pruning, it was observed that, compared with control peach trees (peach trees not pruned during the flowering period), the results were:

① Increased number of shoots.

② Reduced physiological fruit drop.

③ Slightly reduced number of fruits.

④ Increased fruit diameter and length, improving the commercial value of the fruit.