What causes deformed fruit on peach trees? Latest analysis
Peaches are one of the fruits we eat quite often in daily life, and peach trees are planted on a relatively large area in our country. When growing peach trees, we must pay attention not only to the yield and quality of the peaches, but also to their appearance, since appearance directly affects the commercial value of the peaches. Yet farmers often find that peach trees tend to produce a lot of deformed fruit. So what causes deformed fruit on peach trees? And how can it be reduced? Let's take a look below!
I. Causes of deformed fruit
1. Climatic causes
During the flower bud differentiation stage of peach trees, if the weather is unfavorable, it can very easily cause deformed fruit. For example, long periods of high temperature and lack of water will inhibit flower bud differentiation in peach trees, or even stop it altogether. Many peach varieties, especially early-maturing varieties, show a tendency to bear deformed fruit. This is mainly caused by excessive changes in the surrounding environment. If peach trees are stimulated during flower bud differentiation, or the conditions required for flower bud differentiation are not met, the normal growth of the peach tree will be seriously affected, leading to various adverse phenomena.
2. Variety causes
Variety is also a main cause of deformed fruit in peach trees. For example, early-maturing varieties show more deformed fruit, while mid- and late-maturing varieties show less. This is because early-maturing varieties ripen relatively early, and in the later stage basically no one pays attention to them, so improper water and fertilizer management means there are insufficient conditions during flower bud differentiation. Mid- and late-maturing varieties are just the opposite, so deformed fruit is less common. In addition, if the spacing between two flowers is too small, then when the fruit sets, the fruits easily join together, forming “twin” deformed fruit.
II. How to reduce deformed fruit
1. Improving the environment
After peach trees enter the flower bud differentiation stage, we should do a good job of improving the environment. In July and August, peach tree flower bud differentiation is most sensitive to temperature changes. The temperature must not be too high; if it exceeds 30 degrees, then shading work should be done well to reduce light intensity and temperature. This reduces the phenomenon of double-pistil flower buds and can thereby reduce deformed fruit. In addition, during the high-temperature stage, we should pay attention to keeping the soil moist; weeds can be allowed to grow appropriately to improve the soil environment and enhance the soil's moisture-retention capacity. Water can also be sprayed appropriately to lower the temperature in small areas of the orchard during high temperatures.
2. Strengthening management
When managing peach trees, we should manage them according to the characteristics of the variety, such as early, mid- or late maturity. Do a good job of water and fertilizer management, foliar fertilization, pruning, and plant protection. Especially after entering September, management methods should be reasonably adjusted according to weather changes. When the weather is dry and the temperature is high, water and fertilize promptly. If September is dry, it will affect the growth of autumn shoots on the peach tree, causing the tree's transpiration to roughly exceed its original accumulation, and deformed flowers will therefore increase. As a result, deformed fruit on the peach tree will also increase the following year, so we must strengthen management work. Deformed fruit that appears should be removed promptly to avoid consuming too many nutrients.
The above is a brief introduction to the causes of deformed fruit on peach trees. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!