What are the latest technical points for winter management of peach trees?

Peaches are a fruit that many people enjoy eating very much, and the planting area of peach trees in China is also very large. When growing peach trees, management methods must be constantly adjusted as the seasons change. Especially in the low-temperature season of winter, if management is improper, peach trees are highly susceptible to freeze damage, which affects flowering and fruiting the following year. So how should peach trees be managed in winter? Below, let's take a look together with the editor at the key points for winter management of peach trees!

1. Turning the soil and preparing the land

When managing peach trees in winter, the first thing to do well is turning the soil and preparing the land. Turning the soil in winter can ensure the soil is loose and improve soil permeability, thereby improving the soil structure. This ensures the peach trees can safely overwinter and creates a safe growing environment for them. Moreover, proper soil turning and land preparation can control the number of pests and diseases in the peach orchard and reduce the incidence of pests and diseases. For young trees, deep turning should be carried out at a position about one meter vertically below the canopy. Each year it can be gradually expanded, and the depth of deep turning should be kept at about 25 cm. For large trees, it can be combined with the application of base fertilizer, and if it is close to the trunk, it must not be too deep.

2. Reasonable fertilization

Fertilization of peach trees in winter is naturally also indispensable. The type of winter base fertilizer should mainly be organic fertilizer, and when applying organic fertilizer, care should be taken to ensure the fertilizer is fully decomposed. When fertilizing, the amount should be controlled according to the growth of the peach trees, tree age, and local environment, and it must not be under-applied. However, it should also be kept at about 3/5 of the total annual fertilization amount. The fertilization method is usually mainly trench application, centered on the peach tree canopy, digging a trench about 40 cm deep and 30 cm wide vertically from the outer edge. Then the fertilizer is applied directly into the trench and covered with soil.

3. Timely watering

Most of the time in winter is in a relatively dry state, so before winter arrives, we should water once with freezing water. This improves the safe overwintering rate of peach trees and can also reduce the harm to peach trees from wind erosion. An appropriate amount of freezing water can prevent the soil from cracking due to lack of water and from affecting soil temperature. Watering should be done when it freezes at night and thaws during the day, with special attention to thoroughly watering the areas where the roots are relatively dense. Keep the soil layer thickness at about 45 cm. If there is relatively abundant rain in late autumn, then there is no need to water with freezing water.

4. Winter pruning

Then there is the pruning work in winter. When pruning peach trees in winter, it should be done reasonably according to the age of the trees. Pruning young trees is mainly to expand the canopy area, which is the key to ensuring high yields in the future. Pruning should be carried out according to the requirements of the tree shape, cultivating the main branches and side branches well, retaining more auxiliary branches, appropriately adjusting the angles between the main and side branches, making primary and secondary branches distinct, and preventing them from affecting each other's growth space. Then, for trees that have grown for about 5 years and entered the full fruiting period, pruning is mainly to maintain tree vigor and adjust the growth relationship between the main and side branches. Also, renew the fruiting branch groups in a timely manner to avoid premature aging and improve the growth capacity of the inner canopy branches.

The above is a brief introduction to the key points of winter management of peach trees. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!