Latest Post-Harvest Management Techniques for Cherries
Cherry is a fruit that everyone loves very much; its appearance is extremely attractive and appetizing, and cherries are also rich in nutrients, suitable for the general population to eat. Because cherries are so highly popular, the total area of cherry cultivation has also increased significantly. However, many people do not carry out scientific and proper management after harvesting cherries, which leads to a serious reduction in cherry yield the following year. So today let us learn together how cherries are managed after picking.
1. Supplementing Nutrients
After cherries are picked, timely topdressing is needed, so as to prevent the cherry trees from showing premature senescence. Therefore, after picking cherries, reasonable fertilization should be carried out according to the growth condition and tree age of the cherry trees. Generally, at the beginning, each tree only needs about three jin of compound fertilizer as topdressing, but if the cherry tree's growth is very weak, then about one jin of urea must be added on the original basis. If you want the cherry trees to recover their growth as quickly as possible, then we can also spray an appropriate amount of potassium fertilizer. Finally, and most importantly, before winter sets in, 3,000 kg of organic fertilizer should be applied as base fertilizer to ensure the yield of the coming year.
2. Clearing the Orchard and Disinfecting
After cherries are harvested, a large amount of fallen leaves, some dead branches, weeds, and so on will appear in the orchard. Therefore, after harvesting, these miscellaneous items in the orchard should be promptly cleared away and burned with fire. Finally, after clearing, a comprehensive disinfection should be carried out, because some potential pathogens are very likely to remain in the orchard. We can use specialized agents or quicklime for disinfection, which can ensure the health of the cherry trees.
3. Pruning and Shaping
Cherry trees generally need two rounds of branch and leaf pruning. The first is in summer, when the cherry tree's branches and leaves grow relatively quickly. In order to allow sufficient light and air permeability in the orchard, we should prune the cherry tree's branches and leaves during this period, but summer pruning should be relatively moderate and must not affect the number of cherry flower buds. The second pruning is before winter sets in, because after harvesting there will be many diseased branches, weak branches, dead branches, and so on, so we should prune these branches and leaves. In this way, when the branches and leaves grow next spring, new branches will grow, thereby increasing the cherry yield.
4. Disaster Prevention and Control
Disaster prevention and control here mainly refers to natural disasters. The cherry tree is a fruit tree that fears both drought and waterlogging, so we must always observe weather changes and promptly make preparations for disaster prevention. When there is a lot of rainfall, drain the water in time, and when the weather is relatively dry, irrigate in time. At the same time, heat dissipation measures also need to be taken. Secondly, in winter, attention should be paid to keeping the cherry trees warm, especially the relatively small fruit trees, otherwise they may very likely be frostbitten, thereby affecting the growth of the cherry trees in the coming year.
5. Pest and Disease Control
After cherries are picked, gummosis disease often appears on the branches. This disease occurs in many fruit trees, and is especially severe in peach-type fruit trees. It affects the growth of the fruit trees, thereby causing them to slowly die. Therefore, after picking, we can whitewash the branches, which can achieve a very good control effect. Secondly, after harvesting, brown spot disease may also very likely appear, mainly harming the leaves of the cherry trees. We can spray carbendazim after harvesting for control.