What are the planting requirements for peach trees? A full breakdown of the latest key growing points

The peach tree is a small deciduous tree grown for its fruit. When establishing an orchard, the site should be chosen according to local climate, transport, terrain, soil and water source conditions combined with the peach tree's adaptability, especially its strong love of light and fear of waterlogging, selecting a plot with ample sunlight, high and dry terrain, deep soil, and an ample water source with good drainage. Now let us take a look at the growing requirements of the peach tree!

Soil

The peach tree has strong adaptability to soil and can generally be planted in most soils, growing best in neutral to slightly acidic soil. When soil pH is below 4 or above 8, growth is severely affected. In terms of adaptability to soil texture, it grows best in sandy loam that drains well, has strong permeability and is fairly fertile, showing early fruiting and good quality. If the soil is too fertile and the texture too heavy and clayey, it tends to grow excessively vigorously, fruit later, produce a low early yield and poorer quality fruit that is bland and small.

Temperature

The peach tree has a fairly wide temperature tolerance. From plains to altitude, except in extremely cold or extremely hot regions, areas with an annual average temperature of 12-17°C allow normal growth and development; the optimum temperature for peach growth is 18-23°C, and the optimum temperature during fruit ripening is around 25°C. Too low or too high a temperature during the growing period will affect the normal growth of the peach tree: if the temperature is too low, the tree develops abnormally and the fruit does not ripen easily; if the temperature is too high, the branches and trunk are easily sunburned and fruit quality declines. Southern cultivar groups are more tolerant of high temperatures.

Water

The peach originated in continental plateau regions and tolerates drought. Excessive rainfall easily causes rampant growth of branches and leaves, poor flower bud differentiation, few flower buds, poor fruit colouring, bland flavour, declining quality and poor storability. Because the various cultivar groups have long formed different water requirements under different climatic conditions, southern cultivar groups tolerate humid climates and perform well in the south, while northern cultivar groups grown in the south easily grow rampantly, with few flower buds, poor fruiting and low quality. Therefore, when choosing cultivars to grow, attention should be paid to the type of cultivar group to avoid trouble in production.

Light

Light is essential for plant photosynthesis. The peach tree is especially fond of light; insufficient light causes shoots to elongate, fewer and poorer-quality flower buds, and easy flower and fruit drop. Therefore, when choosing to grow peach trees in a greenhouse, if artificial light is too weak, supplemental artificial lighting should be used to ensure normal growth.