Annual Pollution-Free Management Calendar for Peach Trees at a Glance
?November to February
Dormant period
1. Training: Generally adopt the natural open-center form, set the trunk height at about 60 cm, then select and retain 3-4 new shoots at the top that are vigorous and similar in growth to develop as main branches. When pruning, cut back at a plump bud on the main branch, leaving an outward-facing bud at the cut. The opening angle of the main branches is 50°-60°, and 1-2 secondary branches are developed on each main branch.
2. Pruning: Generally adopt methods such as heading back, thinning out branches, leaving branches unpruned, bending branches, and propping branches. Prune according to the tree's condition so that the backbone branches at all levels are clearly distinguished in primary and secondary order with clear subordination. Mainly thin out overly dense branches, crossing branches, overlapping branches, upright branches on the upper side of limbs, diseased, pest-infested and dead branches, and weak, thin and dried branches. For drooping, old and weakened backbone branches, promptly cut back severely to rejuvenate and renew them.
3. Orchard cleanup: Clear weeds from the orchard and gather pruned diseased and pest-infested branches for centralized burning, then spray the tree canopy 1-2 times with lime sulfur solution at 5 degrees Baume.
?March
Bud break period Flowering period
1. Supplementary pruning before flowering: This supplements winter pruning, involving a small amount of thinning and heading back. Thin out overly dense branches and head back branches with excessive flower buds.
2. Protecting flowers and fruits: (1) Artificial pollination: Used for varieties lacking pollen and in years with poor weather during the flowering period. After collecting pollen and air-drying it naturally, mix it with starch or talcum powder at 3-4 times the volume and apply to the stigma. Pollinate 6-8 flowers on long fruit branches, 3-4 on medium fruit branches, and 2-3 on short fruit branches. (2) Spraying micro-fertilizers: During the flowering and young fruit periods, spray a mixture of 0.2-0.3% borax + 0.3-0.5% urea + 0.3% monopotassium phosphate 2-3 times to protect flowers.
3. Flower thinning: (1) Artificial flower thinning: Combined with artificial pollination, 1/2-2/3 of the flowers can be thinned. (2) Spray lime sulfur solution at 0.4-0.5 degrees Baume during full bloom.
4. Pest and disease control: The main insects include flower thrips, weevils, stink bugs, aphids, etc., which can be controlled in a timely manner with various broad-spectrum insecticides; the main diseases include anthracnose, brown rot, scab, leaf curl, shot hole disease, etc., which are causing damage and lying dormant. At this time, emphasis should be placed on prevention, and various fungicides can be used. Insecticides and fungicides can be used in combination to achieve unified control of pests and diseases. Before bud break, apply contact-type wettable powder insecticide mixed with fine soil and scatter it on the tree disk, then shallowly turn it with a hoe to kill overwintering insects in the soil. In pest and disease prevention and control, adopt "biological control and physical control," advocate placing yellow sticky boards, blue sticky boards, insect-killing lamps, predatory mites, and a series of green control technologies in the orchard to improve fruit quality and grade, achieving high quality, safety, and hygiene; prohibit the use of highly toxic and high-residue pesticides.
?April
Young fruit growth period and fruit pit-hardening period
1. Spraying foliar fertilizer: Spray a mixture of 0.3% monopotassium sulfate + 0.4%-0.5% urea once every 10-15 days, or spray Yemianbao, Yelüling, etc.
2. Fruit thinning and bagging: For mid-season varieties, carry out in late this month. Leave 3-5 fruits on long and medium fruit branches, 2-3 on medium fruit branches, and 1 fruit on short fruit branches; remove all remaining fruits. The targets for thinning are: small fruits, abnormally growing fruits, diseased and pest-infested fruits, and clustered fruits. One day in advance, spray an insecticide and a fungicide once, then bag each peach individually with special paper bags.
3. Fertilization and irrigation: For weak trees and in case of spring drought, apply appropriate amounts of fertilizer and irrigation water. Fertilization should combine nitrogen and potassium fertilizers with quick-acting organic fertilizer.
4. Pest and disease control: The main pests include weevils, stink bugs, one-spot leafhoppers, scale insects, aphids, peach fruit borers, etc., controlled in a timely manner with various insecticides; the main diseases include anthracnose, brown rot, scab, leaf curl, shot hole disease, etc., causing damage and lying dormant, controllable with various fungicides.
?May
Fruit pit-hardening period and rapid expansion period
1. Fruit thinning and bagging: For mid- and late-maturing varieties, complete this work as soon as possible this month. From early to late May, carry out fruit thinning and bagging for mid- and late-maturing varieties successively.
2. Summer pruning: Adopt methods such as bud removal, pinching, twig twisting, and shoot tipping to help with training and regulate tree vigor.
3. Applying fruit-swelling fertilizer: Mainly nitrogen and potassium fertilizers, combined with quick-acting organic fertilizer. For early-maturing varieties and vigorous trees, mainly use potassium fertilizer; for mid- and late-maturing varieties, mainly use nitrogen and potassium fertilizers in combination. The amount applied accounts for 20-30% of the annual total.
4. Pest and disease control: Continue using fungicides to control anthracnose, scab, brown rot, shot hole disease, leaf curl, etc.; use insecticides to control peach fruit borers, stink bugs, aphids, peach seed wasps, one-spot leafhoppers, longhorn beetles, scale insects, etc. in a timely manner.
????June to August
Fruit development period and ripening period
1. Summer pruning: Continue doing this work well.
2. Applying post-harvest fertilizer: Mainly apply nitrogen fertilizer and quick-acting organic fertilizer. The amount applied accounts for 15-20% of the annual total, supplementing what is needed for tree vigor recovery.
3. Pest and disease control: The main pests include peach fruit borers, one-spot leafhoppers, aphids, peach seed wasps, longhorn beetles, etc. To control longhorn beetles, use fine wire to hook and kill larvae, then insert cotton balls dipped in contact insecticide into the insect holes for poisoning, or manually capture and kill adults. The main diseases are still anthracnose, scab, brown rot, leaf curl, shot hole disease, etc. At this time, leaf curl disease is very obvious, and chemical control is no longer effective. Diseased leaves can be manually removed and burned in a centralized manner to prevent spread and damage the following year. Note that 15-20 days before peach harvest, no more pesticides should be sprayed.
?September to October
Leaf fall period
1. Orchard soil tillage and weeding: Till the orchard soil, remove weeds and bury them deep as organic fertilizer, and clear fallen diseased leaves, diseased branches and diseased fruits from the ground and trees for centralized burning.
2. Applying base fertilizer: Advocate applying winter fertilizer in autumn. This application is the largest, accounting for about 50% of the annual total. Apply nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in combination with organic fertilizer.
Appendix:
??? 1. Names and application concentrations of main fungicides: (1) Lime sulfur solution: use 5 degrees Baume in winter, 0.4-0.5 degrees Baume during the flowering period, and 0.3 degrees Baume during the fruit growth period; (2) Bordeaux mixture 1:1:100, used mainly to control leaf curl and shot hole disease when flower buds show red; (3) Zinc sulfate lime solution: the ratio of zinc sulfate, hydrated lime, and water is 1:4:240, mainly to control bacterial shot hole disease; (4) 0.15% tetramycin 600x solution; (5) 70% thiophanate-methyl powder 2000x solution; (6) Score (difenoconazole): 5000x solution; (7) 6% kasugamycin powder 1500x solution.
??? 2. Names and application concentrations of main insecticides: (1) Emamectin benzoate 800x solution (broad-spectrum insecticide); (2) 8% abamectin·pyridaben 600x solution (kills spider mites, etc.); (3) Machine oil emulsion 50-100x solution (kills scale insects, spider mites, etc.); (4) Guosheng 1200-1500x solution (kills scale insects, spider mites, etc.); (5) 80% dichlorvos 1000x solution (broad-spectrum insecticide, used during the flowering period).