How should young apple trees be planted to bear fruit early?
How should young apple trees be planted to bear fruit early? Please give guidance. To get young apple trees to bear fruit early, you can refer to the following planting methods: 1. Management techniques. Young trees refer to trees that have not yet entered or have just entered the fruiting stage, aged 1 to 4 years. During this period, the key points of care are: first, growing the tree quickly; second, forming a good shape and developing a high-yielding framework that can carry the crop load...
How should young apple trees be planted to bear fruit early? Please give guidance.
To get young apple trees to bear fruit early, you can refer to the following planting methods:
1 Management techniques
Young trees refer to trees that have not yet entered or have just entered the fruiting stage, aged 1 to 4 years. During this period, the key points of care are: first, growing the tree quickly; second, forming a good shape and developing a high-yielding framework that can carry the crop load.
1.1 Reasonable intercropping
In a newly established orchard, the idea of taking fruit trees as the management center must be firmly established. On the premise of leaving enough tree rows, intercrops can be reasonably arranged between the rows, such as peanuts, cotton and other short-stemmed crops. The distance from the crop to the tree row should be 0.5m for annual crops, and 1m should be maintained for biennial crops.
1.2 Fertilizer and water management
1.2.1 Topdressing
(1) Underground topdressing: 3 times each year, namely: bud-promoting fertilizer applied before germination in mid-March; topdressing during the growth pause applied from May to mid-June; topdressing during the rainy season applied in July to August. In the early growth stage, nitrogen fertilizer is mainly used, and in the middle and late growth stages, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are mainly used. The first topdressing after planting is applied when the shoot length reaches 10cm. The amount of fertilizer each time depends on tree age and tree vigor. Generally, 1- to 2-year-old trees are topdressed with 50-150g each time, and 3- to 4-year-old trees are topdressed with 250-500g each time. The topdressing method uses multi-point hole application. For 1- to 2-year-old trees, dig 4-6 holes 10-15cm deep around the tree at a distance of 50cm from the trunk; for 3- to 4-year-old trees, dig 8-10 holes at a distance of 60-70cm from the trunk.
(2) Aboveground topdressing (foliar spraying): Because young trees have underdeveloped root systems and poor absorption capacity, foliar spraying on young trees is very important, spraying once every 10-15 days; before the end of July, nitrogen fertilizers and amino acid fertilizers are mainly sprayed, and in the later period, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are mainly used. For the control of iron deficiency yellow leaf disease in young trees, applying urea iron (0.3% ferric sulfate + 0.3% urea) or chelated amino acid iron can achieve very good control results.
1.2.2 Base fertilizer
During the young tree period, trench fertilization must be carried out every year. Base fertilizer can be applied starting in mid-September and completed by November. For biennial trees, dig strip-shaped or ring-shaped trenches on both sides of the tree, with a trench width of 40cm and depth of 50cm, mainly using organic fertilizer supplemented with slow-release chemical fertilizer. The amount depends on tree vigor and tree age. Generally, 1- to 2-year-old trees are given 50kg of organic fertilizer per tree, and 3- to 4-year-old trees are given 100kg of organic fertilizer per tree. While fertilizing, an appropriate amount of micronutrient fertilizer should be applied according to actual conditions to ensure nutritional balance of the tree body.
2 Tree pruning techniques
After planting, the trunk heading height is 100cm, and the spindle shape is promoted. Therefore, tree management during the growing season is very important, especially the measure of branch bending. The tree's crop load, ventilation and light penetration, and the occurrence of pests and diseases later and the application of control measures are all related to tree structure. In addition, work such as summer shoot twisting, branch softening, and staggered branch bending should also be done well, and reasonable pruning should be carried out in winter. In this way, after 3 to 4 years of planting, a reasonable tree structure can be developed, laying a good tree-shape foundation for early fruiting and high yield in the future.
2.1 Pruning of 1-year-old trees
Before germination, make 2-3 notches at 70cm of the determined trunk height to increase the germination rate and increase the number of branches; before the branches lignify, remove the young shoots below 70cm on the trunk. In summer, soften new shoots by bending so that their angle is 70-90 degrees, with special attention to controlling competitive branches.
2.1.1 For young trees with strong growth, a large number of branches, and many long branches, winter pruning should remove branches below 70cm. For long branches above 70cm, select and retain 6-8 branches with balanced growth and good orientation. Among them, 3-4 are trained as main branches with an angle controlled at 70 degrees; 3-4 are auxiliary branches with an angle controlled at 90 degrees, all left unpruned, and the remaining branches are removed. The central leader branch is headed back, with a cut length of about 60cm.
2.1.2 For young trees with moderate growth, winter pruning should remove competitive branches, select 3-4 long branches with good orientation and strong growth and head them back at plump buds to promote long branches, which are then trained into main branches. The central leader is headed back for training, and the remaining branches are left unpruned.
2.1.3 For young trees with weak growth, winter pruning should use heavy heading back, remove competitive branches, and leave the rest unpruned.
2.2 Pruning of biennial trees
2.2.1 Before and after germination, bend branches, pulling main branches to nearly horizontal, and even allowing auxiliary branches to droop. Make multiple ring cuts on main branches and auxiliary branches. From early May to early June, appropriately remove upright vigorous shoots and overly dense shoots on main branches and auxiliary branches. Other strong shoots can be pinched and twisted, with repeated pinching and twisting carried out several times. In autumn, reasonably remove new shoots growing on the central leader; those retained should be softened by bending. On the central leader, train another 3-4 main branches and 2 auxiliary branches, and head back the extension branch of the central leader, leaving 50-60cm.
2.2.2 During winter pruning, remove upright branches on the back of the first layer of main branches, remove competitive branches of the main branch extension branches, and leave the extension branch tips unpruned. Remove competitive branches of the central leader extension branch, head back the extension branch leaving 50-60cm, and select and retain another 2 main branches and 2 auxiliary branches on the central leader.
2.2.3 During winter pruning, select and retain 3-4 long branches at the base as main branches, and 1-2 as auxiliary branches, remove upright vigorous branches, and leave the remaining branches unpruned. On the central leader, select and retain another 2 main branches and 1-2 auxiliary branches, remove competitive branches of the central leader, and head back its extension branch leaving 50-60cm.
2.3 Pruning of 3-year-old trees
In mid-to-late June, use girdling or ring cutting measures on main branches and auxiliary branches to control growth and promote flower bud formation; during winter pruning, pay attention to balancing tree vigor and preventing top-strong and bottom-weak growth. The central leader continues to develop the third layer of 3-4 main branches and 2 auxiliary branches. The main branches should be staggered, with spacing not less than 60cm.
2.4 Four-year-old trees basically enter the initial fruiting stage. They already have 10-15 main branches, a tree height of 3m, and the tree framework is complete. At this time, pruning is mainly to control the balance of tree vigor and thus achieve early fruiting.
3 Tree vigor regulation and flower-promoting measures
Although young apple trees are easy to flower, they grow vigorously during the young tree period. If not controlled, they will not form enough flower buds. Therefore, corresponding measures should be taken to moderate tree vigor and promote flower bud formation, thereby achieving the technical effect of early fruiting and high yield. When the trunk diameter is more than 5cm and a 4-year-old tree has a certain number of branches, flower-promoting measures can be applied to transform the young tree from vegetative growth to reproductive growth.
3.1 Branch bending to open the angle
This is a key technical measure for regulating tree vigor. For the spindle shape, the main branch angle is 70-90 degrees, and the remaining branches are pulled flat or drooping. When bending branches, pay attention to adjusting the balance of tree vigor through the branch-bending angle. Bent branches should not form loops or turn, and should remain in one line, achieving: pulling out layers, pulling out balance, pulling out tree shape, and pulling out horizontality.
3.2 Branch type transformation and branch-increasing techniques
Before and after germination, use directional or non-directional notching on main branches and auxiliary branches to promote lateral branches and increase the number of short branches, turning long branches into short branches and shifting branch growth from vertical to horizontal, forming a branch-type structure dominated by short branches. Tree vigor is moderated, thereby laying the branch-type foundation for flowering and fruiting.
3.3 Do a good job of handling the inner canopy
Upright branches and excess branches in the inner canopy should be handled in time to avoid causing "inner-canopy disorder," which is unfavorable for shaping and affects light exposure so that flowering cannot occur. The main methods used are removal, shoot twisting, shoot breaking, and branch bending to change direction. Within 10cm of the trunk, there should be no branches, and fruiting branch groups should be spaced 20-30cm apart. By handling branches in the inner canopy, the fruiting positions of young trees are reasonably arranged and gradually move outward.
3.4 Spraying growth regulators to promote flowering
There are many chemical methods to promote flowering, regulating shoot growth vigor, increasing nutrient accumulation, and promoting and guiding flower bud differentiation. In early May, spray 300 times 10% paclobutrazol; in mid-July when autumn shoots begin to grow, spray 150 times 10% paclobutrazol. Depending on the situation, it can be sprayed several times continuously to achieve the effect.
3.5 Girdling
For vigorous trees, girdle the main trunk in mid-May, with a cut width of 0.5cm, cover with paper for protection, and remove after 15 days. For trees with unbalanced vigor, girdle the main branches or girdle them multiple times.
4 Management during the flowering and fruiting period
Four-year-old trees enter the initial fruiting stage. At this time, while doing a good job in soil, fertilizer, and water management, pruning, and pest and disease control, the focus should be on flower and fruit management. It is necessary to regulate the balance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth of the tree body to prevent premature aging. Timely thin flowers and fruits and control the crop load, with a yield of 2000kg per mu. Specific methods: during flowering, retain one inflorescence at intervals of about 15cm, and keep one central flower and one side flower per inflorescence, with artificial pollination; after 20 days, thin the fruits, keeping one drooping fruit with a regular shape or two side fruits on a robust short fruiting branch, and remove fruits on the back. In this way, the fruit is ensured to be high-shaped, large, uniform, and well colored.
5 Pest and disease control
During the young tree period, focus on protecting leaves and carry out control well. The main pests and diseases include: scarab beetles, green plant bugs, aphids, leaf miners, leaf roller moths, red spiders, early leaf fall disease, etc. Arrange pesticide use according to actual conditions. Pyrethroids can be used to control green plant bugs, leaf roller moths, etc., imidacloprid can be used to control aphids, diflubenzuron No. 3 can be used to control leaf miners, and fenbutatin oxide can be used to control red spiders. For early leaf fall disease, agricultural antibiotic 120 and Bordeaux mixture can be used for control.
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