Detailed Explanation of Key Technical Points for Winter Management of Apple Trees
Winter has gradually arrived now, and apples are a fruit that many people very much enjoy eating in winter. But for many fruit growers, winter is not very welcome, because with low winter temperatures, managing apple trees naturally becomes more difficult. There can also be situations where poor management leads to freezing damage to the fruit trees. So how should apple trees be managed in winter? Today, the editor brings you the winter management techniques for apple trees. Let's take a look below!
1. Clean the orchard
Apples usually mature and are harvested in autumn, so after harvesting, the orchard cleaning work should be done well. Diseased branches and diseased fruit on the trees should be pruned off in time, and weeds on the ground, diseased and residual branches, and rotten fruit should also be cleaned up promptly and taken out of the orchard for centralized disposal. This is because the pathogens of many diseases and various insect eggs lurk in these media to overwinter, and when temperatures rise in spring they wake up and infect the fruit trees. However, fallen leaves from the fruit trees can, depending on the specific situation, be deeply buried in the orchard soil to increase the organic fertilizer in the soil, but the depth of deep burial must not be less than 60 cm.
2. Apply sufficient base fertilizer
Applying sufficient base fertilizer is one of the basic measures to help apple trees overwinter. Applying sufficient base fertilizer not only helps the fruit trees overwinter successfully, but also makes the next year's spring shoots and flower buds grow more robustly. When applying base fertilizer, the amount should be controlled according to various factors such as tree vigor, soil fertility, and harvest volume. Carrying it out together with plowing can ensure that the soil receives fertilizer evenly, improve soil permeability, and enhance root respiration and nutrient absorption. The base fertilizer should use fully decomposed farmyard manure, and the depth at which the base fertilizer is applied must not be less than 40 cm.
3. Water for overwintering
Apple trees enter dormancy in winter. Fruit trees in dormancy do not absorb nutrients or water, and the nutrients of the fruit trees gradually flow to the roots. Therefore, before the fruit trees enter winter dormancy, overwintering water should be applied in time, which can both ensure the fruit trees' water demand and promote the decomposition of the base fertilizer. It is beneficial to the formation of new roots, improves nutrient absorption by the root system, and strengthens the assimilation of nutrients in the fruit trees. It can also promote flower bud differentiation of the fruit trees in the spring of the second year. Therefore, during overwintering, the soil should be ensured to have sufficient water content to improve the flowering and fruiting rate in the second year.
4. Fruit tree pruning
Before the beginning of winter, the pruning work for the fruit trees should be done well, adjusting the structure of the apple trees and promptly pruning off water sprouts, excessively dense branches, overlapping branches, and other such branches. Enhancing the tree body's permeability is conducive to improving the tree's nutrient accumulation and promoting flower bud differentiation of the fruit trees. However, when pruning, the pruning method should also be changed according to tree age. For example, for young trees it is not recommended to prune off branches; instead, the method of cultivating the tree's framework structure can be used to regulate tree vigor. For mature trees, branches can be appropriately cut back to concentrate nutrients. After pruning branches, the wounds should be protected well to prevent infection by pathogens that could cause pests and diseases.
The above is the editor's brief introduction to apple winter management techniques. Winter management of apples is very important. The quality of management directly determines the flowering and fruiting rate of the next year, and yields cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, the winter management of apples must be done well to ensure efficient apple cultivation. Otherwise, in severe cases, it will cause freezing damage to the fruit trees and prevent growth and development. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you all for reading and supporting.