How to Prune a Persimmon Tree: Detailed Explanation of Pruning Methods and Technical Key Points
Persimmon is one of our common fruits. Its yield is extremely high and its cultivation benefits are good. It is grown in all regions of our country. Persimmons taste excellent, are rich in nutrients, and also help with digestion and increase appetite, giving them extremely high edible value. During cultivation, pruning is an extremely critical technique. Let us take a look below at how persimmons should be pruned.
1. Winter pruning
Winter pruning is mainly carried out during the winter dormant period, and can be done from after leaf fall until before bud break at Spring Festival. Because the cold resistance of persimmon trees is relatively poor, pruning too early is not beneficial for their overwintering, but early pruning is beneficial for forming mixed buds during pruning. Winter pruning first requires shortening the overly long autumn shoots, so as to avoid the branches growing too long and causing the tree canopy to become closed too quickly. In addition, during pruning, diseased and pest-infested branches must also be pruned off, and they should be burned together with dead branches and fallen leaves or buried deeply to eliminate overwintering sources of diseases and pests. After pruning, whitewash the trunk to increase the cold resistance of the tree body.
2. Spring pruning
Spring pruning can be carried out from spring shoot sprouting and flower bud appearance to before flowering. Its main purpose is to regulate the movement of scaffold branches and balance the development of tree vigor. For the fruiting branches from winter and the fruiting branches on spring shoots or summer shoots, the summer shoot section should be cut off in time, retaining the fruiting branches on the spring shoot section. At the same time, in order to prevent the fruiting branches from being too dense due to excessive sprouting, some fruiting branches should be thinned out to maintain air and light penetration. Pruning wounds should be promptly coated with medicine for protection, so as to prevent pathogen invasion.
3. Summer pruning
Summer pruning is carried out after flower drop. First, for the sprouted summer shoots, repeatedly pinch off the growing tips before leaf expansion, leaving 2-3 leaves, so as to reduce nutrient consumption. Then, after physiological fruit drop, fruit thinning should be carried out in time. Generally, strong branches retain 2-3 fruits, medium branches retain 1-2 fruits, and weak branches retain 3 fruits or none. When thinning fruit, note that the fruits on the same fruiting branch must be spaced at a certain distance, so as to avoid crowding due to swelling in the later fruit stage and affecting fruit development.
4. Pruning of young trees
The main purpose of pruning young trees is to build the framework, cultivate the tree shape, and pay attention to the balance among main branches and their subordinate relationships. Timely pinching is also required to promote the growth of fruiting branches. Generally, control the trunk height at about 1.2 m, select main branches according to the tree shape, and thin less and cut back more to increase the number of branches. For vigorous branches and water sprouts, prune and pinch them in time to promote the growth of secondary branches and expand the tree canopy.
The above is an introduction to how to prune persimmons. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.