Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Autumn Management of Pear Orchards

1. Strengthen pest and disease control. Strengthen the control of pear scab, pear black spot, pear ring rot, yellow mealworm, pear psylla, scale insects, oriental fruit moth, pear star caterpillar, aphids, and mites. You can use 80% Daconil M-45 at 800 times dilution, or 20% thiophanate-methyl at 1000 times dilution plus 40% isocarbophos at 1200 times dilution, or 10% cypermethrin at 4000 times dilution. Since the field climate in autumn is suitable for the occurrence of pests and diseases, and damage is frequent, the number of applications should be increased. According to the degree of pest and disease occurrence and damage, apply once every 15-20 days to effectively control the damage.

2. Propping and tying branches. After heavy fruiting in the full bearing period, the branches grow drooping, and under excessive fruiting conditions they are prone to splitting. You can tie a rope to the central trunk and tie the fruiting branches of the pear to the rafters to prevent splitting.

3. Cultivation and weeding. Reduce the consumption of nutrients and water by weeds.

4. Harvesting. Different pear varieties have different maturity periods, so pear fruits should be harvested when the seeds turn brown, the ground color of the peel turns yellow or yellowish-green, the flesh firmness reaches 5.5 kg/cm2, and the soluble solids content is greater than 10%. For fruit to be stored, control water about 20 days before harvest, and spray the fruit surface with thiophanate-methyl or carbendazim for sterilization 10-20 days before harvest. During harvest, prevent early harvesting and late harvesting. Early-harvested fruit is not yet fully mature, small in size, low in yield, poor in quality, and not resistant to storage. If harvested too late, the fruit is also not resistant to storage and transportation, and rot losses increase.

5. Storage. Before storage, strict selection should be carried out, removing diseased, insect-damaged, injured, and rotten fruits. Stack the fruits in a cool, high, and dry place, cover them during the day, uncover them at night, and prevent rain and dew, so as to dissipate heat and increase storage effectiveness. Before storage, the fruit storage cellar should be ventilated to lower the temperature and fumigated for sterilization. When stacking the fruit, care should be taken to prevent mutual bruising and puncture injuries from fruit stalks. In the early and late storage periods, the cellar door should be opened at night for ventilation and cooling. In the middle period, attention should be paid to heat preservation, and the storage environment should be controlled as much as possible at a cellar temperature of 0 to -1°C, a relative air humidity of 85%-90%, and a CO2 content of 5%-10%.

6. Fertilizer and water management. Apply basal fertilizer promptly after harvest. According to tree size, apply 50-250 kg of organic fertilizer, 5-10 kg of superphosphate, 3-5 kg of potassium sulfate, and 1-2 kg of ammonium nitrate per tree. After fertilizing, plow the whole orchard to a depth of about 30 cm. After leaf fall and before freezing, irrigate the whole orchard with wintering water.

7. Protect leaves and increase stored nutrients in the tree. After fruit harvest, fruit trees enter a period of complete nutrient accumulation. Pest and disease control should be strengthened, and foliar fertilizer should be sprayed to keep the leaves dark green and improve the ability of the leaves to produce photosynthetic products.