Peach Tree Post-Harvest Management Like This, Heavy Fruit Covering the Branches Next Year

After peaches are harvested, the remaining nutrients produced by their leaves are redirected to supply the branches and trunk, promoting branch thickening, tissue maturation, and the accumulation of nutrients, creating better conditions for flower bud differentiation the following year. If managed properly during this period, it can not only increase tree nutrition and improve the tree's resistance to adverse environments, but also play an important role in flowering and fruiting and tree growth the following year. Therefore, the following technical measures should be effectively implemented:

1. Reasonable fertilization After peaches are harvested, fruit-picking fertilizer should be applied promptly. The amount of fertilizer applied should vary depending on the tree. Generally, for young fruiting trees 3-5 years old, apply 150-200 kg of farmyard manure, 0.5 kg of urea, 0.5-0.75 kg of potassium chloride, and 1-1.5 kg of superphosphate per tree; for large fruiting trees 6-15 years old, apply 300-600 kg of farmyard manure per tree, and the amount of chemical fertilizer (compound fertilizer) is calculated at 1 kg applied per 10 kg of peaches produced.

2. Plowing and turning the tree base Plow and turn the tree base to a depth of 10-25 cm, gradually deepening outward from 10 cm around the trunk, and water promptly to preserve soil moisture. At the same time, remove weeds, maintain soil permeability, activate root physiological functions, and restore tree vigor as soon as possible.

3. Waterlogging prevention and drought resistance Peach trees are not tolerant of waterlogging. During the rainy season, standing water should be drained promptly to prevent disease. When leaf fall is complete in early to mid-November, if winter drought occurs, irrigate once with freezing water.

4. Summer and autumn pruning After peaches are harvested, summer pruning is carried out in mid-to-late July. The purpose of summer pruning is to improve light conditions inside the canopy and promote shoot fullness and flower bud differentiation. This pruning is mainly thinning-based, removing overly dense and overly vigorous branches. For the strong branches left behind, keep 1-2 secondary shoots, and cut off the upper unfilled portion of the secondary shoots. For branches without secondary shoots, cut and leave 35 cm. Retract the medium and small branches inside the canopy that have already fruited, pressing the top to promote the bottom; for horizontally drooping branch groups, choose to cut back at the branching point of an upward-growing strong branch to enhance vigor; upright branches and overly dense branches in vigorously growing branch groups should be thinned out. In mid-to-late August, all new shoots that have not stopped growing should be tipped or cut, and long branches in overly dense parts of the canopy can be shortened by 1/4 to 1/3.

5. Spraying to clean the orchard Promptly control leaf-feeding pests such as the peach leafminer moth, tent caterpillar, and small green leafhopper. You can spray 20% fenvalerate emulsifiable concentrate at 3000 times dilution or sumithion emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution. In winter, combined with pruning, remove diseased branches, and clean up remaining diseased fruit, dead branches, and weeds in the orchard, concentrating them outside the orchard for burning. In winter, whitewash the main trunk and large main branches to prevent freezing and pests. The whitewash is made by mixing 1 kg of quicklime, 300 g of salt, 500 g of flour, 200 g of animal oil, and 4 kg of water, stirring evenly.