What are the precautions for scraping bark on fruit trees? These key points every fruit grower should master
Scraping bark on fruit trees is a commonly used technique in cultivation. The old bark of fruit trees serves as an overwintering site for pests and diseases, and in the following year becomes an important source of pests and diseases, affecting the yield and quality of fruit trees. Therefore, fruit trees are scraped to reduce sources of pests and diseases and to prevent and control them. However, several points must be noted when scraping bark, otherwise it can cause harm to the fruit trees. Let's take a detailed look below.
1. Timing of bark scraping
Generally, it is best to scrape bark after the winter freeze until before the following year's Awakening of Insects (Jingzhe), that is, before the fruit tree's fallen leaves and branches bloom. In colder regions, bark scraping should not be done too early; it can be done around the Start of Spring (Lichun), so as to avoid the exposed tender bark suffering low-temperature freeze damage after the old bark is removed. However, it should not be done too late either. If too late, the sap begins to flow and pathogens have already begun to spread, especially after fruit flower bud differentiation, when pests and diseases have already become active. Scraping bark at this time not only fails to prevent and control pests and diseases, but also increases the severity of their damage.
2. Depth of bark scraping
The depth of bark scraping must also be properly controlled and carried out according to the tree species, but no matter which fruit tree, the bark must not be scraped too deep or too shallow. If scraped too deep, the xylem of the tree body is directly exposed, which harms the tree; if scraped too shallow, it does not reach the depth needed to remove pests and diseases, and the effect of pest and disease control is poor. Generally, the outer bark of apple trees is relatively thin and tends to curl up easily when scraped, so scraping should be light and shallow; the bark of pear trees is relatively thick with large cracks, so scraping should be deep and heavy until the red inner bark of the tree is exposed; while fruit trees such as peach, apricot and persimmon tend to exude gum after scraping, so heavy scraping is not suitable. The method of wiping the bark can be used.
3. Post-scraping treatment
After scraping the bark of fruit trees, first clear the weeds, residual branches and fallen leaves in the orchard, then lay plastic film or newspaper around the trunk so as to collect the scraped bark, debris and pest and disease residues, and bury them deep in the soil so that after fermentation they become nutrients for the fruit trees. Then apply whitewash to the trunk once after scraping to prevent pests and diseases.
The above is an introduction to the precautions for scraping bark on fruit trees. We hope it helps you. For more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.