A Detailed Guide to Fruit Tree Planting Techniques and Management Methods
Fruit trees are trees whose fruit is edible; the term collectively refers to perennial plants that provide edible fruit and seeds, along with their rootstocks.
1. When is the best time to plant fruit trees
When I say you can plant trees in summer, is anyone going to want to hit me? Hahahaha! Really, I have personally seen people get trees to survive when planted in summer, but the greater part of the later management requires technicians to monitor at all times and take timely measures to strengthen management in order to ensure the survival rate. However, when it comes to planting fruit trees, for most fruit growers there is simply no such technical ability or energy to devote to management, and the survival rate cannot be guaranteed.
Therefore, when planting fruit trees, spring, autumn and winter are still the more suitable seasons. And among these three seasons, which one is actually more suitable? Before discussing this question, let us first look at what fruit tree growth and development are related to.
The growth and development of fruit trees are related to many factors. Apart from the internal conditions of the fruit tree itself, external environmental conditions determine the growth and development of fruit trees and affect their yield and quality. Artificially changing the external environmental conditions in which fruit trees grow can change and control the process of fruit tree growth and development. The external environment includes climatic conditions, soil conditions, topographical conditions, biological conditions and so on. Among these, temperature, light, water, soil and air are direct ecological factors; while wind, slope, slope aspect and altitude are indirect ecological factors.
Among these external factors, temperature can determine the distribution of fruit trees and affect their growth and development, and is one of the essential factors for the life activities of fruit trees. What plays a decisive role in the distribution, growth and fruiting of fruit trees is mainly the annual average temperature, the accumulated temperature during the growing season, and the minimum winter temperature, among others. Only when fruit trees grow under suitable temperature conditions is their rapid growth and development favored. Therefore, from the perspective of geographical distribution, since temperatures differ between north and south, the types of fruit trees also differ greatly.
Thus, the seasons for planting fruit trees in the south and the north have a dividing line drawn between them. Is there not a saying, namely "plant in autumn in the north, and in the south planting in winter is better than planting in spring"? Does this saying not already spell out the question of which of the three seasons - spring, autumn and winter - is more suitable for planting fruit trees?
2. What is the best season for planting fruit trees
As a southerner, in my hometown there is a saying: "Qingming and Guyu, the fourth month days, time to dig holes and plant trees." In fact, in the past, planting fruit trees around Qingming was considered the best time. What are the advantages of planting fruit trees during this period? That is, after the fruit trees are planted, they will soon grow tender buds. But is this good, and is the survival rate high? Presumably anyone who has planted fruit trees has a scale in their heart.
In fact, besides this saying, there are also sayings such as "plant fruit trees in spring, the earlier the better; only when roots grow and buds sprout can things go well", and "trees planted before the New Year grow roots first; trees planted after the New Year sprout first". In other words, planting fruit trees needs to be done before the New Year, or in other words, in winter. Why? Because with fruit tree saplings of the same quality and the same cultivation techniques, those planted earlier have a much higher survival rate than those planted later, and if you wait until Qingming to plant fruit trees, that is far too late.
For fruit trees planted before the New Year, although the aboveground part of the tree has already entered dormancy, before the ground freezes, the underground temperature still remains above 10°C. After the saplings are planted, as soon as spring begins, they can grow new roots early, send out spring shoots early, and grow leaves early. Therefore, fruit trees planted in this period will first grow roots and then sprout. When the saplings sprout and unfold leaves in large numbers and need water and nutrients supplied, the root system has already restored its ability to absorb soil moisture, which can, in addition to improving the saplings' ability to resist spring drought. In addition, in early planting the soil moisture is good, the air humidity is relatively high, and the saplings lose less water.
If, however, planting is done only after the New Year, or relatively late, the temperature rises quickly in late spring, and the saplings sprout and unfold leaves quickly; at this time the sapling root system has not yet restored its ability to absorb soil nutrients, which causes an insufficient supply of water and nutrients, and leads to a prolonged seedling recovery period. When the water shortage is severe, the saplings will dry up and die, thereby affecting the survival rate. Generally, planting too late results in only slow sprouting and no new root growth, causing poor nutrition in the tree body; such fruit saplings often dry up and die before passing "June".
However, one final point: although early planting is advocated, the principle of "planting the right variety at the right time" must be followed. That is, no matter which season is chosen for planting, the planting time must be selected according to the physiological characteristics of the fruit tree and the phenological factors of the external environment. Some fruit trees are suited to winter, and some to spring, so the choice must be based on the type of fruit tree. Moreover, after planting, relevant management measures should be taken promptly to strengthen management and improve the survival rate of the fruit trees.