Orchard Floor management
- In the initial years of plantation, the intercrops like peas, beans, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower and ginger are grown in the vacant area in between the trees but not in basin area. Besides these, some green manuring crops like bean, peas and gram should be grown which helps in improving soil texture and nutrient status.
- In bearing orchard, the basin area of trees should be kept clean either by manual weeding or use of weedicides.
- Sod grasses like white clover, red clover, orchard grass and rye grass are grown in the vacant area between the trees.
- Basins are mulched with 10 cm thick dry grass mulch or black alkathene mulch The mulching helps to conserve soil moisture and efficiently control the weeds in the basin area.
Manure and fertilizers
- Nutritional requirement of peaches is comparatively higher than other stone fruits because it bears on one years growth making the production of annual growth imperative for fruit production. Recoupement of the wood removal every year in pruning is also necessary.
- Fertilizers are therefore applied every year. A large number of factors like the type of soil, its fertility, climate, cultivar, planting density, shoot growth and irrigation facilities determine the amount of fertilizers to be applied.
- The farmyard manure along with full dose of P and K should be applied during December and January. Half dose of N is applied in spring before flowering and remaining half dose a month later.
Irrigation
- Irrigation is very essential for harvesting the peaches of better size and quality.
- A sufficient moisture in the soil before the emergence of leaves and flowers is required for proper fruit-set and growth.
- Frequent irrigations are needed during the fruit development. Lack of irrigation, particularly, during dry and hot summer result in fruit drop, reduced fruit size and quality.
- In the hills, at least two- three irrigations and in plains, weekly irrigation should be given during the fruit development period..
- In general, for quality fruit production irrigation at 80% of field capacity is recommended.
- Orchard soil management and weed management
- During initial 3-4 years after planting, the intercrops like peas, beans, tomato, cabbage, zinger and colocacia are grown in between the peach trees and basin area is mulched with hay or alkathene mulch.
- In fully grown tees, sod grasses are grown in vacant areas and basin area is mulched with suitable mulch materials.
- Weedicides like simazine and atrazin at 2.0 kg/ha, terbacil at 0.8 kg/ha as pre-emergence and paraquat at 4.0 litre/ha and glyphosate 4.32 kg/ha as post-emergence herbicide proved to be most effective to control the weeds in peach orchards.
Crop Regulation
- Heavy flowering and fruiting are the characteristics features of peach trees resulting in small sized, poor quality fruits and reduction of flowering in the subsequent season. Hence for production of quality fruits crop regulation through thinning is essential in peach.
- The criteria for fruit thinning in peach are based on leaf to fruit ratio, spacing between fruits per tree. Generally 30-40 leaves per fruit is the appropriate ratio.
- Application of Ethephon (300 ppm) at petal fall in July Elberta is recommended for optimum fruit thinning. However, in Redhaven peach, Ethephon (600ppm) 20-30 days after fruit set when the fruitlets are 20-25 cm in diameter, should be used for thinning.
- Hand thinning at 5-7.5 cm fruit spacing before pit hardening stage is equally effective.
Maturity, Harvesting . Storage and post- harvest management
- Harvesting of peaches at proper stage of maturity is essential as the post harvest quality and storage life of fruits are controlled by maturity.
- Various indices for judging fruit maturity used are days from full bloom, calendar dates, fruit size, firmness, pit discoloration, freeness of pit and change of ground colour.
- Days required from flowering to maturity vary in different cultivars varies from 78 to 127 days. Early season varieties like Flordasun takes 81 days, Alexander 86 days, mid season July Elberta 101 days and late season cv. Elberta takes 127 days from full bloom to harvest. Ground colour variation in conjunction with flesh firmness is one of the best maturity indices in peaches.
- Peach fruits do not mature uniformly and hence several pickings are needed during harvesting.
- Hand picking is the standard method for harvesting fruits.
- The picking containers are lined with cushion materials to avoid cuts and bruises.
- Immediately after harvesting, fruits are stored at a cool place or marketed. Pre-harvest application of calcium nitrate at the rate of 1.5 per cent increases storage life of peaches.
Storage
- Peaches have a shorter storage life than most other temperate fruits. The recommended cold storage conditions are 0-0.3°C and 85-90% relative humidity.
- In these conditions, free stone peaches and nectarines can be kept for two weeks and clingstone for 4 weeks.
- Pre cooled peaches can be stored for 28-36 days.
- In controlled atmosphere storage containing 5% C02 1-2 % 02 at 0°C peaches can be stored up to 42 days.
- The peaches came into bearing after 2 years of planting in the field. The economic bearing life of peach plant is about 20-30 years. The yielding capacity increases with the age of the plant.
- The average yield fully grown trees of different varieties varies from 50 to 125 kg in hills. In conventional plantation, 7-10 tones/ha and under high density with Tatura Trellis system of training about 23 tones per ha yield has obtained
Diseases(1) Peach leaf curl aphid (Brachycaudus helichrysi) :
- This is most serious pest of peach. They also infest plum plants.
- The aphid sucks sap from the buds and sprouting foliage causing curling, yellowing and thickening of leaves.
- The activity of aphid is seen with the emergence of new growth during March .Floral buds also become weak and result in poor setting.
Control: The pest is controlled by spray of 0.025 % methyl demeton ( 200 ml metasystox 25 EC) or dimethoate 0.03% ( 200 ml Rogar 30 EC) in 200 litres of water 7-10 days before flowering. The spray should be repeated after 5 days.
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