Orchard sanitation is a crucial part of peach tree cultivation techniques. It should typically be carried out before bud break in spring and after leaf fall in late autumn and early winter. Only in this way can the base population of pests and diseases be effectively reduced, laying a good foundation for high peach yields. So, what pesticides are best for peach orchard sanitation? Let's find out below.
What is the best pesticide for sanitation of peach orchards?
For peach orchard sanitation, lime sulfur mixture and copper-based fungicides are best, and additional insecticides and fungicides should be formulated based on the prevalence of diseases in the orchard that year . In addition, nitrogen fertilizers such as potassium dihydrogen phosphate and urea solution should be added during the sanitation process to support peach tree budding, flowering, branching, and fruit setting.
How should peach orchards be properly cleaned?
I. Spring Garden Cleanup
1. Orchard management
Remove all dead branches, fallen leaves, weeds, and branches pruned in winter from the garden to eliminate some of the overwintering pests and diseases hidden among the dead branches and fallen leaves.
2. Pre-flowering pruning
Based on winter pruning, remove dead branches, trunks, as well as parallel branches, overlapping branches, crossing branches, densely packed branches, and diseased or insect-infested branches.
3. Medication regimen
Spraying the entire garden with lime sulfur solution at 3-5 Baume degrees before bud break in early spring can kill the source of pathogens before they multiply in large numbers.
II. Winter Garden Cleanup
1. Pruning and trimming
In conjunction with winter pruning, diseased shoots, dead branches, and stunted fruit should be thoroughly removed from the trees. Fallen fruit, weeds, dead branches, and fallen leaves should be cleared from the orchard and burned.
2. Whitewash the tree trunk
Applying whitewash to the main trunk and branches of peach trees before they sprout new leaves the following year can effectively prevent frost damage, sunburn, and gnawage by livestock and poultry, and can also control diseases and pests.
3. Medication regimen
Spraying lime sulfur in winter can help eliminate pests and diseases. A 45% lime sulfur solution crystallization can be used; the lime sulfur solution should first be dissolved in hot water and then stirred before being added to the sprayer.
