Peach breeding. Quality sun protection

Peach (Prunus persica) translates as "Persian plum". The plant belongs to the Rosaceae family and the Almond subgenus.

Biological features of peach

Peach trees have lanceolate foliage. The leaves are characterized by the presence of a pronounced serrated edge. The flowers are almost sessile, pink or red. Flowering is observed before the appearance of foliage.

The fruits can be both flat and elongated-elliptical in shape, and have a groove on one of the sides. Most often, peach fruits have a velvety surface. The stone is wrinkled, with striations and punctate fossae. There is a pronounced pointed apical part.

Popular varieties

Currently, four varieties or classes of peaches are especially famous:

• real peach, or peches, which has velvety fruits and pulp that easily separates from the stone;
• peach pavies, having velvety fruits and pulp that does not separate from the endocarp;
• nectarines having a smooth surface and pulp easily separated from the endocarp;
• brugnons and violettes, having a smooth fruit surface and pulp that is not separated from the endocarp.

The flesh of the fruit can be either white or yellow or red. At present, breeders have bred a large number of worthy of the attention of gardeners varieties. Among the most popular in our country, there are several varieties of peach.

Peach propagation methods

Amateur gardeners practice in several ways self breeding peach trees on household plots.

Vegetative reproduction

A very popular way for gardeners to get new fruit trees. The most effective use of grafting cuttings. As a rootstock, it is recommended to use healthy and high-quality apricot seedlings. from self-fertile varieties, as well as vegetative rootstocks OP23-23, the most winter-hardy varieties of plums or rootstock forms of plums Eurasia-43 and 13-27.

Green cuttings are based on biological feature called plant regeneration. Green cuttings are recommended to be cut from young and abundantly fruiting, most winter-hardy peach trees. Preference should be given to varieties with high resistance to most diseases and pests. Harvesting cuttings should be carried out in the first two decades of June.

seed propagation

With seed reproduction, we get offspring with the same properties and qualities as the original forms. This method of reproduction has both advantages and some disadvantages. Seedlings obtained from peach pits may have a lower fruiting rate, and the fruits themselves may be smaller. However, fruit trees grown from seeds have frost resistance and durability.

Fruits for pitting must be large, fully ripe or slightly overripe. The bone must be large. The bone obtained from the peach should be thoroughly washed from the remnants of the pulp.

Seeds are sown in late autumn, directly to a permanent place in the soil, which should be enriched with compost and leaf humus. At first, plants sprouted from seeds are very demanding on abundant watering. However more reliable and effective is the spring sowing of sprouted peach pits.

How to grow a peach from a stone (video)

Planting a peach

Peaches have long ceased to be exotic in our country, and gardeners are happy to cultivate peach trees in their backyards. To get abundantly fruitful garden plantings, you should take care of the quality preparation of the site for planting in advance, as well as adhere to standard recommendations for planting dates.

Ground Requirements

The most suitable soils for planting and growing peach trees are sandy and loamy nutrient soils with good air permeability. The growing area must have a very high level lighting. Plants do not tolerate stagnant cold air and strong gusts of wind.

The depth of planting depends on the size of the root system of the seedling, as well as the characteristics of the soil. As a rule, the planting pit has a depth of about 75 cm with a diameter of 0.8 to 1.0 m. Planted plants should not only be watered very abundantly with warm water, but also tied to a support.

Dates and landing scheme

Peach, depending on the region of cultivation, is planted in two terms - in spring or in autumn. Planting a peach in the fall gives the tree a chance to get strong and grow big next summer. However, in regions with early frosts, it is better to plant plants in early spring, even before bud break. The step between the trees is equal to the sum of the heights of mature plants.

Peculiarities of peach care

In order to grow an abundantly fruitful and healthy peach tree in a personal plot, you need to know some agrotechnical features and carry out the whole range of planting care activities.

Fertilization

The quality, as well as the quantity of fruit harvest, directly depends on the correct and timely application of fertilizers for plants. The older the peach tree, the more fertilizer application rate is used.

Irrigation Rules

In dry years, peach trees need very abundant watering, on which the yield and quality of fruits depend. Regular watering is especially important in the first year. In the future, when growing early varieties of peach, 2-3 irrigations should be carried out, and the cultivation of late varieties involves 5-6 per season. It is recommended to mulch the tree trunks after watering.

peach pruning

In the process of caring for peach trees, it is necessary to monitor bud formation and timely carry out normalizing pruning of the plant. Besides, in the spring, peach tree pruning should be carried out in order to form a crown.

Annual pruning is not just a must, but an essential event for peach plantations.

Rationing of ovaries

Peaches grown for drying and making compotes should not be rationed. If it is necessary to grow especially large peaches, then the ovaries should be thinned out. Between the ovaries there should be a distance of 8-10 cm, then the peaches grow as large as possible. You can normalize the ovaries with both scissors and a small garden pruner. The procedure should be performed in the first half of June, when the fruits reach a diameter of a centimeter.

Rules for growing peach

There is a set of mandatory measures that must be carried out when cultivating peach trees in a personal plot.

How to trim a peach (video)

How to protect a tree from frost

• in the autumn period, the plantations should be dug in and watered abundantly by performing water-charging irrigation;
• before sheltering, plants should be sprayed with Bordeaux liquid to protect against major diseases and pests;
• mulch the soil around fruit trees with peat or humus;
• wrap the root neck and trunk with several layers of burlap or roofing felt.

The crown can be covered with a film or erected over a low plant a structure in the form of a special sliding frame.

Quality sun protection

It is very important to carry out protective measures that will protect plants from damage as a result of exposure to sun rays. Most often, the stem part of the peach tree is whitewashed with synthetic paints, among which the most popular are VS-511, Protection and VD-K4-577. A good result is the use of ready-made mixtures "Garden whitewash", "Gardener" and "Sunshield".

Preventive spraying

Autumn spraying protects peach trees not only from fungal diseases, but also has an effective preventive action regarding the freezing of plants during winter frosts. It is very important to use the most effective means, which will reduce the risk of damage to the plant most dangerous diseases and pests.

Diseases and pests of peach

In order to prevent the appearance of insect pests and any diseases, as well as to combat them, modern fungicidal preparations are used. The main condition for the effectiveness of such funds is timely detection of the lesion and determination of the damaging factor.

Peach is considered one of the most delicious and healthy fruits of the southern regions, but recently gardeners in the Moscow region have been growing it. This beautiful tree with very useful and tasty fruits is not too difficult to grow, but the main condition for obtaining high yield is the observance of the basic rules of agricultural technology.

How to care for a peach (video)

Peach (lat. Prunus persica)- a plant of the subgenus Almond of the Pink family. Where the plant came from, there is no reliable data. In any case, it is known that the peach of David grows in the nature of Northern China, which is a wild-growing form of the common peach. In culture, the tree is cultivated in warm regions, and the champion in industrial cultivation peaches is China.

Planting and caring for a peach (in brief)

• Landing: in areas with a cool climate - in the spring (before the start of sap flow), in warm regions - both in spring and autumn.
• Bloom: from mid-April.
• Lighting: bright sun.
• The soil: any well-drained.
• Watering: early varieties - an average of 2-3 times per season, late - 5-6 times. Water consumption - from 2 to 5 buckets per tree, depending on age and size. Water the peaches early in the morning or in the evening. The first watering - in late May or early June, the second - in the first half of July, the third - in the first half of August. The soil is saturated with water to a depth of 60-70 cm. For fruit quality, watering is important 3-4 weeks before harvesting: depending on the age of the tree, water consumption is from 30 to 60 liters. The next watering - only after harvest. The last watering is winter, October. Water consumption for water-charging irrigation - 90-100 liters per m² of the near-stem circle.
• Top dressing: poor soils are fed annually with both organic matter and mineral fertilizers, they are applied to fertile soil once every 2-3 years organic fertilizers.
• Pruning: sanitary and formative - in the spring, between the beginning of sap flow and peach blossom. In autumn - pruning for sanitary purposes.
• Reproduction: seeds, grafting, cuttings.
• Pests: plum and oriental codling moths, aphids, scale insects, striped moths, flower beetles, fruit and mining moths, spider mites.
• Diseases: clasterosporiasis, moniliosis, powdery mildew, leaf curl, coccomycosis, scab, fruit and gray rot, cytosporosis, milky sheen, gum disease, verticillosis, gomoz (mushroom burn).

Read more about growing peaches below.

Peach tree - description

The root system of peach is located close to the surface - only at a depth of 20-50 cm. Peach trees reach an average height of 4 m, and their crown can grow up to 6 m in diameter. Peach leaves are lanceolate, finely serrated at the edges. The flowers are pink or red, almost sessile, open in mid or late April, before the leaves appear on the peach, so from afar peach blossom reminiscent of sakura. The fruit of the peach, usually velvety, may be flat, round or oblong-elliptical with a groove on one side. The fruit bone is wrinkled, furrowed, with a pointed apex.

Peach trees enter fruiting after 2-4 years from the moment of planting, the fruiting period lasts 10-15 years. The peach, like mangoes and oranges, is one of the most delicious fruits with the finest aroma and refreshing taste. He is related to such fruit trees, like the almond, from which it differs only in fruits, apricot, shadberry, quince, chokeberry, plum, mountain ash, hawthorn, wild rose, cotoneaster, apple tree, pear and medlar. We offer you carefully selected material on how to grow a peach in your garden and how to properly care for a peach, how to treat a peach from pests and diseases, how to fertilize a peach throughout the season and how to plant a peach if you have a desire to propagate it .

Planting a peach

When to plant a peach

Peach planting time depends on the climatic features of your area. The further south you live, the more appropriate it will be to plant a peach in the fall. In the northern regions, plant seedlings in open ground better in spring so that during the spring-summer season the trees are well rooted and have time to grow. The conditions of the middle lane make both spring and autumn peach planting possible, but it is better to give preference to the latter.

For peach, choose an elevated and protected from the wind, but sunny place on the south side of the site. Large trees, shrubs and buildings should not cover the seedling from the sun. Keep the peach at least 3 m away from other plants. Do not plant a peach where strawberries, alfalfa, clover, nightshade and melons grew before it, as it can become ill with verticillium. After these plants, peach can be planted on the site only after 3-4 years.

Planting a peach in spring

A pit for a seedling must be dug in advance - the more time passes from digging a pit to planting a tree, the better the soil will be. If you are going to plant a peach in the spring, prepare a hole for it in the fall, six months before planting. The depth of the pit depends on the size of the root system, but, as a rule, a hole for a seedling is dug with a diameter of 50-70 cm, and its depth should be the same. A strong long peg of such length is driven into the bottom of the pit in the center so that it protrudes at least half a meter above the surface.

If the soil on the site is poor, the top layer of the soil taken out of the pit is mixed with rotted manure, humus or compost in the amount of 5-8 kg, 200-300 g of wood ash, 50 g of superphosphate, 50 g of potassium chloride are added and carefully mix everything. Only mineral fertilizers and ash are added to fertile soil. The soil with additives is poured into a hill in the center of the pit.

When buying seedlings, you should ask how they are adapted to the area in which they will grow. Make sure that the place where the scion grows together with the stock is smooth, without sagging. peach bark and root system should also be healthy - pinch off a piece of bark: its wrong side should not be brown, but green. Carefully inspect the roots of the seedling and make sure they are not overdried or rotting. Best adapted to open ground annual peach seedlings.

The tree is placed on a mound in the center of the pit, its roots are carefully straightened and the foundation pit is covered with soil. As a result, the grafting site should be a few centimeters above the surface of the site. The soil is trampled down from the edges of the near-stem circle to the trunk, then the seedling is watered with two or three buckets of water. When the water is absorbed and the earth settles, tie the tree to a peg, and mulch the near-stem circle with a layer of manure 8-10 cm thick. Make sure that the mulch does not come into contact with the trunk of the seedling.

Planting a peach in autumn

On the eve of autumn planting, they dig a hole for a seedling at least 2-3 weeks in advance, but in autumn only ash and mineral fertilizers are mixed with the soil. The soil with fertilizers, as well as during spring planting, is poured into a hill in the center of the pit around the peg. A peach is planted in autumn in the same way as in spring, but after planting and watering the seedling, when the soil dries, the tree is spudded to a height of 20-30 cm, and on the eve of the onset of cold weather, the peach trunk is wrapped in burlap, making holes in it from the south side for ventilation.

peach care

Peach care in spring

Peach care begins in mid-April: the first procedure is the processing of a tree along swelling buds from codling moth, aphids and other pests. Then you have to treat the peach with a three percent Bordeaux liquid from fungi. On a pink bud, a peach is pruned for replacement and fungal treatment with preparations that replace Bordeaux liquid, since it is impossible to spray a peach with copper-containing preparations during the active growing season.

After flowering, a combined treatment of trees from pests and diseases is carried out.

If the winter was snowless and the spring dry, do not forget to water the peach in May.

Summer peach care

After the excess ovary is shed from the tree, distribute the load of fruits on the tree: on each fruit-bearing shoot, leave so many fruits that there is one ovary per 8-10 cm in length, remove the rest of the fruits. Monitor the condition of the soil in the trunk circle - loosen the soil and remove weeds. A peach needs watering in the summer, especially when a prolonged heat sets in, but first wait for the stone to harden, otherwise the fruits will begin to crack. In order not to lose the crop, treat the tree from diseases and pests.

Before harvesting the fruits, it is advisable to carry out 2-3 foliar top dressings of peach with potash fertilizers to increase sugar in fruits, which can be combined with pest control and powdery mildew. Not later than a month before harvesting, peach watering is carried out - this will increase the fruit in size by a third.

Autumn peach care

Peach lays and forms flower buds in August and September, and their winter hardiness directly depends on the amount of moisture in the ground, which is why peach watering is so important, which is carried out during these periods.

If you notice that your tree is often affected by fungal diseases, as a preventive measure in October, when the leaves begin to change color, treat the peach with a three percent Bordeaux liquid, and after leaf fall, with a one percent solution of copper sulfate or a seven percent solution of urea.

In autumn, organic and mineral fertilizers are embedded in the soil of the trunk circle, which should be enough for the tree until spring.

Watering peach

The number of waterings during the growing season depends on weather conditions, but on average, early varieties of peach are watered 2-3 times per season, and late ones - 5-6 times. From 2 to 5 buckets of water are spent per session per tree. Watering is carried out in the early morning or evening. The first time a peach is watered in early June, and if the winter was without snow and the spring without rain, then it is better to water the plant at the end of May. The next watering is carried out in the first half of July, and the third - in the first half of August. Try to wet the soil to the depth of the roots - 60-70 cm.

It is very important to irrigate 3-4 weeks before harvesting, which will allow the fruits to grow in mass. The amount of water for each m² of the near-stem circle is 30-60 liters, depending on the age of the tree. After that, the peach cannot be watered until harvest, otherwise its fruits will become watery and lose their sugar content.

No less important is the winter watering of peach, which saturates the soil with moisture and increases the winter hardiness of the tree. Water consumption for water-charging irrigation is 90-100 liters per m² of the near-stem circle.

Peach dressing

Growing peach involves the annual application of fertilizers to the soil. The amount and composition of fertilizing depends on the quality of the soil. For example, poor soils require the annual application of both mineral fertilizers and organics, and in fertile soils organic fertilizers are applied once every 2-3 years. In conditions where you have to water the peach often, the amount of fertilizer applied is increased, since they are washed out during irrigation.

First spring dressing peach on still dormant buds, the tree can be treated with a 7% solution of urea: this measure will provide the plant with nitrogen and, moreover, will destroy pathogens and insect pests that hibernate in cracks in the bark and in top layer soil. Before processing a peach, make sure the buds on the trees are still dormant, otherwise the urea will burn them. If you are late and the buds begin to bloom, instead of working on the leaves, dig the soil in the peach tree trunks while adding 70 g of ammonium nitrate and 50 g of urea per m² of the tree trunk under the young trees. The older the tree, the more fertilizer is needed per unit area: every 2-3 years the dose of each fertilizer is increased by 15-20 g.

AT summer time it is better to fertilize in a foliar way. How to feed a peach during the period of growth and ripening of fruits? The culture responds well to such a fertilizer composition: 100-150 g of an aqueous extract of superphosphate, 50-60 g of ammonium nitrate or 30-50 g of urea, 50-80 g of ammonium sulfate and 30-60 g of calcium chloride or 50-70 g of potassium sulfate, 15 g of manganese and 10 g of borax, dissolved in 10 liters of water. If the fruits on the peach are already ripening, exclude the nitrogen component and borax from this composition.

To achieve a more intense color and increase the sugar content of fruits in the phase of their ripening, foliar top dressing of peach is carried out with a solution of 30 g of potassium salt or potassium sulfate in 10 liters of water.

In the fall, 40 g of superphosphate and 50 g of calcium chloride per m² are added to the soil for digging the trunk circle. Once every 2-3 years in the fall, organic fertilizers are added to the soil - humus or compost, but instead, green manure can be grown in the aisles - oil radish, rape, lupine or rapeseed.

Wintering peach

The peach is a thermophilic plant, and for the winter it needs to be covered: next to the trunk, two pegs are driven into the ground as tall as a tree stem and the trunk and pegs are wrapped in a bag of sugar. You can make a cardboard box around the barrel and wrap it with a film. If your winters are not too cold, spud the peach trunk with earth to a height of 50-60 cm. The trunk circle for the winter is mulched with a layer of peat or humus 10-15 cm thick.

peach pruning

When to prune a peach

The best time to prune a peach is the two to three week period between the start of sap flow and the start of flowering. The easiest way for a plant to tolerate a haircut is from the beginning of the appearance of rose buds to the beginning of their opening - this is a period of time of about a week. At this time, the risk of peach infection with cytosporosis is minimal. After harvesting, sanitary pruning of the tree should be carried out.

The formation of a peach must begin from the first year of growth, and the formation will be completed only after four years. How necessary is shaping pruning? Firstly, it regulates the balance between the crown and the root system of the plant. Secondly, it allows you to maintain the health of the tree in good condition. Thirdly, it contributes to the earlier entry into fruiting of the peach, and also provides you with convenience when harvesting.

How to trim a peach

Peaches different ages cut differently. The crown of the tree is usually formed in the form of a bowl. How it's done? In the year of planting, the seedling guide is cut at a height of 60-70 cm. The peach branch located above all should have a wide angle of departure. Select two more growths a little lower, located at the same angle, and cut all three branches up to 10 cm into the outer buds. Cut off the rest of the shoots located on the stem and conductor immediately after the buds open.

On the skeletal branches of trees of the second year of life, it is important to maintain an optimal slope. Extension growths are shortened to 60-70 cm. Strong upper and lower growths are removed, lateral growths are thinned out, and those that remain are shortened by two buds.

On the upper skeletal branch of trees of the third year of life, two powerful branches of the second order are selected and cut off to 60 cm from the bifurcation of the main branch. The part of the conductor that rises above the upper branch is cut off. The upper and lower sides of the skeletal branches are freed from powerful growths. Annual growths that have reached 80 cm in length are cut into two buds to form a fruit link. The lower shoot is cut to 50 cm. On the branches shortened last year by two buds, the growths growing upwards are shortened for fruiting, and the lower ones by two buds. Next year, fruit links will be formed from them.

In the fourth year of a peach's life, two successful third-order branches are selected on the second-order branches of the skeletal branches and shortened by a third of the original length. On the branches of the second order, the formation of fruit links is completed, and the growths on the branches of the third order are thinned out and some are cut short - into two buds, and the rest are not touched to use them as non-permanent fruit-bearing branches. On the fruiting links of the first order, the non-fruiting parts are removed. The branches of the lower growth, cut short last year, are cut into two buds located below. On the upper growths, 7-8 groups of buds are removed to stimulate future fruiting.

peach pruning in spring

Formative pruning, which we told you about, is carried out in the spring in order to give the crown a cupped shape that is convenient for peach care and harvesting. But peach pruning also has sanitary purposes: after spring, frozen, diseased or damaged branches can be found on the tree, which must be removed. After pruning, treat the cuts with garden pitch.

pruning peach in autumn

In autumn, trees are prepared for winter: they carefully cut off old, diseased, dry and damaged branches during harvesting, as well as those that grow inside the crown, thickening it: the tree should expend energy and nutrition only on healthy branches and shoots, which next year will give a harvest. Formative pruning is not done in the fall; there will be time for this in the spring.

In summer, a fruiting peach is not pruned unnecessarily.

Peach breeding

How to propagate a peach

Peaches propagate seed way, grafting and cuttings. It is possible to grow own-rooted peaches from cuttings only in horticultural conditions, since it is very difficult for an amateur to create the conditions necessary for rooting cuttings.

Growing a peach from seed has some drawbacks: a plant grown from seed may not inherit the characteristics of the mother tree. In addition, finding good seed is not so easy: shops and supermarkets usually sell peaches from the stone of which it is difficult to grow something, and market peaches do not always meet the required requirements. It is best to take seed from the owners of healthy zoned peach trees, and then all that remains is to meticulously follow the instructions developed by specialists for growing peach from the stone.

There are also disadvantages to the method of propagating peach by grafting. Firstly, it is not so easy to get the right rootstock, and if you grow it yourself, it will take at least a year. Secondly, it is necessary that there is compatibility between the tissues of the scion and the rootstock, otherwise they will not grow together. Thirdly, you need to meticulously follow the instructions, otherwise the slightest mistake can negate all your efforts.

Propagation of peach seeds

Seed propagation of peach, in addition to disadvantages, has undoubted advantages:

• own-rooted seedlings grown from seed live twice as long as grafted peaches;
• they are more resistant to drought, cold, gum disease and other diseases;
• in some cases, own-rooted seedlings surpass their parents in many characteristics.

If you are full of desire to grow a peach from a seed, we are ready to tell you how to do it right.

Find a site for future peaches located no closer than 3-4 m from any mature trees, large bushes and premises. The place should be sunny, but at the same time protected from cold winter winds. Planting is best done in October or November, so that the seeds in the ground undergo natural stratification over the winter.

Before planting, the seeds are not soaked, on the contrary, they are dried in the shade and, carefully opened, the kernels are removed from them. A trench is dug at the site, filled with fertile loose soil, into which peach seeds are planted every 25-30 cm to a depth of 5-6 cm. After planting, the seeds are covered and watered. Do not panic if you do not see shoots for a long time: first a root will develop from the seed, and only then a sprout will appear. That is why the soil in the trench is filled with soft and loose. At first, the site is watered daily. When shoots appear in the spring, they are fed with a weak solution of humus, and the seedlings are also treated on the leaves with Ridomil or Thiovit preparations - also of low concentration.

Peach seedlings are transplanted three times. The first time a peach, along with an earthy clod, needs to be dug up when it has 8-10 leaves. The central root of the seedling is carefully cut 6 cm below the root collar, then the seedling is planted in its original place, after which the soil is compacted and watered around it.

The second transplant is carried out when the peaches reach a height of 90-100 cm. They do this in the spring, before the start of sap flow: the seedlings are dug around the perimeter at a distance of 25-30 cm from the stems and, taking them out together with an earthen clod, transplanted, swapping with each other.

The third time the peaches, when they grow up and get stronger enough, are transplanted to a permanent place.

peach grafting

Peach is a crop with limited winter hardiness, but it tolerates drought very well - this is one of its indisputable advantages. You can graft a varietal peach using an apricot, plum, almond or quince seedling as a rootstock. The grafting technology for any of these rootstocks is the same: you should prepare a cutting of the variety you need in advance and graft it onto a one-year-old or two-year-old seedling of one of the listed crops.

Cuttings are harvested at the end of autumn before the start of frost, they are stored in the cellar or in the garden, covered with warm material, and covered with a layer on top. sawdust 20 cm thick. As soon as it gets warmer, the cuttings are transferred to the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Vaccination is carried out in the spring, after the start of sap flow.

As a rootstock, you can use both peach seedlings grown from seed and wild game of the crops listed by us, the thickness of which is at least 1.5 cm. The stock is cut to the desired height, it is checked that the bark is smooth and without buds. The methods of grafting, depending on whether the thickness of the scion coincides with the thickness of the stock, can be as follows: by a kidney, a cutting or a split.

peach diseases

Peach diseases and pests can greatly complicate the life of both him and you. Peach diseases are innumerable - this is one of the shortcomings of the culture. Let's talk about those diseases that are most common and are the most dangerous for the plant.

Clusterosporiasis- the most harmful fungal disease of peach, which also affects nectarines. All the ground organs of the tree suffer from this disease. Light brown spots with a raspberry or dirty red border appear on the leaves, the tissue inside the spots dries up, dies and falls out, leaving holes, which is why klesterosporiosis is often called perforated spotting. The bark of young shoots of annual seedlings is covered with orange varnished spots, which spread in length along the fibers, the bark cracks, and gum is released from the cracks. The affected shoots die off, the peach dries.

Leaf curl. This is perhaps the most dangerous disease for peach, which most often occurs in a long and damp spring. The leaves of a diseased tree are covered with reddish swellings, their surface becomes uneven, wavy, they swell, and a white coating leaves turn brown and fall off. The shoots become bare, acquiring the appearance of a lion's tail with leaves instead of a tassel at the end, bend, thicken and turn yellow. If you do not fight curly, the peach will begin to lag behind in development and eventually die.

powdery mildew forms a white felt coating on the underside of the leaves, the upper part of the shoots of the current year and fruits. Shoots begin to lag behind in growth, deform, partially die off. The first symptoms of the disease appear from late April to mid-May, and the disease reaches its maximum development in the very heat - in the middle of summer.

Moniliosis stone fruits - a common disease from which shoots and individual branches dry out, dark spots appear and grow on peach fruits, the flesh of the fruit becomes brown, rotten peaches wrinkle and dry. A healthy fetus can become infected with moniliosis from a sick person.

peach processing

Peach treatment for kleasterosporiosis is carried out for the first time with copper chloride or Meteor during the swelling of the kidneys, but you need to have time to carry it out before they begin to open. The following treatments are carried out before and after flowering with Horus or Topsin M preparations in accordance with the instructions. In the spring, before flowering, it is necessary to cut off all the affected branches and shoots, treating the sections with an eight percent solution of lime with the addition of a two percent solution of iron or copper sulfate, after which the sections must be covered with garden pitch.

If you have determined that the peach is affected by curl, after harvesting, when the leaf fall begins, treat the tree with copper oxychloride or Meteor. In early spring and at the beginning of the appearance of rose buds, the peach is treated with the same copper-containing preparations that can be replaced with Horus or Skor with the addition of Delan. Sick leaves and shoots are cut and burned before sporulation begins.

To protect against powdery mildew, peach at the end of flowering is treated with Topaz, Topsin M, Skor, Vectra or Strobi. As preventive measures, spring and autumn pruning shoots affected by the disease with their subsequent burning, collection and destruction of fallen leaves and fruits and digging of the soil in tree trunks.

From moniliosis, the peach will have to be treated three times: with Horus before flowering, in the rosebud phase, with Topaz after flowering and Topsin two weeks after the second treatment. The areas damaged by the disease are cut off and destroyed.

In addition to the diseases described, the peach can suffer from coccomycosis, scab, fruit or gray rot, cytosporosis, milky sheen, gum disease, verticillosis, homosis or fungal burn.

Peach pests

Eastern and plum codling moth- butterflies of small sizes, using peach to feed their offspring and as a place for wintering. Butterfly caterpillars eat young peach shoots, adults feed on the seeds of its fruits. Insects spend the winter cold in cocoons in cracks in the peach bark or under fallen leaves in the near-trunk circle.

Ways to fight. Treating the tree three times with insecticides such as Chlorophos, Metaphos, Karbofos or Durban will help you rid the peach of codling moths. The interval between sessions is 2 weeks.

Ways to fight. While there are not too many aphids, it can be removed mechanically by wiping the affected areas with soapy water after that. But if you overlooked the appearance of aphids, and she managed to breed, treat the peach with Karbofos, Aktellik, or any other similar preparation. The treatment may need to be repeated. The interval between sessions is 10-14 days. The last treatment is carried out no later than 2-3 weeks before harvest.

Shchitovka damages all ground parts of the peach: a day after the pest sucks, red spots appear on the bark and fruits. Scale insects deplete the tree, populating the skeletal branches, tops of the shoots and the trunk. At the tree on which scale insects settle, the bark cracks and dies, the foliage falls prematurely, the growths dry out, the fruits become smaller and deformed.

Ways to fight. In the fight against scale insects, peach treatments with drugs such as Actellik, Aktara, Bankol, Inta-vir or Mospilan are effective in accordance with the instructions. From folk remedies the most famous are pepper tincture or onion water, but they are ineffective.

striped moth no less dangerous pest. Its caterpillars bite into the buds and young shoots, eating away the core, causing the affected areas to dry and die. Damaged in the stalk area, the fruits expire with gum. One caterpillar can damage from 3 to 5 shoots.

Ways to fight. During bud break, treat the peach with Karbofos, Chlorophos or Zolon. Recognize and cut out damaged shoots in a timely manner and burn them.

Flower weevils, fruit and mining moths, mites and other harmful insects can also be dangerous for peach.

Peach varieties

Peach subspecies

The Peach species is divided into several subspecies:

• common peach- we gave its description at the beginning of the article;
• peach (or almond) Potanin- a low-growing tree, reaching a height of 2 m, with reddish bark, large white or pink flowers and rounded fruits with an elongated bone, unsuitable for food. This variety of peach is found only in the nature of China. Since the fruits of this subspecies do not represent nutritional value, it is not grown in culture;
• peach david- a tree that grows up to 3 m in height. The fruits of this subspecies are small, with a dry pericarp and low-juicy sweet and sour pulp, therefore David's peach is grown mainly for decorative purposes;
• gasuan peach grows wild in China. This is a medium-sized tree 3-4 m high, it looks very impressive during flowering, when it is covered with small pink and white flowers. The fruits of this low-tasting peach are small, round, yellowish in color, with hard white flesh. This subspecies serves as the basis for breeding valuable varieties of common peach, endowing them with their disease resistance and frost resistance;
• peace peach- wild tall eastern subspecies, reaching a height of 8 m, with spherical fruits of low taste. It has no value for cultivation;
• nectarine very similar to peach. Its main difference is its smooth, slippery skin. The color of the nectarine can be yellow, white or yellow-red. The pulp of the fruit is juicy, yellow, not as sweet as that of a peach, but the seeds in the stones are just sweet, they can be used like almond kernels;
• some scientists also distinguish in a separate subspecies fig peach, or Ferghana, which is a tree up to 5 m high with a wide spreading crown. This subspecies has nothing to do with figs. The fruits of the fig peach are rounded and flattened, with a depressed top. The skin is slightly pubescent, dense, yellow with a greenish tint. The flesh is light yellow, fibrous, sweet and aromatic. The bone is small. The advantage of the variety is resistance to freezing of buds and buds.

Peach varieties

Today, there are many varieties of peach, the fruits of which differ in shape, size, aroma, taste, color and texture of the skin and pulp.

By type of fruit, peaches are divided into four classes:

• real peaches are velvety fruits, the pulp of which is easily separated from the stone;
• pavia - velvety fruits, the pulp of which does not separate from the stone;
• nectarines - naked fruits, the pulp of which is easily separated from the stone;
• brunyons are naked fruits in which the pulp does not separate from the stone.

According to the color of the fruit, peach varieties are divided into:

• yellow (In memory of Rodionov, Solnechny, Donetsk yellow, Glo Haven and Bohun);
• red (Suncrest, Harmony, Krasnodarets);
• green (Juicy, Grisborough).

The best varieties of nectarine include Plentiful, Pink Princess, Autumn Blush, Relines, Skif, Lola. And the best winter-hardy varieties of nectarine are Skif, Krasnodarets, Fodor, Lyubimets 1 and Lyubimets 2.

According to the ripening period, peach varieties are divided into early, mid-ripening and late.

Early varieties of peach

The best varieties of early ripening peach include the following:

• Morettini- an ultra-early self-pollinating early-fruiting variety of Italian selection, which enters fruiting 2-3 years after planting. The yield of this variety is up to 30 kg per tree. Medium-sized fruits weighing up to 115 g are covered with a bright yellow, gently pubescent skin with a bright red blush in the form of spots and dots, occupying 60% of the surface of the fruit. The pulp is yellow-creamy, fragrant, juicy, with delicate fibers. Bone medium size separated from the pulp with difficulty;
• Velvety- medium-sized productive variety with medium and large fruits weighing up to 140 g, rounded, bright yellow with a carmine blush, almost completely covering the surface. The pubescence of fruits is weak, suede. Very juicy flesh of golden yellow color with delicate fibers of excellent taste. A small bone is poorly separated from the pulp;
• Kyiv early- an early maturing, winter-hardy and high-yielding variety of Ukrainian selection, undemanding to growing conditions. Round-elongated light yellow fruits of medium size weighing up to 100 g can sometimes be covered with a bright blush. The pulp of the fruit is greenish-white, juicy, tasty;
• redhaven- a variety resistant to frost and curl with large fruits weighing up to 150 g, orange-yellow in color with red spots and specks. The flesh is yellow, tender, very aromatic. Unfortunately, trees of this variety, if agricultural practices are not followed, are affected by fungi;
• Collins- a winter-hardy and productive variety, resistant to powdery mildew and curl, with pubescent fruits weighing up to 150 g, red-yellow in color, sweet taste with a pleasant sourness. This variety requires careful care - frequent fertilizing, watering and timely pruning.

In addition to those described, such varieties as Early Forest-Steppe, Juicy, Fluffy Early, Memory of Rodionov, Greensboro, Novoselovsky, May Flower, Arp, Early Riversa, Domestic, Excellent, Red Bird Kling and others are popular.

Medium varieties of peach

Of the varieties of peach of an average ripening period, the following are most often grown:

• Veteran- a winter-hardy high-yielding variety of Canadian selection with rounded, slightly pubescent fruits weighing up to 130 g, yellow with a red blush covering a significant part of the surface. The pulp of the fruit is yellow, medium density, juicy, fragrant, sour-sweet. The stone is easily separated from the pulp. The variety is resistant to powdery mildew;
• Peace Ambassador- winter-hardy self-fertile productive variety with very large fruits weighing up to 220 g of yellow-carmine color with dense yellow, juicy, fibrous pulp of pleasant taste, which is poorly separated from the stone. Peaches of this variety ripen in mid-August;
• nectarine Krasnodarets- a variety with small rounded fruits with a barely noticeable seam, weighing up to 50 g of yellow color with a bright red blush, consisting of dots and stripes. The skin of the fruits of this variety is smooth, without pubescence. The pulp is yellow, juicy, tasty, with delicate fibers;
• Soviet- a variety zoned for the southern regions of Ukraine with oval-blunt fruits weighing up to 170 g, slightly squeezed from the sides. The skin is medium velvety, yellow with a carmine blush. The pulp is yellow, medium fiber, very juicy and aromatic. A medium-sized stone is easily separated from the pulp;
• Friendship – winter-hardy variety, derived from Chinese material, with round fruits weighing from 140 to 250 g with a ribbed ventral suture. The skin is tender and elastic, with barely noticeable pubescence, creamy yellow, with a blush of red dots and strokes. The flesh is creamy white, sweet and very juicy, easily separated from the stone.

Also of interest are the mid-ripening peach varieties White Swan, Golden Jubilee, Champion, Dakota, Tuscan Kling, Double Mountain, New Yield, Fine, Pineapple Nectarine, Salami and others.

Late varieties of peach

There are not as many late peach varieties as early and mid-ripening ones, but for a heat-loving crop, this is in the order of things. The best of the late varieties are:

• Jaminat- high-yielding variety with elongated fruits, slightly squeezed from the sides, bright yellow with marbled red. Bright orange flesh of medium density, very juicy and sweet, with a barely noticeable sour taste. The stone is well separated from the pulp;
• Irganai late – frost-resistant variety with round fruits weighing up to 160 g. Skin with suede pubescence, bright yellow, with beautiful red spots. The pulp is yellow-orange, sweet, tender fibrous. A small bone is well separated from the pulp. The variety is resistant to clasterosporia and curliness;
• Kremlin- a productive variety, zoned for the Crimea and the south of Ukraine, with rounded fruits weighing up to 200 g with yellow-orange skin and marble carmine-burgundy blush, which occupies a significant part of the surface. Skin with soft pubescence. Orange-yellow fragrant pulp of medium density and juiciness of a very pleasant taste is easily separated from a small stone;
• Golden Moscow- a winter-hardy high-yielding variety with fruits weighing up to 180 g of bright yellow basic color and a blurred red blush covering most of the fruit. The pubescence of the skin is weak, velvety. The pulp is yellow, fragrant, dense, medium juicy, well away from the stone;
• Tourist- a relatively winter-hardy variety, zoned for the Crimea and southern Ukraine, with round, wide-oval fruits weighing up to 200 g, greenish-cream in color with a blurred burgundy blush, occupying up to half of the fruit surface. The pubescence of the skin is weak, suede. Greenish-white pulp is fibrous, medium density, juicy and fragrant, sweet taste with slight sourness. A large bone is well separated from the pulp.
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Peach belongs to the Rose family, genus Plum. What country is his homeland is unknown. In the northern part of China, you can find David's peaches, which are an uncultivated variety of ordinary peaches.

Peaches grow in Central Asia, America, Transcaucasia, warm parts of Eurasia. Leading place in the cultivation of peach trees in industrial scale occupies China.

Appearance

The roots of the peach tree are not deep enough - at a distance of 0.2-0.5 m from the surface. Peaches can grow up to 4 meters. Peach leaves have a lanceolate shape and small teeth on the edge.

Peach flowers - pink or red, bloom in the second half of April before the leaves appear. Peach blossoms are reminiscent of cherry blossoms. The fruit is flat or round, has a velvety surface and a small furrow on one side. Inside is a pointed furrowed bone.

The peach begins to bear fruit 2-4 years after it is planted and continues to bear fruit for one to one and a half decades.

Peach fruits have a pleasant smell and juicy, fresh taste.

How to grow

The climate has a great influence on the landing period. AT southern countries it is preferable to plant peach seedlings in autumn, in the northern parts - in early spring.

For planting a peach tree, a hill is selected, located on the south side, which is protected from the winds. This place must be well lit by the sun. The distance from the peach to neighboring vegetation should not be less than 3 meters.

The hole must be dug in advance. If you are going to plant in the spring, then it should be prepared in the fall, and if you have chosen an autumn planting, then the pit should be ready a few weeks before it.

The dimensions of the pit are usually 0.5-0.7 m by 0.5-0.7 m by 0.5-0.7 m. A peg is driven into the pit so that it sticks out 0.5 m above the ground.

The soil is mixed with ash or mineral fertilizers. In the barren land spring planting add mullein, compost, superphosphate, ash and potassium chloride. The prepared soil is poured into the central part of the pit.

When buying a peach, you need to find out if it is adapted to the local climate. You also need to pay attention to the graft was smoothly spliced ​​with the rootstock. Roots and bark should be undamaged and healthy looking.

The seedling is installed in the central part of the pit, the root system is smoothed and covered with earth. The soil is compacted, watered with water (2-3 buckets). After absorbing moisture and shrinking the soil, the peach must be tied to a peg and the soil should be mulched with manure.

Remember that manure should not touch the trunk. At autumn planting peach must be spudded and before frost sets in, cover with burlap, in the southern part of which ventilation holes are made.

In spring, the tree must be treated from harmful insects, fungi. After the peach blossoms, it is necessary to re-treat.

In summer, it is necessary to regularly loosen the ground and weed weeds. Also, do not forget about watering and top dressing. You also need to make sure that the load from the fruits is uniform.

Fertilize the soil in autumn. If necessary, carry out preventive treatment against fungal diseases. Irrigation is very important.

Peach needs to be fed every year. The types of fertilizers used depend on the condition of the soil. You can also use foliar top dressing.

The peach is thermophilic and needs shelter for the winter.

Pruning should be done in the spring before it blooms. It is necessary to engage in the formation of the crown after one year of growth. A peach will be fully formed in 4 years. Pruning of old branches is allowed in the fall.

How to propagate a peach

Peach can be propagated in the following ways:

• seeds
• vaccination

What can hurt peaches

Diseases and harmful insects can severely damage a peach. Most often, peach trees suffer from clasterosporiasis, leaf curl, powdery mildew, and moniliosis.

If the tree first fell ill with clasterosporiasis, then copper chloride or Meteor is used to treat peach. Subsequently, it is treated with "Horus" or "Topsin M".

Before the peach begins to bloom, it is necessary to cut off the damaged branches and treat the cut points with a solution of lime and copper sulfate.

Treatment of peach curl is carried out with copper chloride or "Meteor". In the spring, trees are treated with copper-containing products. Damaged foliage and shoots are removed before spores appear. It's best to burn them.

To protect the tree from powdery mildew, after it finishes flowering, it must be treated with Topaz, Topsin M or other appropriate preparations. Preventive measures can be regular removal of damaged branches, cleaning and burning of fallen leaves, loosening the soil.

If you have determined monoliosis, then the peach tree must be treated before flowering with Horus, during flowering with Topaz, and after it ends, use Topsin. Sick leaves and branches must be destroyed.

Varieties of peaches

Today there are a large number of varieties of peach. All of them differ in their shape, size, smell, taste, color, texture. All varieties are divided into early, medium and late.

The most popular Morettini, Early Kyiv, Juicy, Golden Jubilee, Champion, Tourist, Aydinovsky oblong and others.

peach photo

Known vegetative method of propagation of peach, in which seedlings of cultivars or seedlings of other stone fruit crops, called rootstocks, are grown in nurseries. These seedlings are grafted with a cutting or bud of another varietal peach, called scion. If the grafting is successful, the components grow together and continue to grow as a single organism, forming a grafted plant. Such peaches are called grafted. Mostly this is how peaches are propagated.

However, this method has two significant drawbacks. Firstly, the time spent on rootstock cultivation increases both the time for its reproduction and the production area allocated for the nursery. And secondly, if the rootstock and scion are incompatible, their tissues do not grow together, but this does not prevent the reproduction of one or another variety on one or another rootstock. This can be avoided by propagating peaches from green cuttings.

Propagated peach - green cuttings

Cuttings are a vegetative method of propagating plants by rooting a cutting.

Green peach cuttings, which are part of the shoot, are rooted in protected soil using fogging plants and growth regulators. Such peaches are called own-rooted (cuttings).

Experts say that it is possible to grow own-rooted seedlings only in the conditions of horticultural institutions, an ordinary gardener cannot afford to create conditions favorable for the rooting of green cuttings.

A simple device will help amateur gardeners to propagate peaches by green cuttings in gardens, in summer cottages and household plots.

Any container with a hole in the bottom is placed in a deep pan (1). A substrate is poured into it, consisting of vegetable compost and garden soil (an insignificant impurity), and on top is a layer of calcined coarse sand. A peach stalk is planted and covered with a liter jar. The ratio of the maximum diameter of the container to the diameter of a glass liter jar is 1.75, which contributes to the creation of an optimal air regime around the rooting zone of a green peach cutting.

That's the whole device.

And now more about the details.

Atmospheric pressure (Ratm) acts on a liquid (water), which, according to Pascal's law, is transmitted uniformly in all directions. Water through the hole in the container (2) through the capillaries of the two-layer substrate (3) rises to the surface (A), from where it evaporates into a glass jar (4) and partially into the atmosphere. Due to the temperature difference between the environment and the substrate, the vapor condenses and settles on the inner walls of a glass liter jar and on the leaves of a rooted peach cutting (5), forming the thinnest stable water film on the leaves and maintaining high air humidity under the jar.

Very important factors

Green peach cuttings are based on the biological characteristics of plants - regeneration, that is, the ability of individual parts or organs to restore growth and body functions. Green cuttings in the process of regeneration from shoot tissues form adventitious (adventitious) roots.

Adventitious root regeneration depends on many factors that need to be taken into account.

Otherwise rooting will fail.

• Green cuttings should be cut from young fruit-bearing, highly winter-hardy peach trees.
• You need to choose varieties that are resistant to diseases and pests.
• The terms of the operation are the first two decades of June, depending on weather conditions.
• The optimal time for harvesting green peach cuttings is in the morning, before sunrise.
• For cuttings, shoots should be taken from the lower part of the peach tree crown, they have the best regenerative ability.
• Green cuttings taken from the upper and middle parts of the shoot of the current year or the bottom of last year's shoot are well rooted.
• Leafy cuttings take root only in the light.
• Reducing the area of ​​leaves reduces the percentage of rooting of cuttings, so the cutting should have the largest possible number of healthy leaves.
• A green peach stalk no longer than 60 mm is cut with a sharp blade. The cut is made perpendicular to the axis of the cutting, it should be smooth, without notches.
• Cut green cuttings in the early morning with dew drops on the leaves or in cloudy weather after rain have a low water-holding capacity and are in the so-called turgor state.

Planting a cutting

Peach cuttings are planted in the prepared substrate without delay ,because with the loss of turgor, green cuttings become impossible.

The substrate is the medium in which the lower (basal) part of the cutting is placed, on which the roots form.

The depth of planting the peach is such that the stalk is held in an upright position. Rooting occurs in the upper layer of the substrate, and further development of the root system occurs in the lower layer.

Light, heat and moisture - the necessary conditions for rooting a green peach cutting.

A mini-greenhouse with a cutting is placed on the windowsill, in the first 2-3 weeks it is protected from direct sunlight. Since rooting occurs in the first two decades of June, the plant receives enough light and heat.

The temperature of the substrate can fluctuate during the day within 18-25 °C. The humidity of the air and the substrate under the jar are extremely important for root formation and further development of the root system. It is ensured by maintaining the water level in the pan at around 20 mm from the bottom until the beginning of the formation of root primordia. It is desirable to take water from natural sources (for example, marsh).

Besides, peach stalk should be aired daily removing the jar for a few seconds. This technique allows you to accustom the plant to further independent life.

From the moment the roots appear, the amount of water in the pan should be reduced, but it should always be present in it. Roots are formed in two to three weeks from the start of cuttings, depending on weather conditions.

Thereafter green cutting peach, together with the container, is planted in the soil (to its entire height) in a shaded area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden. In dry hot weather in the daytime, cover the stalk with a jar. Watered depending on the condition of the soil.

A month later, a green peach stalk is planted with a lump of substrate in a permanent place in the garden. The soil must be fertile, so the place for planting is prepared in advance, organic matter is added.

Creating "comfort"

Since self-rooted plants are very small, they make a fence so as not to accidentally damage them.

In the year of rooting, the peach stalk does not give a large increase, the root system does not have time to penetrate deep into the soil, so the plant needs regular watering in dry hot weather.

• For summer and autumn season it is necessary to weed out weeds, loosen the soil, apply organic fertilizers (about a meter in diameter around a cutting peach).
• With the onset September frosts cutting peach is protected from frost by covering it with a liter or three-liter glass jar(depending on height), and in October - additionally with burlap.
• With the coming of winter cutting peach isolated from external environment, covering it with earth (layer 20 cm thick) and additionally with straw or other organic covering materials on top.
• FROM the onset of spring after thawing the soil in the garden, the peach is freed from covering materials.

As you can see, this method of rooting is very simple.

It allows you to root peach cuttings in conditions suburban area without the use of expensive fogging equipment and preparations for stimulating the growth of roots that require precise dosage. In addition, the propagation of peaches in containers allows them to be transported over long distances without damaging the root system.

Vladimir Sizonenko

© Magazine "Ogorodnik"