In September, gardeners begin to actively harvest apples. Of course, the tree is still bearing fruit, and the crop has not been fully harvested, but it's time to take care of preserving the apple tree in the winter. Therefore, it is worth developing a tree care plan for the fall. Typically, such a plan includes the following maintenance work: top dressing, watering, cleaning the trunk and whitewashing it, warming the trunk for the cold period, prevention from pests and diseases.
How to process apple trees in autumn?
Dry and sunny September is the time for good watering of the soil under the tree along the perimeter of the crown and to a depth of one and a half meters. The amount of water depends on the growth of the crown (5-25 buckets). Such thorough watering is done in order to saturate the tissues of the apple tree with moisture, otherwise the tree may be subject to freezing.
It is necessary to feed the apple trees with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. It is best to water and feed the tree at the same time. After all, fertilizers in liquid form are better absorbed. You can buy a ready-made autumn top dressing for fruit trees, or you can prepare a mixture at home. Howprocess apple trees in the fall? To do this, we dilute a couple of tablespoons of superphosphate (granular double) and one tablespoon of potassium in a bucket of water (10 liters). A solution is poured under the tree at the rate of 10 l / 1 sq. m. After the procedure, the ground under the tree must be mulched. But it is impossible to feed apple trees with fertilizers containing nitrogen in the fall! Nitrogen can reduce the frost resistance of a tree.
Clean and whiten the trunk
Trapping belts are removed and burned from the tree, then the trunk and crown are cleaned with plastic or wooden scrapers. The goal is to remove lichens, moss and old bark. The removed garbage is incinerated. It is more convenient to do this if, before starting cleaning, some material is laid under the tree - all the garbage will fall on it. It is best to clean the tree after rain, wet bark will fall off more easily.
After such cleaning, wounds and damage may appear on the tree that need to be treated. How to process apple trees in the fall? Such "abrasions" should be wiped with hydrogen peroxide or brilliant green and covered with garden pitch. At the end of October, you need to plan the whitewashing of the trunk. This is done for several reasons: to prevent various diseases, from freezing and sunburn. How to process apple trees in the fall? To do this, you need to buy whitewash in a specialized store. For additional protection of the tree from frost and rodent attacks, its trunk can be tied with burlap. At the bottom, the burlap is sprinkled with earth so that the pest cannot penetrate the insulation.
Preventive treatment
How to process apple trees for prevention? After the leaves fall, the tree is sprayed with iron sulphate. Also, apple trees are often treated from pests with a four percent solution of urea, which is diluted in a ratio of 1 tsp. for 10 l. water. How to treat the trunk of an apple tree from pests and not harm the tree? The simplest recipe is made from ordinary table s alt, which is prepared in the proportion of 1 kg per 10 liters of water.
Such autumn prevention will help preserve fruit trees and allow them to winter peacefully.
