Autumn is a very "hot" time for gardeners. And although the crop is almost already harvested, there is still a lot of work to be done. And today we will talk about the autumn care of fruit trees.
Autumn care
So, tree processing in autumn. What does it include? The list of agrotechnical measures is quite extensive, so we will consider each item separately.
Cutting
Processing garden trees in autumn always begins with pruning. It is she who is the main and most accessible method of regulating the yield of a tree. It is carried out both in autumn and in spring. At the end of summer, it is necessary to carry out the so-called preventive pruning. You need to carefully inspect the trees and cut out the weak ones, as well as the shoots growing inside the crown. For the next season, there will be very little use from them, and the only thing they can be useful for is that they will give small, low-quality fruits. Dry and broken branches will interfere with the tree.
Tree treatment in autumn: removal of spinning tops
Sometimes, after a complete pruning, nature again pleases us with warmth and sunshine, and the "sleeping"the trees come to life again. Therefore, be prepared for the appearance of a large number of spinning tops.
So called young shoots growing vertically upwards. They emerge from dormant buds and begin to grow very actively, sometimes reaching a height of two meters. These are fattening shoots that take away the strength of the tree, but at the same time they never bear fruit and only thicken its crown. Therefore, they must be disposed of immediately.
You can remove such shoots by breaking them off with your hands or cutting them out with a garden pruner. In any case, the tree leaves a wound that needs to be treated with garden pitch.
Spraying
Sprinkling trees in the fall will help prevent insect infestation in the spring, as well as get a richer harvest. Immediately after harvesting the entire crop, the trees must be treated with a solution of urea. To do this, you need to dilute 500 grams of fertilizer in 10 liters of water and carefully process the entire tree, including the trunk. This procedure will save vegetation from scab.
From fruit rot, it would be nice to sprinkle the trees with a solution of Bordeaux mixture. You can prepare the solution yourself. For this you will need:
- copper sulfate - 300 grams;
- water (warm) - 3 liters;
- lime - 400 grams;
- water - 10 liters.
First, dilute copper sulfate with warm water. Then pour lime into a bucket of water and, with constant stirring, pour in a solution of copper sulfate. Spraying with Bordeaux liquid must be carried out in late October or earlynovember. Choose a dry and calm day.
This spraying will help the trees get rid of many diseases:
- gray rot;
- scab;
- purple spotting;
- coccomycosis, etc.
Spraying trees like this in autumn allows you to process the entire garden without harming other plants and beneficial insects.
Tree processing: bark
Tree treatment in autumn includes bark protection. In spring, very often one can observe rather deep vertical cracks on tree trunks. They arise due to sudden temperature changes in winter days, when during the day the sun heats the crust, and at night it cools down sharply. This is what causes cracking.
Similar harm can be caused by pests wintering under the bark. Therefore, be sure to clean the tree trunk from mosses and lichens. The bark that has lagged behind the trunk must be removed. This will help to destroy the female spider mites that are preparing for wintering, the causative agents of many diseases: rust, powdery mildew, bud moth, etc. Be sure to burn all trapping belts installed on tree trunks.
The trunk must be whitewashed and then wrapped with a protective cloth. It can be any material. Ordinary rags are also suitable, because the main goal is to protect the tree trunk from direct sunlight.
Whitewashing stem
Processing the trunks of fruit trees in the fall is, first of all, whitewashing. It will help protect trees from possible damage due to sharptemperature fluctuations, sunburn and slow bud break.
To protect the tree from sunburn, whitewash must be applied to a height of at least two meters. Don't forget about the processing of skeletal branches.
For the event, choose dry and calm weather. Whitewashing is carried out after the leaf fall is complete.
What to whiten?
If possible, it is better to purchase a ready-made solution of water-dispersion paint. You can use it when the air temperature has dropped below three degrees below zero. The paint is good because it does not prevent the tree from breathing, but also does not transmit ultraviolet radiation.
If you can’t buy a ready-made solution, then you should prepare it yourself. The role of the binder can be performed by bustilate, since when it dries it forms a thin breathable layer and does not dissolve under the influence of water. Whitewashing in this case will not be washed away by rains, and the tree will winter well. It is better not to use clay or mullein, as they are very unstable and will be washed away by rain immediately.
The role of white pigment will perfectly perform ordinary chalk. To get a quality solution, you need two parts of a binder and a part of a pigment. First, they are thoroughly mixed with each other, and only then you can add water to them. The consistency of the solution should resemble paint.
Bole whitewashing can be done using ordinary slaked lime. But the stem in this case must be coveredtwice, because only then the thickness of the paint will meet the norm. To prepare the whitewash mixture you will need:
- slaked lime - 3 kilograms;
- casein glue - 80 grams;
- copper sulfate (diluted) - 450 grams;
- water.
Carefully combine all the components, and then gradually dilute with water. The finished solution should resemble good thick sour cream.
Feeding
Processing fruit trees in the fall requires mandatory fertilization. However, now it is worth abandoning nitrogen fertilizing. At this time, the following compositions are suitable:
- superphosphate (double is best);
- monopotassium phosphate;
- potassium (sulphate and chloride);
- humus.
By the way, it is humus that can give the tree all the substances it needs. Mineral fertilizers can worsen the microflora of the roots, while there is no humus. It is introduced during the autumn digging of the root circles of trees.
That's it. In carrying out all of the above activities is the processing of trees in the fall.
