Peach Tree Pruning Time
Once more it is peach tree pruning time. The problem with pruning peach trees is they will want to start blooming the first warm spell after pruning, then you get a late frost and so long peaches. If you only have a few trees, it would be best to wait until pink bud to prune. If you have lots of trees to prune then you cannot wait that long and it gets to be a guessing game, but late February is usually the suggested time to start.
Why prune at all? Pruning helps to keep the peaches within reach for easier harvesting. Pruning will also open up the center of the tree allowing air circulation and sunlight into the tree; this helps to prevent disease and accelerates fruit growth.
Here are the four steps to prune mature peach trees as recommended by Texas AgriLife Extension Horticulturist:
Step One.
Remove all hanger shoots, rootstock suckers, and water sprouts in the lower three feet of the tree. This stripping of lower growth clears a path for herbicide applications and allows air circulation.
Step Two.
Remove all shoots above 7 feet other than red 18- to 24-inch fruiting shoots. Cuts need to be at selected points where the scaffold and sub-scaffold limbs extend upward at a 45- to 50-degree angle. Cuts which leave limbs sideways at a 90-degree angle should be avoided.
Step Three.
Remove all shoots which grow toward the inside of the tree.
Step Four.
Remove all old, gray wood in the 3- to 7-foot fruit production zone. Be sure to leave all the oneyear-old, 18 to 24 inch red bearing shoots; these will be about the diameter of a pencil. If these shoots are over 24 inches, cut off about 1/3 of this fruiting branch.
Amazingly, proper peach tree pruning will normally remove about 40 percent of the tree each winter. This seems like a lot, but it is necessary to reduce the number of fruit on the tree and it will stimulate strong canopy growth. This new growth will be next year’s fruiting wood.
Before trees’ leaf out is also a good time to spray any grassy or broadleaf weeds that might be growing around your trees. Hand hoeing also works, but if you have very many trees that is probably impractical.
The most efficient floor management system for most orchards consists of a mowed, native sod middle with a weed-free strip under the trees. Weeds in the strip are controlled chemically. Gradually widen the weed free strip from 3 to 4 feet in the first-year orchard to 10 to 12 feet in a mature orchard. Chemical weed control manages weeds more effectively for longer periods and at reduced cost when properly used. Chemicals used in weed control can damage trees if used improperly. Read and carefully follow all label instructions when applying herbicides.
While we do have many acres of peach orchards in the county, peach tree production is still an overlooked crop that has considerable economic potential. However, it is a high management and labor-intensive crop, that can be easily affected by late frost. After labor, late frost is the biggest deterrent to peach production in the county. It is typical to lose 1 and sometimes 2 crops every 5 years to a late a frost. Like all agriculture crops the risk are many, but as one of our founding fathers and an early agriculture innovator Thomas Jefferson said, “With Great Risk Comes Great Reward”.
Crops Program
Do not forget the upcoming crop program, we will focus on cotton and peanuts with top specialist for each crop covering topics that will help all our local farmers. This program is also packed with 5 CEU’s that will help both private and commercial applicators get their required CEU’s. The program will be held on Friday, February 25th at the DeLeon City Auditorium located at 125 South Texas St., Deleon, Texas. Registration will begin at 8:30 AM, the program will start at 9:00 AM and go until 3:00 PM. The cost is $50.00. Please call the office to preregister: 325-356-2539.