Autumn is a very "hot" time for gardeners. And although the crop has almost been harvested, many other works are necessary. And today we’ll talk about autumn care for fruit trees.
Autumn care
So, the processing of trees in the fall. What does it include? The list of agricultural activities is quite extensive, so we will consider each item separately.
Pruning
Processing of garden trees in autumn always starts with pruning. It is she who is the main and most affordable method of regulating tree productivity. Spend it both in the fall and in the 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 weak, as well as shoots growing inside the crown. There will be very little use from them for the next season, and the only thing they can be useful for is small, poor-quality fruits. Dry and broken branches will interfere with the tree.
Trees in the fall: removing tops
Sometimes, after a complete pruning, nature again pleases us with warmth and sunshine, and the "sleeping" trees come to life again. Therefore, be prepared for the appearance of a large number of spinning tops.
So called young shoots growing vertically up. They appear from sleeping kidneys and begin to grow very actively, sometimes reaching a height of two meters. These are fatliquoring shoots that take away strength from a tree, but at the same time 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 using a garden pruner. In any case, the tree remains a wound that must be treated with garden var.
Spraying
Sprinkling trees in the fall will help prevent insect infestations in the spring, as well as get a richer crop. Immediately after removing the entire crop, the trees must be treated with a urea solution. To do this, you need to dilute 500 grams of fertilizer in 10 liters of water and carefully process the whole tree, including the trunk. This procedure will save the vegetation from scab.
From fruit rot it will be nice to sprinkle the trees with a solution of Bordeaux liquid. 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 fluid must be carried out in late October or early November. Choose a dry and calm day.
Such spraying will help the trees get rid of many diseases:
- gray rot;
- scabs;
- purple spotting;
- coccomycosis, etc.
Such spraying of trees in autumn allows you to treat the entire garden without damage to other plants and beneficial insects.
Tree Processing: Bark
Processing trees in the fall includes protecting the bark. In spring, very often vertical deep cracks can be observed on tree trunks. They arise due to sharp temperature changes in winter days, when during the day the sun heats the bark, and at night it cools sharply. This is what causes cracking.
Pests wintering under the bark can also cause similar damage. Therefore, be sure to clean the tree trunk from mosses and lichens. Left behind the trunk bark must be removed. This will help to destroy female spider mites that have prepared for wintering, and causative agents of many diseases: rust, powdery mildew, kidney moth, etc. Be sure to burn all hunting belts installed on tree trunks.
The trunk must be whitened, and then wrapped in protective cloth. It can be any material. An ordinary rag is also suitable, because the main goal is to protect the tree stem from direct sunlight.
Whitewash
Processing of fruit tree trunks in autumn is primarily in whitewashing. It will help protect trees from possible damage due to sharp fluctuations in temperature, sunburn and slow down the blooming of the kidneys.
To protect the tree from sunburn, whitewashing must be applied to a height of at least two meters. Do not forget about the processing of skeletal branches.
For the event, choose dry and calm weather. Whitewashing is carried out after the completion of leaf fall.
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 in that it does not interfere with the tree breathing, but also does not transmit ultraviolet radiation.
If you can’t buy a ready-made solution, then you should prepare it yourself. Bustilate can play the role of a bonding agent, since when dried it forms a thin breathable layer and does not dissolve when exposed to water. In this case, whitewashing will not be washed away by the rains, and the tree will perfectly winter. It is better to abandon the use of clay or mullein, since they are very unstable and will immediately be washed away by rain.
The role of white pigment will be perfectly performed by ordinary chalk. To get a quality solution, you need two parts of a bonding agent and a part of pigment. At first, they are thoroughly mixed together, and only then can water be added to them. The consistency of the solution should resemble paint.
Whitewashing the trunk can be done using ordinary slaked lime. But the standard in this case must be covered twice, since only then the thickness of the paint will meet the norm. To prepare a whitewash mix, you will need:
- slaked lime - 3 kilograms;
- casein glue - 80 grams;
- copper sulfate (diluted) - 450 grams;
- water.
Thoroughly combine all the components, and then gradually dilute with water. The finished solution should resemble a good thick sour cream.
Top dressing
Processing fruit trees in the fall requires mandatory fertilizer application. However, now it is worth abandoning nitrogen fertilizing. At this time, the following compounds are suitable:
- superphosphate (best double);
- monopotassium phosphate;
- potassium (sulfate and chloride);
- humus.
By the way, it is humus capable of giving the tree all the substances necessary for it. Mineral fertilizers can degrade the microflora of the roots, while humus is not. It is introduced during the autumn digging of the root circles of trees.
That's all. In carrying out all of the above activities is the processing of trees in the fall.