How long does the apple fruiting period last?
Today, I will elaborate on the topic related to flower cultivation, specifically how long the apple fruiting period lasts. Let's find out the details below.
How long does the apple fruiting period last?
The length of the fruit development period varies: early maturing varieties take 65-87 days, mid-season varieties take 90-133 days, and late maturing varieties take 137-168 days. During the apple fruiting period, it is necessary to practice scientific thinning to increase fruit size and prevent unevenness. It is also important to use medications appropriately, as the young fruit's skin is easily stimulated, affecting the fruit surface smoothness. Proper fertilization, watering, and bagging are essential to ensure the yield and quality of apples later on.
Duration of the apple fruiting period
The expansion of apple fruit volume is faster from the middle stage to just before maturity and slower in the early and late stages. Fruit weight increases the fastest one month before maturity. The length of the fruit development period is generally 65-87 days for early maturing varieties, 90-133 days for mid-season varieties, and 137-168 days for late maturing varieties. How long does it take for apples to bear fruit? It usually takes 3-4 years for an adult apple tree to bear fruit from seed germination to maturity. When does the apple expansion period start? After the new fruit begins to grow and enters the rapid expansion stage, this is the stage with the highest demand for fertilizers. Fertilization is usually done before the fruit expansion period, with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers as the main components to increase fruit hardness and sugar content and promote fruit coloring.Apple ripening time
The ripening period of apples can be divided into early, mid, and late stages. Early maturing varieties can be harvested in early July. Mid-season varieties are harvested during the rainy season, so their planting area is not very large. The late maturing varieties are planted the most in the north of the Yangtze River, with the harvest period around late October to early November.Apple fruiting period care and management
1. Strict thinning: Scientific thinning is key to increasing fruit size and preventing alternating bearing years. The earlier the thinning, the more nutrients are saved. Thinning usually starts from the time the fruit stalk curves upward after the petals fall, and should be completed within 20 days. Thinning requirements: one fruit per 25 cm, one fruit per 40 large leaves, fruits on weak and short fruit branches are generally not retained, fruits with the calyx not protruding are not retained, fruits from axillary buds are not retained, and diseased and pest-infested fruits must not be retained.2. Reasonable medication: The young fruit stage is easily stimulated, affecting the fruit surface smoothness. However, it is also a crucial period for controlling pests and diseases throughout the year, so it must be taken seriously to minimize the frequency and types of medications used. The frequency of medication: spray once after the petals fall, and if it does not rain, spray once more before bagging; if it rains, spray again after the rain, regardless of how many times medication has been applied.3. Scientific summer pruning: For trees without fruit and large branches, small branches with leaves should be thinned, and new shoots from pruned and sawed areas without space should be removed as much as possible. Also, thin the tertiary and secondary new shoots on the periphery.4. Fertilization and watering: For trees with a large fruit load, apply a nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertilizer (proportion 1:0.6:1.1) with 45% compound fertilizer 1.5-2.5 kg to promote young fruit expansion. Apply fertilizers in a radial shallow trench to prevent root damage, and water immediately after fertilization.5. Correct bagging: Early bagging reduces fruit transpiration pull, leading to calcium deficiency and bitter pit disease; late bagging results in poor green color removal and poor surface finish. The best time for bagging is from 30 days after flowering to 10 days later. Use good quality bags, with external bags being gray-yellow on the outside and black on the inside, and red wax bags on the inside, both made of kraft paper (burning leaves white fine powder, paper has fiber). It is not recommended to use plastic bags inside and paper bags outside, as it can cause fruit cracking, and it is not advisable to use only plastic bags.6. Mulching under the trees: This is an effective measure to increase soil organic matter, improve apple surface smoothness, reduce soil moisture evaporation, stabilize water supply, and prevent cracking. It is also one of the main criteria for evaluating demonstration gardens. Therefore, all households must mulch the tree trunks with a thickness of 10 cm or more, using corn stalks, peanut vines, and weeds.How to fertilize during the apple fruiting period: For young fruiting apple trees, the fertilization should focus on phosphorus with nitrogen and potassium, aiming to promote flower bud differentiation, strengthen flower buds, enhance the tree canopy, and promote fruit growth. For mature fruiting trees, fertilization should be balanced with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, with a high demand for potassium. The goal is to fertilize appropriately to ensure continuous and stable yields. Young fruiting trees should be given an additional 1-2 pounds of diammonium phosphate and 0.5-1 pound of potassium chloride per tree, while mature fruiting trees should be given an additional 2-3 pounds of diammonium phosphate and 1-2 pounds of potassium chloride, with more compound fertilizers, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and moderate amounts of nitrogen fertilizers.What to spray on apple trees during the fruiting period: It is better to spray chlorpyrifos during the apple fruiting period. Insecticides like fenvalerate, cypermethrin, and dimethoate are not very effective for controlling pests on fruit trees. Chlorpyrifos-based products like Lesban and Start quickly are more effective. The earlier the medication is applied, the better.The detailed content shared above on how long the apple fruiting period lasts is for everyone's reference and operation.