According to the characteristics and requirements of modern peach tree production, renewal is generally required at the end of the fruiting period, or even earlier. Therefore, the growth and development periods of peach trees in production orchards are only three stages: sapling stage, early fruit stage and full fruit stage. As the planting density of orchards continues to increase, people have shifted from focusing only on the growth results and management of individual trees in sparse planting cultivation in the past to paying more attention to the growth results and management of orchard groups.

1. Pruning of saplings and early-fruiting trees

This period begins after planting and ends when the orchard canopy occupies 70% of the area. The growth and development of the tree during this period is characterized by rapid vegetative growth, continuous expansion of the crown, and simultaneous growth and fruiting. At the end of this period, the canopy volume reaches the designed size and the yield basically reaches the level of the full fruit period. The length of saplings and early fruiting stages varies depending on the planting density. Generally, it takes 1 to 2 years for ultra-high-density planting gardens, 2 to 3 years for high-density planting gardens, and 3 to 4 years for ordinary dense planting gardens. The main tasks of pruning at this stage are: to carry out and complete the shaping work according to the set tree shape and tree structure requirements; to basically complete the cultivation of the fruiting branch group, and to adjust the branch density and branch composition. The main task of pruning during the growth period is to cultivate the tree shape and fruiting branch groups, improve the quality, change the composition of new shoots, increase the proportion of high-quality fruiting branches, and create conditions for rapid production and early high yield; while the main task of winter pruning is to adjust the tree shape, branch Groups, branch density and branch composition lay the foundation for tree cultivation and growth results in the next year.

(1) Pruning in the year of planting

①Pruning in the growing season in the year of planting

a. Tree shape cultivation: Mainly based on the requirements of tree shape and tree structure design, new shoots with strong growth potential and suitable planting orientation are selected as main branch cultivation. The specific method is to control the growth of other strong shoots by wiping buds, stubbing new shoots and thinning shoots. When autumn comes, adjust the angle and direction of the strong shoots cultivated as the main branches by pulling branches.

b. Branch group culture, changing the composition of new shoots and improving quality: Under normal management conditions, in addition to the new shoots cultured as main branches, other retained new shoots and the secondary shoots in the middle and lower parts of the strong shoots cultured as main branches also tend to grow It has strong growth potential, and if allowed to grow naturally, when it stops growing in autumn, its length can reach 60~80cm or longer. In summer, the new shoots or secondary shoots are pruned when the length reaches 30-40cm. Each new shoot or secondary shoot is cut into 3-5 secondary shoots or secondary secondary shoots of suitable length. Through appropriate measures to promote flower bud differentiation, these secondary shoots and secondary secondary shoots can differentiate into sufficient flower buds to bloom and bear fruit in the second year. In areas with a long growing season and sufficient light and heat, a second pruning can be performed to further increase the number of branches. This can not only effectively prevent such new shoots from growing vigorously, but also change the composition of new shoots, which not only quickly increases the number of branches, but also cultivates branch groups.

②Pruning in winter in the year of planting

a. Main branch pruning: Main branch treatment methods vary depending on planting density and row spacing. If the row spacing is about 2.5m, after one year of growth, the crown area ratio has reached about 70%, and a sufficient number of fruiting branches have been formed. In the future, the crown will basically maintain the current size, and the main branches will be treated as general fruiting branches. If the row spacing is 4 to 6m, cut off 1/4 of the total length of the main branch, and leave the first bud outside the main branch under the cut to ensure that the main branch continues to grow outward in the current direction next year.

b. Pruning of branch groups and other branches: If the distance between plants does not exceed 2m, there is no need to equip side branches, and there is no need to deliberately cultivate branch groups. During pruning, only overly strong branches and overly dense branches need to be thinned out, and the remaining branches will be treated as fruiting branches. When the distance between plants exceeds 2m, attention should be paid to selecting strong branches at appropriate locations as side branches for cultivation. The method is to cut off 1/4~1/3 of the apex.

(2) Pruning of biennial trees

①Pruning of biennial trees during the growing season: The main tasks of pruning during the growing season are to control the growth of new shoots, adjust the density of new shoots, and improve the tree body. ventilation and light transmission conditions. The specific method is to thin out the upright vigorous tips on the back of the main branches and the vigorous and overly dense tips in other parts of the crown. For peach orchards where the row spacing is less than 3m, special attention should be paid to controlling the size of the canopy. The distance between two adjacent rows should always be controlled at about 50cm. The method is to completely thin out the peripheral new shoots that exceed the design space. If the row spacing is 4~6m, the auxiliary shoots on the extended tips of the main branches should be pruned before June 20, leaving a length of 15~20cm. Spray 15% paclobutrazol 200 times twice in mid-to-late July to promote flower bud differentiation.

②Winter pruning of biennial trees: After 2 years of growth, the canopy area ratio of the peach orchard with a row spacing of 4m has reached about 70%, the tree size has reached the design requirements, and the shaping task has been completed. The main task of winter pruning in peach orchards with row spacing of 2 to 4 m is to adjust the branch density and control the size of the crown. It is necessary to thin out strong branches and overly dense branches, retract excessive cross branches between plants and branches that exceed the set space between rows, and treat other branches as fruiting branches. In peach orchards with a row spacing of 5 to 6 meters, the tree size has not yet reached the design requirements, and the extension branches of the main branches should still be shortened to 3/4 of the total length. In peach orchards with a row spacing of 5 to 6 m and a plant spacing of more than 2 m, in addition to the extension branches of the main branches, attention should be paid to the selection of second side branches.

(3) In peach orchards where the pruning distance of three- and four-year-old trees is 2~4m, the main task of pruning three- and four-year-old trees is to control the size of the tree, adjust and control the density of branches, and improve the orchard group and Individual ventilation and light transmission conditions. The pruning method is the same as that of the biennial ultra-high-density cultivation garden.

In peach orchards with a row spacing of 5 to 6 meters, if the tree size has not yet reached the design requirements, continue to cut off 3/4 of the main and side branch extension branches in winter. Other pruning methods are the same as in ultra-high-density plantations.

2. Pruning of trees during the fruiting period

At this stage, the size of the tree has reached the design requirements and the shaping work has been completed. The main tasks of pruning are to adjust the density and growth potential of branches, control the size of the tree, maintain a good group and tree structure in the peach orchard, balance the growth potential of different parts of the tree, and update the fruiting branch group and fruiting branches in a timely manner. The specific pruning methods are as follows. The three- and four-year-old ultra-high-density cultivation gardens are the same.