Common peach (Prunus persica) is a fruit tree from the rose family with very tasty fruits.
This species belongs to the genus Prunus (plum). It is cultivated in warmer, temperate climate regions in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Peaches are commonly eaten fresh but can be used in the fruit processing industry.
The peach fruit is a drupe with a very tasty, aromatic and juicy flesh, a velvety yellow skin with red blush, which ripens – depending on the variety – from July to October (in the northern hemisphere).
Peach is one of the few species of fruit trees that is characterized by a large variety of appearance and quality characteristics of the fruit, in particular:
- appearance of the skin – velvety (fuzzy) in the peach, and smooth in the nectarines
- the shape of the fruit – can be round, oblate, elliptical or flattened, or even flat (known as doughnut peach or Saturn peach). Flat-fruited peaches and nectarines also differ in the shape of the stone, which is spherically flattened and much smaller.
The differentiation in terms of fruit quality features mainly concerns the firmness of the fruit, the color of the flesh, the ease of removing the stone from the flesh (varieties important for processing – clingstones and freestones) and the sweetness of the flesh. Peach flesh can be white, yellow or red. Yellow-flesh varieties are especially rich in vitamin A.
The susceptibility to diseases and environmental conditions (thermal requirements) of flat-fruited varieties are higher than traditional ones and their post-harvest shelf life is shorter than that of traditional ones.
The peach does well on various soil types but in general it grows best on well-drained, fertile slightly acidic (pH 6.0–6.5) sandy or gravelly loams.
Compact, acidic and waterlogged soils as well as dry and sandy soils are not suitable for growing peaches.
Peach trees grow well in warm, sunny sites.
Most peach varieties cannot tolerate very cold winters and their flower buds are threatened by spring frosts. The peach blooms in early spring (April in the northern hemisphere), before the leaves develop.
On the other hand, they do not grow satisfactorily where the winters are too mild, and most varieties require some winter chilling to induce them to burst into growth after the annual dormant period.
Peach has high nutritional requirements. The method of mineral nutrition of peach trees and the dose of fertilizers should be adapted to the fertility status of the soil and the condition of the trees (soil and leaf analysis, as well as visual assessment of plants).
An important supplement to soil fertilization is foliar fertilization.
It enables the trees to be optimally supplied with nutrients in subsequent development stages, which not only guarantees abundant fruiting in a present season, but also promotes the formation of flower buds for the next year.
Foliar feeding treatments are now an integral part of the mineral nutrition program for peach trees, because:
- support the supply of plants with major nutrients: nitrogen (PLONVIT® NITRO or PLONVIT® NITROMAG), phosphorus (PLONVIT® PHOSPHO or PLONVIT® FOSTAR), potassium (PLONVIT® KALI or PLONVIT® KALPRIM), magnesium (MIKROKOMPLEX™) and sulfur (PLONVIT® SULVIT)
- provide plants with nutrients that are difficult to be taken up from the soil, for example: boron (MIKROVIT® BORON TURBO or MIKROVIT® BORON) – a typical symptom of boron deficiency is poor fruit setting and appearance of chat fruit, cracking and corking
- provide plants with nutrients that directly affect the firmness and color of fruit: phosphorus (PLONVIT® PHOSPHO or PLONVIT® FOSTAR), potassium (PLONVIT® KALI or PLONVIT® KALPRIM)
- support the supply of calcium to peaches, which is a nutrient that is not mobile in the plant (OPTYCAL®, PLONVIT® CALCIUM TURBO) – calcium increases skin flexibility, reduces fruit cracking, and increases their shelf life in market trade.
It is also recommended to use PROAQUA® TRIO to treat the water used to prepare the working solution. On the other hand, the correct application, coverage and maintenance of the working solution layer on the leaves is significantly facilitated by the addition of ADITENS™ MAX or FASTER™ adjuvant.
The good condition of peach trees throughout the growing season determines the yield of peaches.
Even short-term nutrient deficiency may have a negative impact on plant growth and yield. Therefore, it is necessary comprehensive assessment of the requirements of the plants at any stage of their development.
INTERMAG’s wide range of products, allows you to develop your own individual foliar fertilization and biostimulation program, considering local soil conditions, crop intensity, stage of plant development and availability of various products.
All of these discussed actions significantly affect the yield increase and its quality parameters.
