The autumn period for pears is very important. If you take care of the tree at this time, next year it will delight the owner with a bountiful harvest. Like all fruit trees, a pear needs pruning, feeding, watering, etc.
Site cleaning
Harvesting should begin by collecting all the fruits remaining on the branches. You also need to collect all the pears that lie under the tree.
The site must be cleared of fallen leaves and mulch. The collected material can be sent to the compost heap. Vegetable debris should not be left on the site, as various infections develop in it, as well as pests hibernate.
After cleaning the area, it is advisable to renew the mulch layer around the pear trunks. For this, you can use any organic matter, except straw. Field mice like to settle in straw.
Autumn pruning
Formative pruning is basic and is performed in the spring. Sanitary pruning is carried out in the fall.
The procedure is performed after harvest. At least 2 weeks should remain before the onset of frost so that the tree has time to recover after pruning.
Basic rules for pruning:
- The first step is to remove the root growth. There is no use in it. The shoots only take nutrients from the mother tree.
- All damaged and dry branches are cut off. In winter, they can break off under the weight of the snow and damage the healthy branches below.
- Then tops are removed - fattening shoots that do not produce fruit. They usually grow vertically.
- After that, the crown is thinned out. Cut off the branches growing towards the trunk. If there are competing shoots, only the strongest is left.
- At the end of the work, the annual increments are shortened. You need to cut off about a quarter of the length.
After the end of the procedure, it is advisable to treat all sections with garden varnish, "Zhivitsa" balsam or "RanNet" paste. With these tools, you can protect the tree from infection. On old trees, wounds are covered immediately after pruning. In the case of young ones, you need to wait until the slices dry out a little.
Watering
Even after harvest, the trees need watering. If the soil moisture is insufficient, the root system will begin to deplete, which will cause the tree to lack nutrients. This will negatively affect future harvests.
Pour 2 buckets of warm and settled water under each tree. Some gardeners add a little potassium permanganate to it. This helps to disinfect the soil and destroy the larvae of the pests. In this case, the tree itself will not suffer.
You need to finish watering the garden 3 weeks before the arrival of the first frost.
Fertilization
Fertilization is an important step in preparing your crop for winter. Before feeding, a small trench should be dug around the trunk. Its depth should be about 15-20 cm. This allows nutrients to penetrate better into the root system.
For each square meter you need 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate. Potash fertilizers should also be applied, as they help the plant to winter better. Autumn fertilizers should not contain nitrogen.
Trees should be watered abundantly before nutrients are added.
Whitewash
It is better to whitewash trees in autumn. This procedure is required to protect the trunk from burns during the winter when the sun is reflecting off the snow. Also, a layer of whitewash helps to destroy the larvae of pests that are in the bark.
The timing of the procedure depends on weather conditions. It is necessary to whitewash after the foliage has completely fallen off, but before the onset of frost. Also, the weather should be dry so that the rains do not wash away the fresh whitewash.
For whitewashing, you can use a ready-made solution sold in specialized stores. You can also prepare the product yourself by diluting slaked lime in water.
Before whitewashing, the tree is cleaned of old bark, moss and lichens. It should be whitened in 2-3 layers so that there are no empty areas left.
In young trees, only the trunks are whitened, and in fruit-bearing trees, also skeletal branches.
Treatment against diseases and pests
In autumn, pests begin to seek shelter for themselves; they hide in the upper layer of the soil or in the folds of the bark. If they are not destroyed in the fall, with the onset of spring, insects will pounce on fruit trees in search of food. The entire garden will be severely damaged.
In addition to harmful insects, diseases can also bring a lot of problems to the pear. Most of them are fungal. Copper sulfate is most often used in the fight against diseases. It has a complex effect, therefore it is effective against many infections: scab, spotting, coccomycosis, moniliosis, etc.
The treatment is carried out with a solution of copper sulfate after the leaves have fallen off. For preparation, dissolve 300 g of dry product in 1 liter of hot water. After complete dissolution, the resulting mixture is diluted in a bucket of water.
It is necessary to process not only wood, but also the earth in the near-trunk circle. Using a sprayer, the solution is evenly distributed over the surface. After that, the soil must be loosened. Land cultivation is carried out no more often than once every 3 years. After that, you need to add organic matter.
Against insects, the pear is treated with insecticides. The most popular are Inta-Vir, Tanrek and Fitoverm. The drugs must be used in strict accordance with the instructions.
Shelter for the winter
Young seedlings need shelter during the winter, especially if they were planted this fall. Shelter is needed not from frost, but from rodents and sunburn. Mice can nibble on young bark.
To protect the seedling, the trunk should be bandaged with non-woven fabric. Spunbond, lutrasil, or burlap will do. In this case, you will not have to whitewash the tree, since the light material will protect not only from rodents, but also from the sun's rays.
Read also: To help beginner gardeners: common mistakes when pruning grapes
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