How to water apple and pear trees depending on the season

Gardeners take regular care of fruit trees. Timely watering provides apple and pear trees with the necessary moisture and improves the general condition of the trees. Correctly done humidification work can increase yields by 40%.

Choosing the right time

The term of the first spring watering of apple and pear trees depends on weather conditions. In the case of a winter with little snow and the establishment of early hot weather, the first irrigation is carried out in March, before the flowering of these trees. More often than not, there is no need for such moisture. In this case, "debut" watering is carried out approximately in mid-April or early May, when the trees have already faded.

Re-wetting is carried out after about three weeks, in the second half of June. It helps to preserve the ovary.

In the summer, fruits begin to pour in early varieties and future fruits are tied in later ones. At this time, irrigation is carried out for the third time, they try to carry it out until July 20.

The fourth humidification is necessary at the end of August or the first half of September (for late varieties - later). This is water-charging irrigation, which is carried out for a good wintering of plants. It is important not to miss the favorable time - late autumn irrigation works stimulate apple and pear trees to further growth, disrupting the process of transition to winter dormancy. Delayed watering is especially dangerous for young plants.

Advice

It is not recommended to water the apple trees just before harvesting: the risk of falling and cracking of the fruit increases.

Watering methods

There are several main methods of watering apple and pear trees.

• Surface watering.

The most common method of moisturizing, it is carried out along the grooves or in the trunk circles. The radius of the ring near the trunk is made equal to the distance to the edge of the crown of the tree, and the annular grooves about 15 cm deep break through at a distance of slightly more than half a meter from each other. A low water pressure is installed to prevent soil erosion and root exposure.

• Drip irrigation.

A useful way to saturate plants with water is to soak the soil deeply and evenly. This method requires an additional cash investment to purchase a lugged tubing system. Such watering is easy to combine with feeding apple trees and pears.

• Sprinkling.

It is carried out when there is no danger of sunburn - in the evening, early morning, or on a cloudy day. With the risk of recurrent frosts, it is appropriate to carry out this type of watering to prevent flowers from falling on fruit-bearing trees. In this case, sprinkling is carried out all night, ending before dawn. This method of watering is useful for freshly planted plants, it increases the survival rate of young trees. It is advisable to use it in dry and hot weather to increase the air humidity near apple and pear trees.

• Subsoil watering.

Water is supplied directly to the root system using special pressurized humidifiers.

After any watering under the trees, they must loosen and clear the soil of weeds. This improves the circulation of oxygen in the soil, promotes the development of the root system and reduces the evaporation of moisture in the area. After the procedure, it is useful to mulch the earth.

Irrigation types

Depending on the purpose of humidification, several types of irrigation are distinguished.

1. Moisture-charging. This is the most abundant of all types of moisture - watering, which is carried out in spring and autumn. The main goal at the beginning of the season is to saturate the soil with moisture before the start of the growing season. Autumn water-charging watering is carried out during the fall of leaves or immediately after the fall of the foliage.Irrigation in the winter helps the tree to endure frost better: moist soil freezes less, protects the roots from cracking.
2. Landing. Carried out when planting plants. It is advisable to dig a hole and water it in advance so that the earth subsides well and settles. After planting a fruit tree, the earth is compacted and also necessarily moistened.
3. Watering a young seedling is an important step in caring for young apple and pear trees.
4. Vegetative. The amount of water for maintenance irrigation will depend on the age of the tree, the number of fruits ripening on it, and weather conditions.

With a sufficient amount of water, watering during the flowering period is not carried out. If there is not enough active moisture in the root system zone, the soil must be moistened. During fruiting, surface irrigation is best done along the furrows. The most important and necessary vegetation irrigation is in the first half of summer. In August, humidification is carried out during abnormal heat.

Irrigation rates

Popular belief says that the number of buckets of water each time the apple tree is moistened should correspond to the age of the tree. But this law does not always work.

On average, a one-year-old seedling needs 3 buckets of water during each watering, a tree from 3 to 5 years old needs 5–8 buckets of water, 6–10-year-old apple trees need 12–15 buckets of life-giving moisture.

The active roots of the tree are located at a depth of 60–80 cm. After irrigation, the corresponding layer of soil must become moist.

The greatest amount of water is required for trees on clay soils. On loamy soil, water is less. The minimum amount of liquid will be needed when growing apple trees and pears on sandy loam soil.

Advice

There is an easy way to check if apple and pear trees need watering. To do this, under the crown, they carefully make a hole about 25 cm deep, and a little earth is collected from it. The soil is squeezed, and then the fist is unclenched. If the soil is crumbling in the hand, then the tree needs watering. The earth retains a rounded shape, which means there is enough moisture.

Watering errors

Knowledge of the peculiarities of watering apple and pear trees will help to avoid oversights when moisturizing.

• Irrigation within a day and a half after the rains is undesirable in order to prevent waterlogging of the soil.
• Most of the suction roots are located far from the tree trunk. Watering directly under the bole is not recommended.
• When the soil is constantly waterlogged, rotting of the root system is possible. Watering often and little by little is a common misconception of inexperienced gardeners.

Moisturizing young trees

Freshly planted apple and pear trees need a special water regime. The first time young trees are watered during planting, regardless of whether these works take place in spring or autumn. First, 2-3 buckets of water are poured into the prepared hole, only after that the plant is placed there. After planting, young trees must be moistened to compact the soil and saturate it with additional moisture.

The watering regime for newly planted fruit trees depends on the weather conditions. In dry weather, this should be done weekly, as the soil dries out. For second year seedlings, the frequency of watering is reduced.

After planting, young apple and pear trees are watered 4-5 times per season, using about three buckets of water at a time. For large young seedlings, water consumption is increased.

Watering and fertilizing

For mature trees over 15 years old, watering can be combined with fertilization. Several pits or furrows are made along the border of the trunk circle to a depth of about 25 cm, the required rate of mineral fertilizers is applied. Organic fertilizers are similarly buried in trenches, covered with earth on top. Sprinkling is carried out after the procedure.

Unsystematic moistening of fruit trees reduces resistance to pests and diseases, and shortens the life of plants. Correctly conducted watering is a guarantee of consistently high yields of apple and pear trees.