Bagging apple orchards should be harvested in a timely manner during the fall, ensuring that fruits are picked at the right time and that post-harvest management is properly handled. This helps maintain consistent high yields year after year.
**Fruit Bag Removal**
1. **Watering**: Watering before removing the bags serves two main purposes. First, it reduces the risk of sunburn once the bags are taken off. Second, it helps create a more favorable microclimate by increasing the day-night temperature difference and promoting night dew, which aids in fruit coloring. You can also spray water across the orchard in the evening during the coloring period. The watering should occur 2 to 3 days before bag removal, with subsequent watering based on weather conditions. The soil moisture should be maintained at about 60% of the field's maximum water-holding capacity.
2. **Timing for Bag Removal**: For Red Fuji apples, bags should be removed approximately 30 days before harvest, usually between late September and early October. It's best to remove them on cloudy or overcast days to avoid sunburn. If you must remove them on a sunny day, do so around 10 a.m., when the surface temperature is close to or slightly higher than the air temperature. Avoid removing bags in the early morning or late afternoon.
3. **Protecting Fruits During Removal**: Along with removing the bags, take care to prevent leaves from rubbing against the fruit surface. Use the removed waste bags to cover the fruit near branches. Also, prune branches that are likely to pierce the fruit before bag removal.
4. **Leaf Picking and Fruit Turning**: After removing the bags, it’s important to pick some leaves to enhance fruit coloring. Fuji apples need direct sunlight for good coloration, so remove any branches or leaves that block light. When picking leaves, turn the shaded side of the fruit to the sun to promote even redness. Be careful not to damage the fruit. Only remove 10–15% of the leaves, never exceeding 20%. Avoid leaf picking during midday when the sun is strong, as this can cause sunburn. Choose cloudy days or after 3 p.m. for this task.
5. **Foliar Spraying**: After bag removal, it's crucial to apply calcium fertilizer 2–3 times to prevent bitter pit disease, which is common due to calcium deficiency. Amino acid-based calcium sprays work well. To further improve fruit color, mix potassium dihydrogen phosphate (200–300 times diluted) with the calcium spray and apply it 2–3 times.
6. **Disease Prevention**: After bag removal, diseases like red spot and rosy ring can affect the fruit, causing small brown spots that reduce quality. Begin spraying the entire tree five days after bag removal using safe, non-irritating products such as 70% imported carbendazim or 80% pure carbendazim at 1000 times dilution.
**Post-Harvest Orchard Management**
1. **Immediate Leaf Spraying**: After harvesting, spray the leaves with a solution of 200-fold urea and 200-fold potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Apply this 2–3 times with a 5–7 day interval after harvest.
2. **Fall Base Fertilization**: Apply organic and fast-acting fertilizers from mid-September until the ground freezes. Organic options include well-decomposed manure such as chicken, sheep, cow, or grass compost, with at least 3 cubic meters per 667 square meters. Apply in ring trenches or strip ditches, 20–30 cm deep. Combine with compound fertilizers containing trace elements, making up more than 60% of the annual fertilizer requirement to avoid spring applications.
3. **Pest and Disease Control**: This is a critical time to control pests and reduce overwintering populations. Focus on controlling apple aphids, which are still active after harvest. Remove infested branches and wrap wounds with plastic film to suffocate pests. Use insecticides like Lethburn (1,500 times) or chlorpyrifos (1,000 times). For apple codling moths, target nymphs in early October with imidacloprid or chlorpyrifos. Clean the orchard thoroughly, removing diseased branches, cutting out rot, and burning all debris. Protect all cuts with appropriate treatments.
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