Most summer residents and gardeners often argue about whether apple trees need to be watered in the summer.
Indeed, in a natural environment, they have enough water that falls in the form of precipitation and that which the roots of trees can lift from the depths.
In the modern world, the weather changes dramatically and frequently, and areas that were not previously classified as dry regions may suffer from a lack of moisture. Therefore, yield indicators with “natural irrigation” are difficult to predict, and for the southern territories they are completely impossible.
As a result, making a profit from a garden is closely related to its provision of moisture, especially during the hot period.
The amount of cubic meters of water required for irrigation varies greatly depending on the composition of the soil and the depth of its horizons, the season, the weather, the age of the trees and their size . This publication discusses all these factors that make it easy to determine what and when to water apple trees.
Watch a video from an expert on how to care for and water fruit trees:
How often should apple trees be watered?
A gardener who wants to properly water his garden must check every time after watering to what depth the soil is wet .
To do this, you don’t need to poke your finger into the soil, because... the root layer begins at a depth of 11 cm. For this you need a stick, the length of which is 14 cm or more, and its surface is ribbed.
By pressing the stick, they find the optimal volume of irrigation water for each specific area for irrigation throughout the year. The more mud the stick is covered in, the deeper the soil is soaked.
The best timing and methods of irrigating seed orchards are:
- 1st - half a month after full flowering;
- 2nd - when increased growth of new apples becomes noticeable;
- 3rd - when the buds on the shoots of the current year are almost completely separated;
- 4th - immediately after picking fruits from apple trees of “summer varieties” or when filling “winter apples”;
- 5th - when the tree has dropped all its leaves or “pre-winter moisture-recharging watering”.
at the time of flowering or immediately after it, since an excess amount of water negatively affects the percentage of fruit set and contributes to a sharp increase in mold and rot.
If the site is located in the steppe zone or if the spring was too dry, then the lack of water under the roots during flowering will result in a meager harvest in September.
Summer is hot and dry?
It is important to understand how often to water apple trees in the summer. It is necessary to do a couple or three additional waterings.
Time to water apple trees in summer:
- One or two waterings are done at the end of June or in July;
- One when pouring and coloring apples.
Volume of water poured at a time:
- For an apple tree from 6 to 15 years old it is 6-9 buckets;
- Up to 35 years - up to 40 liters for each quarter of the circumferential irrigation ditch under the crown;
- And over 50 years old - up to 7 buckets of the same length.
This watering is done once every 2-3 weeks .
ADVICE . Watering only in the right and “useful” place is beneficial for the roots of the apple tree!
Basic rules for regulating moisture for apple trees
It is recommended to water three times during the season with a frequency of 20–25 days.
However, you should pay attention to the condition of the soil and weather and climatic conditions. During hot periods when the soil is dry, the tree needs to be watered more often.
During rains, the number of approaches should be reduced accordingly. The volumes of water required to irrigate trees are directly proportional to the age of the apple tree and gradually increase. Some gardeners use an extremely simple scheme, pouring as many buckets of water under the tree as it is old.
In addition, the need for moisture largely depends on the quality of the soil itself. For example, clayey soils require a large amount of water - about 9 buckets. To moisten sandy loam soils, a smaller amount of liquid, approximately 3–4 buckets, is sufficient. With loamy soil, about 6–7 buckets are usually used per watering.
There is a generally accepted rule: the volume of water should be such that the soil around the apple tree is moistened to a depth of at least 0.5 m. However, it is quite difficult to determine the degree of compliance with this indicator. Therefore, people practice the following method: a small hole 20–25 cm deep is dug under the tree crown. Then a handful of soil is taken from there and clamped in a fist. If the soil crumbles and crumbles, it needs additional moisture. If the soil seems soft and seems to stick together in your hand, then the irrigation done is quite sufficient.
It should be emphasized that watering apple trees should be quite abundant; weak, surface moisture in this case is absolutely ineffective. The exception will be dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties. The root system of such trees is located quite close to the ground, so they should be watered, although more often, but less intensively. The water temperature for watering apple trees should be approximately +18–25 degrees. Compliance with this condition will ensure maximum absorption of liquid by the root system of the plant.
Watering apple trees
Now a little about the watering itself. When moistening apple trees, water should be poured not under the tree trunk, but along the perimeter of its crown. This is explained by the fact that moisture is absorbed by the roots of the tree; they spread over a significant area, which is approximately equal to the size of its crown. Therefore, if you use a hose for watering, you need to move it from time to time and also monitor the direction of the stream. In addition, simply moistening the apple tree is not enough. According to knowledgeable people, watering must be completed correctly by leveling the irrigation furrows and loosening the soil. Then it is recommended to mulch the ground.
The same should be done after heavy rains, as well as in the spring when melt water appears. This will allow moisture to be retained in the soil for a longer period, and will also ensure its maximum absorption and absorption by the tree’s rhizome. Mulching the soil can be done using a peat-humus mixture or sawdust, but the use of pine needles and other materials that increase acidity for this purpose is highly not recommended, since it can lead to fungal infection of the root collar.
Irrigation is not recommended for at least a day and a half after rainfall to avoid waterlogging. Watering apple trees after the 20th of September is also strictly prohibited, especially for young trees that are in the development stage. Watering can provoke plant growth, which will prevent its normal, full preparation for the winter period.
How to properly irrigate apple tree seedlings after planting?
The very first watering after planting is done right on the day of planting. If there are problems with water, then within 30 hours from the moment the apple trees are planted.
Is spring wet and does the mud last a long time? The volume of irrigation water is minimal - no more than a seven-liter bucket on the tree at the time of planting.
Watch a useful video on how to increase the survival rate of a seedling:
In the first summer you need to water it three to five times . This amount is related both to the composition of the soil in the garden and to whether the planting hole was dug in advance and prepared according to the rules. When to water apple trees in the summer, depending on the area?
- When everything is done “according to science” and the area is not replete with hot periods, then water is poured three times.
- If the soil is sandy , the area is windy, and the summer is hot and dry, then five times will not be enough.
Therefore, the second watering is carried out 25 days after the first, if there is enough rain, or after 14 days, if the spring is dry.
And the fifth time is watered in August, if hot days come.
Sometimes in steppe regions a very dry autumn occurs, and if this happens, it is better to water the tree and then remove all unripe tips of the branches , rather than the overdried soil layer worsening overwintering.
If the year turns out to be abnormally hot, then one-year-old apple trees are watered once every 10 days while the heat continues.
Each time they pour into a circular groove 15 cm deep, made a meter from the trunk of the apple tree.
The volume of irrigation water is from 7 to 15 liters for loams and chernozems, and up to 17-20 liters for sandstones.
How much water a tree needs depending on its age.
The amount of moisture that each tree requires depends not only on its age, but also on the composition of the soil in which the apple tree grows. You can always check and find out if the apple tree has enough water. To do this, dig a hole about thirty centimeters deep next to the trunk (carefully so as not to touch the roots), take a handful of earth and squeeze - if the earth is dry and crumbling, then there is not enough moisture and additional watering is needed. For a two-year-old seedling in the year of planting, 30 liters per watering of the apple tree will be enough. In subsequent years, until the age of five, this norm increases to 7 buckets at a time.
After 6 years, some varieties begin to bear fruit, their crown grows, and they require more moisture. Therefore, starting from the age of six, watering the apple tree is increased to 10-12 ten-liter buckets, so that the tree trunk gets wet to a depth of at least 70 cm. Well, an adult tree that is in its prime and bears fruit abundantly will need about 15 buckets, which are evenly distributed in the tree trunk. circle.
Tip: how to water an apple tree in the heat?
Heat is dangerous for a tree, and on particularly critical days, the apple tree should receive relief through watering. Watering apple trees in hot weather is divided in half. The first part is poured along the furrows until absorption stops completely.
The second portion is poured over branches or in a layer 1.5 meters from the ground. This way, the entire volume of soil covered by the roots will be evenly saturated with water and the ground air will cool and become moist. This event is held at sunset.
If there are few trees and there are no sprinklers, then the volume of watering for the apple tree will be as follows:
- Up to 35 years = 40 liters,
- And older = 50 liters.
And early in the morning they repeat, the volume of water is the same. At the same time, they pour it into a hole under the crown, a quarter of a meter deep.
Watch a video on how to properly water an apple tree in the summer:
If you water the apple tree in the heat only with “rain,” then such watering will bring little benefit . It will only moisten the surface of the earth, and there are no suction roots there, plus a crust may form on the surface of the earth, which will further impede the flow of water to the roots. And the roots were still thirsty.
ADVICE . The root neck of the tree should be above ground level and not wet!
Advice from experienced gardeners
There are several nuances that must be taken into account:
- It is not recommended to carry out the procedure immediately after rain, since water stagnates, creating a favorable environment for pests;
- the hose should be located at a distance of at least 1.5 m from the trunk; watering near a tree is very harmful;
- It is better to use settled, warm water.
Drip watering of apple trees
This method, most common in commercial dwarf and palmetto apple orchards, is very effective because it soaks the soil directly above the roots of each tree with water.
A drip irrigation system requires good, pre-filtered water to prevent debris and sediment from clogging the irrigation emitters.
Watch the video on how to make drip irrigation for garden trees:
The flow rate is adjusted from a barely open line - for slow penetration of water into the soil, and to completely open - for quickly watering apple trees.
The water itself goes to the dropper, buried in the soil, from the feeder reservoir under low pressure , then through the main pipe, then along the hose in a row, and then into the dropper.
Irrigation hoses are installed in new gardens with a distance of about 40-90 cm from the trunks, a row of hoses from a row is 2 meters. As trees grow, they require more water and their root zone becomes larger.
After 5 or 8 years, a new sleeve is pulled again from the other side, which places the second dropper 50 cm from the trunk. Additional droppers are added as needed.
What should be added to water to feed trees?
To make the tree develop faster and more actively, various minerals and nutrients can be added to the water. It is worth remembering the features of some of them:
- Soapy water. Used if harmful insects and bacteria are found in the soil. A soap solution will help get rid of them.
- Copper sulfate. It is not recommended to use copper sulfate to water the apple tree, as it can lead to degeneration. It is allowed to spray in spring.
- Chicken droppings. One of the best organic fertilizers, which contains a lot of useful substances. To prepare it, you need to mix a bucket of manure with a bucket of water and infuse this solution for 24 hours.
- Inkstone. It can be used no more than once every few years. Iron sulfate helps protect the tree from fungus and chlorosis and nourishes the fruit with the necessary elements.
- Boiling water. Watering with water at temperatures above +50 degrees will cause the root system to die.
- Yeast. You can use fermented wine or kvass. However, such a solution is not used for watering, but for spraying tree leaves. It helps the fruits become even sweeter.
Spraying with yeast solution
How to properly water apple trees in spring?
CAREFULLY! Don’t try to follow the “advice” to pour out as many buckets as the apple tree is old: you’ll end up hurting yourself and ruining the tree!
Is spring often accompanied by rain and downpours? Additional watering will even be harmful.
But if the garden is planted in an area with a predominance of hot and dry days, then watering is carried out before flowering begins, and the best moment is the separation of the buds in the inflorescences.
The watering period is associated with the formation of apple tree buds.
If it’s hot when the flowers are blooming and the ground is dry, then by nightfall the garden is watered along the furrows or at least 5 buckets are poured onto one mature tree.
The most suitable irrigation is in furrows, in ring holes around trunks and drip irrigation. Sprinkling and watering from above the soil with a hose are the most unacceptable forms of watering in gardening .
Watering rules in different seasons:
How to properly water apple trees in summer?
It is necessary to carefully monitor the water supply to the garden in the midst of the summer heat.
So, how to water apple trees in the summer? Watering is especially valuable in the first half of summer after the ovary falls (mid-June).
The second time it is necessary to water after 15-19 days.
If the weather is dry and sunny during the summer - there are frequent guests and their presence greatly harms the garden, then the frequency of watering is increased, but the volume of watering is not changed.
IMPORTANT! Watering with a hose and sprinklers is the least suitable!
How often to water apple trees in the fall?
In autumn, you should not pour water, when frequent rains already saturate the soil with water. Watering in September during warm weather is especially ; this puts the tree into a state of rapid vegetative growth and its branches do not have time to accumulate enough sugars and in the frosty winter they die from freezing.
Watering before winter
In late autumn, one moisture-recharging irrigation , preparing the garden for winter. On average, they pour as much water as will be absorbed: from 12 buckets per tree or more. The purpose of winter watering is to reduce the threat of freezing and drying out. This is also a guarantee against the plant drying out in winter.
How to water an apple tree in the heat?
Despite the heat and drought, are the apple trees full of fruit in the garden? Because the owner watered them generously.
A watering bowl is dug around each tree , pouring a side of soil along the contour of the end of the crown.
You can do it differently: dig 2-3 circular holes at different distances from the trunk. Pour water into them, 10-25 buckets per apple tree , depending on the size and age of the tree.
Watering apple trees in August
In ordinary summers, in the August heat, in the middle zone, apple trees are not watered, so as not to give impetus to the secondary growth of this year's branches, so that they do not die in the winter.
Watering apple trees in summer is permissible during abnormal heat.
Water into holes or furrows; surface watering is unacceptable!
Watering an apple tree in the heat in the depression around the trunk.
How often do you need watering during flowering?
The problem of watering apple trees during their flowering season often arises among new gardeners.
It is prohibited to carry out such watering if there is a sufficient amount of moisture under the apple tree . But when the air is dry and there is a shortage of mobile water in the root zone, watering is necessary, otherwise there will be little nectar and the bees “will not see the apple flowers.
Watering apple trees during fruiting
When filling apples, water only in the grooves along the perimeter of the crown if there is a visible lack of moisture at the roots; other types of watering are harmful.
ATTENTION! When expecting a bountiful harvest, water more than you would for apple trees with few or no apples.
How timely and competent watering affects the growth and fruiting of a tree
The climate began to change frequently. Drought is affecting areas where precipitation was not uncommon before. The apple trees begin to lack the water that falls with the rains; the roots do not get it in the required quantity from the ground. Trees can withstand drought for a long time, but young plants do not develop when they experience a lack of moisture, the ovary on adult apple trees does not develop well, and green fruits fall off.
In hot weather, fruit trees need a lot of water; in prolonged rainy weather, watering can harm the plant. The apple tree has different development phases and a growing season, which must be taken into account.
Is it possible to water apple trees with different preparations:
Iron sulfate?
Many “academics” advise that if there was chlorosis, then you need to wait until the apple tree sheds its leaves and after the autumn rains, dissolve a handful of iron sulfate in a bucket of water and pour the mixture over the tree trunk area. And do this not every year, but once every three years.
But in truth, this should not be done, because iron is an easily mobile metal and before spring it will have time to combine in such a way that it will no longer be accessible to the apple tree roots. But such watering can “skew” the nutritional balance in the root zone. Therefore, there is no need to fight chlorosis “this way”.
And even after the man-made 20th century, we still need to look for those gardens where iron is “in the red”...
The validity of watering with fertilizers.
Copper sulfate?
The situation is similar with copper sulfate. No, you can’t water it , because in excess copper can lead to mutations and degeneration of different parts of the apple tree: from inedible areas in the fruit to cancer of the shoots.
Therefore, identified copper starvation is treated with special feeding in the form of a 0.1% solution of aqueous copper sulfate on the leaves from May to July.
Is it possible to water apple trees with cold water from a well?
Proper watering of apple trees in the summer can be done with water from a well, borehole, or stream, but, first of all, you need to know the volume that the apple tree needs to receive, and most importantly, the quality of the irrigation water.
You cannot water only with water whose temperature is close to the freezing point; this is related to the question of whether it is possible to water apple trees with cold water.
Irrigation from wells.
When the water temperature is about +4 + 5 degrees, this is not very good, but it is better than nothing, especially in a drought. The main thing is not to water branches and trunks with such water , and, if possible, pour it into soil grooves and ditches from 10 pm to 7 am.
And if this is not possible, then pour into grooves dug around a tree or between rows, to the depth of a spade bayonet.
Water from a septic tank
Viruses, microorganisms, and worms do not die in ordinary septic tanks without special means or steaming the mass. When superficially watering an apple orchard with such water, particles of the suspension remain on the grass, branches, and then “transfer” to the hands or apples, which are then eaten.
Therefore, the liquid fraction can and should be applied, but only between the rows of apple trees in a trench in the fall before the snow, as one of the fertilizer options.
The bottom of the hole is 4 bayonets deep, 2 bayonets are filled with sawdust and shavings, and then filled with slurry, after filling is completed, the layer of soil is returned to its place, the excess topsoil is temporarily scattered under the trees. In spring and summer, after the pit has settled, the soil is returned to its place.
Chicken droppings
It is possible, but be careful, because this supercon is capable of “burning” trees. To avoid burns, 1 bucket of bird droppings in an iron barrel is liquefied with 10-15 buckets of cold water, stirred thoroughly, and allowed to brew for 1-2 days.
Apply this fertilizer into a circular ditch near the trunk, a full bucket for a fruit-bearing apple tree, and a third of the bucket for young apple trees. This will be an excellent feed.
The accumulation of nitrites in chicken litter is minimal, so it is good to use when digging up the soil and for spring mulching . Volume: one bucket for apple trees up to 15 years old and two buckets for adult apple trees.
Soapy water
If it was a pure solution of fatty soap, then it is possible.
But the fact of the matter is that often it’s slop, leftovers from swimming, and there are parabens , laurates and sodium sulfate laurites . These compounds are very different from soap and are extremely dangerous for living creatures in the soil. Because until every molecule of this “byaka” connects with the fat base, it will not disappear.
Therefore, from such watering, not only fungi and bacteria will die out (and they are not always enemies of apple trees), but also beneficial beetles and worms.
Potassium permangantsovka
You can spill the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to prevent and disinfect the soil. Or, for example, to destroy earthworms that accidentally ended up in containers with dwarf apple trees, because they can destroy the roots.
But if a gardener is bothered by worms in a “big” garden, then he can safely listen to “tyrnet experts” and ruin the garden.
Important ! But seriously, potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizing agent, and in large quantities and concentrations it can destroy a lot of necessary and valuable things in the soil. That is why its use when watering apple trees is unacceptable !
Yeast
Dry, in packs, no. And not because for a noticeable effect you will need several kilos of them for an average garden. But because they are effective in the presence of sugars , and the more sweetness, the better for the yeast.
Well, where did summer residents see sweet soil? That’s why they apply already fermented bottom sediments from mash, wine, kvass, beer, diluted 1 to 6 with water, onto the leaves, as an element in the fight against microbial putrefactive infection.
But such a trick will not work in the soil; there is so much biota there that the number of beneficial microbes cannot be increased in this way. This method “works” only in greenhouses, greenhouses, and in containers , and only in the form of tray yeast sediments.
Use the right fertilizers.
Boiling water
It is possible if the gardener wishes death to his apple trees. After all, this method was brought into the garden by summer residents growing berry bushes, and in order for the method to be “brighter,” the name was given . ”
In reality, not a single living tree, bush, or shoot can survive temperatures above 50, which is why they do everything so that the water that has already reached the branches on the bushes is not hotter than +47, otherwise the branches would be damaged by pests. For greater insurance, such a reception is carried out by people only in winter.
Well, here’s the problem: the composition of tree and shrub branches varies greatly . That's why it makes no sense to copy. Moreover, many apple trees are tall and sometimes even small shoots cannot be reached with a stepladder.
And it is not advisable to do this on dwarfs with palmettes. There is no serious confirmation from scientists about the safety of such processing, much less about its necessity and usefulness.
Watering with boiling water is only possible for bushes.
Optimal temperature and composition of water for irrigation
It is not recommended to water cultivated plants with cold water from a well or well for several reasons:
- it is less absorbed by the roots;
- underground moisture may contain increased amounts of iron, salts and gradually accumulate in the soil;
- By lowering the soil temperature, cold water promotes the development of root rot.
Fruit trees are the most resistant plants to cold water; liquid temperatures from +10 to +22 degrees are suitable for them. During the time that water moves through the hoses from the well, it manages to warm up to the required minimum temperature.
The composition of the liquid for watering apple trees should be neutral and soft. The best water is melt water. If possible, gardeners fill watering containers with snow in the spring to make a supply for the beginning of summer.
It is useful to use natural sources: rivers, lakes, ponds. The water in them is soft, rich in organic matter (waste products of fish, birds, rotting parts of plants). Such watering not only “waters”, but “feeds” the apple tree.
