Why do you need to feed the pear?
It is important to feed the pear on time and correctly, otherwise a deficiency of nutrients in depleted soil will lead to the following problems:
- change in foliage color;
- thin shoots;
- falling flowers and premature ovaries.
With a lack of nitrogen, the leaves turn yellow and fall off. A lack of phosphorus leads to the growth of young branches slowing down, yellow-brown spots appearing on the leaf blades, and unripe fruit ovaries crumbling. If there is little potassium in the soil, the leaves curl into a boat and their edges turn black.
It is the lack of adequate feeding of the pear that leads to a delay in fruiting and a decrease in yield: the fruits ripen late and unevenly, and look pale and sick.
How to properly feed a pear tree in spring?
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Often gardeners, having studied the question of how to feed a pear in the spring, forget about the technology of the process itself. There are simple rules, non-compliance with which can lead to low yield, sickness of the tree or a number of other problems.
- The first thing that is important to follow is the dosage.
It is better to take a lower concentration if you are not sure, than a higher one, since the abundance of any substances in the soil is detrimental to plants. The first thing that is important to follow is the dosage. - You should not use several types of nutrients at once. We are talking about the same overdose. When a gardener mixes chicken manure with urea, he, in fact, introduces a “horse” dose of nitrogen under the tree, because it is this mineral that is found in high concentrations in both of these fertilizers. As a result, the roots get burned, which cannot be cured. So it’s worth researching fertilizers before mixing.
- It is necessary to feed the pear tree in the spring with certain substances on time. If the gardener did not have time to add urea before flowering began, then he should not do it at all this year. You can use fertilizer for the next stage of tree development, but do not catch up. It will be possible to practice next year.
Types of fertilizing
There are two types of pear fertilizers: mineral and organic. They are alternated or applied in a complex foliar or root method. It is important to remember that both lack and excess of nutrition are harmful. In the first case, the quality of the fruit decreases, in the second, the seedlings may even die.
Mineral
Types of mineral fertilizers for pears:
- Nitrogen. Promotes photosynthesis and growth of green mass. When applied to the soil, they are strictly dosed. If you overfeed the pear, the young seedlings will become unstable to fungal diseases and aphid attacks.
- Phosphorus (superphosphate or double superphosphate). They take an active part in the ripening of fruits.
- Potassium. They influence the formation of ovaries in large quantities if applied in the spring and during flowering.
- Magnesium enhances tree growth. Usually, gardeners buy ready-made formulations containing magnesium (magnesium sulfate, vermiculite) to feed pears with mineral fertilizers in the spring.
Organic
Organic pear food is rich in nutrients in an easily digestible form.
- Manure is a complete source of nitrogen. It represents rotted feces of domestic animals (rabbits, pigs, sheep, cows, goats, horses).
Attention! Manure is used only after 3 years of aging, when it rots and turns into humus. When fresh, it contains ammonia, which can harm the roots of young pear trees.
- Bird droppings are considered an aggressive feeding of pears if used fresh, since in this case they damage the root system of the trees. Before use, it is collected, dried, diluted with water and left for 7–10 days.
- Wood ash is a budget-friendly and at the same time complete fertilizer for pears in spring and summer. Contains magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, increases soil acidity. Typically, ash is added to the soil for deoxidation. When combined with water it gives an alkaline reaction.
- Bone meal contains phosphorus, as well as iron, iodine, cobalt, calcium, zinc, and magnesium.
- Urea is a source of nitrogen. Nourishes and protects fruit tree seedlings from pests.
Folk remedies
During the process of growth and development, pear trees can be attacked by pests (codling moth, flower beetle), so it is important to use compounds that strengthen their immunity.
The plant will have time to fully ripen and will delight you with a generous harvest if you use the folk method: make an infusion with baker's yeast and spray the seedlings with it. This fertilizer contains a whole range of useful substances, including nitrogen and succinic acid.
Attention! To avoid attracting flies to the fruits, spraying should be stopped approximately 2 weeks before harvest.
Seasonal feeding of pears
Fertilizing pears in spring
As soon as the snow melts, it's time to start caring for the garden. Perennials must recover after wintering, gain greenery, and prepare for the formation of flower stalks. Mature trees are cleared of bark, where pests often hide. Use metal brushes and scrapers to remove the bark to a smooth trunk. Damage is disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate (100 g of substance per 10 liters of water). Before the leaves bloom, you need to trim off the old branches. Two-year-old trees are pruned to the level of crown formation to activate the growth of lower branches.
Feeding is carried out according to the following scheme:
- when the buds swell;
- before the appearance of flower stalks;
- after flowering.
In the spring, 70% of the fertilizers planned for the year are applied, the rest is distributed in the summer and autumn.
When the buds swell, the pear needs nitrogen. You can take a solution of urea (1:10) or saltpeter (30 g per 1 sq. m) and water the plant with it at a distance of 50 cm from the trunk. Ammonium nitrogen preparations work well because they are not washed out of the soil so quickly.
Fans of natural fertilizers can take bird droppings (500 g per 10 liters of water). Instead of watering, you can spray, but the solution should be less concentrated to avoid leaf burns.
During the flowering period, use a solution of nitroammophoska 1:200. 3 buckets of liquid are poured under each tree. You can embed green manure into the soil to a depth of 10 cm. The crown is processed 2 times. The first time after 1 week from the moment the flowers fall, the second time after 3 weeks. Most of all, pears need phosphorus and potassium for the fruit to develop properly.
When planting pears in the spring, fertilizers are applied to the hole, mixed with soil. Peat, compost or mullein are used, as well as phosphorus and potassium. Mineral fertilizers are placed at the very bottom of the hole so that there is no contact with the delicate roots. It is allowed to use rotted manure instead of compost. After just 6 months, the tree trunk circle is dug up to add peat mixture or manure so that the young tree can survive the winter well.
Two-year-old pears need 2 times less fertilizer than adults. Spraying and watering of the tree trunk circle along the projection of the crown are used. The tree is provided with regular watering and loosening of the soil around the trunk. This way the roots will receive the right amount of water and oxygen.
Feeding pears in summer
Trees such as pears do not particularly need fertilizing in the summer, but if the weather is dry, experienced gardeners advise spraying the foliage with nitrogenous compounds. This helps the plant survive unfavorable conditions when it is difficult for the roots to absorb nutrients from the soil. Thanks to spraying, the necessary elements are absorbed as quickly as possible. Regardless of the growing conditions of the garden, it does not hurt to feed the trees with phosphorus and potassium, especially if the foliage and branches show signs of disease.
Feeding pears in autumn
In autumn, the composition and application rates of fertilizers for pears differ from spring and summer. It is necessary to prepare the tree for winter frosts and possible diseases. The treatment period is determined by the appearance of the crown - as soon as a third of its leaves turn yellow, it’s time to act. The soil in the tree trunk circle is dug up, then ash is added at the rate of 150 g per 1 sq. m. m. Feeding should strengthen the seedlings, but not stimulate the growth of greenery and foliage. Therefore, nitrogen is strictly not used, as this will cause the trees to die. Most of all in the fall, pears need phosphorus and potassium. A solution of 10 liters of water, 1 tbsp. l. potassium chloride and 2 tbsp. l. superphosphate.
To protect trees from pests that hide for the winter, it is allowed to spray the trunk and branches. A solution with salt or ash will help. The first consists of 10 liters of water and 1 glass of salt. The second is prepared from 1 liter of water and 250 g of ash, boiled for an hour, left for a day and topped up to 2 liters with water. The trees are generously sprayed with prepared solutions.
Dead bark and dry branches are removed from pears, and damaged areas are whitened with lime to protect them from cracking and freezing. For whitewashing, 2 kg of lime is mixed with 1.5 kg of clay and 10 liters of water. Seedlings are whitened completely, while adults are whitened only to the level where the lowest branches grow. The last feeding for pear seedlings is planned no later than mid-September.
The ground in the tree trunk circle is cleared of carrion, leaves and grass. The soil is dug up and mulched with peat, humus or sawdust (a layer of 15 cm). In regions where rodents are common, the trunk is wrapped with netting or spruce branches.
Remove winter cover and treat possible damage
Many summer residents wrap tree trunks (especially young ones) for the winter, protecting them from frost and possible visits from hungry rodents. If you also practice installing such shelters, then in early spring, when stable positive temperatures have established and the snow has melted, it’s time to “undress” the trees.
After removing the cover, be sure to inspect the trunk of the pear, pay special attention to its lower part, previously covered with snow or covering material - whether the bark has propped up, whether there are newly formed rotting cracks and hollows, or traces of gnawing left by mice, hares or rats.
In case of minor damage, a clay mash or preparations such as RanNet, BlagoSad, Zhivitsa will help - you just need to carefully clean the sore spot on the trunk to healthy tissue, cover it with healing paste and cover it with a layer of film and agrofibre. In case of a significant area of damage, grafting with a “bridge” or engrafting a section of bark from the same tree that was obtained during spring pruning will help. This must be done strictly before the start of sap flow.
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Recommended rules for applying fertilizers
When choosing what fertilizer to apply when planting pears in the spring and other seasons, you need to avoid excessive care. Excess mineral and even organic fertilizers can seriously harm the garden. The dosage of the drugs is selected taking into account the fertility of the soil, the age of the pear and the season.
Experienced gardeners recommend:
- Fertilize seedlings starting from 2 years of age;
- add organic matter once every 3 years;
- use mineral preparations every year;
- When fertilizing seedlings, mix nitroammophoska with soil and apply it to the tree trunk, and lay organic matter on top.
For irrigation, you can dig pipes around the circumference of the tree trunk to a depth of 40 cm so that their ends rise above the surface of the earth, fill them with water or liquid fertilizers. The moisture will leave gradually, nourishing the soil. It is important to ensure that no debris gets inside, otherwise the system will clog.
You can learn a lot of useful information about caring for other trees in the garden from other articles on our website.
Gardening tips
If a gardener knows what to feed a pear tree in the spring, he will not have problems with the tree throughout the flowering and fruiting of the crop. But only correct application of fertilizers can lead to positive results. Below are recommendations for spring feeding of pears.
In cold spring, it is worth spraying pears with various fertilizers.
You need to feed pears, like any other vegetable and garden crops, only when necessary. You can’t just do it like that, otherwise the tree will begin to deteriorate, rot and get sick.
Other pear care jobs
In autumn, before the onset of cold weather, it is important to carry out a number of activities:
- pinch the tips of young shoots;
- carry out sanitary anti-aging pruning so that the branches do not break under the weight of snow, and the plants better withstand frost;
- whiten the trunks down to the skeletal branches with a mixture of milk and clay to protect them from cracking;
- remove and destroy all remaining fruits to avoid the formation of rot and contamination of the soil with a fungal infection;
- water the pear abundantly (up to 5 liters for each bush);
- mulch the tree trunk circle with dry grass, straw, peat or compost to retain moisture and provide additional nutrition.
The pear is considered a finicky fruit tree. But if you feed the plantings with high-quality fertilizers when planting pears in the spring, and then in the summer and autumn, they will definitely reward you with a harvest of juicy and tasty fruits.
Engage in sanitary and formative pruning of pear trees
One of the most important spring procedures in any garden is pruning fruit trees and shrubs. Formative, healing, stimulating or limiting - the type and degree of pruning is chosen depending on the age and condition of the plant.
In any case, work on spring pruning of trees is carried out before the start of sap flow; in the middle zone, this period usually occurs in the middle - end of March. In this case, the air temperature should be no lower than 0-5°C, and the day should be dry and windless.
First, use a sharp, disinfected pruning shears to remove all diseased, heavily damaged, weak and broken shoots. Trim any side branches that grow vertically or inward to compete with skeletal branches.
Pear branches are pruned not “to the ring”, but to a developed side shoot, so as not to provoke thickening of the crown.
If necessary, begin to form the crown of the pear - there should be several tiers left on the tree, each with 3-5 skeletal branches radiating like a fan, subordinate to the central conductor (they should be 20-25 cm below it).
- 8 rules for pruning pears
The quality and quantity of the harvest will also depend on the shape of the tree crown. Here you can learn how to prune a pear tree correctly.
Do not forget to simultaneously clear the trunks from the old bark - the lower sections of the trunk from the root collar to the first branches. Remove mosses and lichens that slow down plant growth and create a favorable environment for harmful insects, and also seal large cracks: clean them with a sharp knife to healthy tissue and treat with the above-mentioned preparations RanNet, BlagoSad, Zhivitsa. The cuts must be even. Do not leave stumps, which can become a source of infection.
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