Why do you need whitewashing of fruit trees in spring, the timing of its implementation
A mandatory event for a gardener is the whitewashing of fruit trees in the spring, and the climate dictates its timing. It is important to choose dry weather in early spring and carry out protective and preventive treatment of fruit trees. The spring whitewashing of plants is a sign of the beginning of the struggle for the beauty and health of the garden, the battle for the harvest.
Why are the trunks of fruit trees whitened?
Whitewashing the trunks of fruit trees with a special composition:
- disinfects wounds on the trunks and bases of skeletal branches;
- protects against uneven heating of wood during the day, prevents sunburn.
The March sun heats up the dark trunks very well, disrupting the biological rhythm. Snow still lies on the ground, and the first spider has already crawled out of the crack and busily descends on the rope down. It is necessary to brick up the pests under a dense layer of whitewash, to which protective preparations have been added. That is why the timing of whitewashing fruit trees in spring should be early.
If the tree has not been cleaned of bark pests since autumn, cracks and hollows remain, before whitewashing in cloudy weather, the bark is washed from dirt, and dubious places are cleaned up. After the hygiene procedure, the bark should dry out.
The snow-white color of the bark reflects the sun's rays and the wood heats up much less. Changes in night and day temperatures in spring are significant and can lead to cracking of the bark. A strong layer of whitewashing of fruit trees in spring - protection against diseases and pests, from overheating of the trunk to autumn.
Spring whitewash composition
A prerequisite for any composition is its maximum reflectivity - whiteness! The best basis for whitewashing mature trees is freshly slaked lime. Its disinfecting properties are associated with obtaining an alkaline suspension. After drying, a strong CaCO crust forms on the trunk3which does not dissolve in water. The whitewash will last throughout the summer.
If it is difficult to find lumpy lime, you can use acrylic white paint, popularly called an emulsion. These components are the basis of the whitewash composition for fruit trees. For better adhesion, you can add 5 g of previously dissolved tar or laundry soap per 1 liter of suspension to the bucket.
The rest of the components can be added as needed, based on 10 liters of solution:
- fresh manure 1 kg + copper sulfate 200 g;
- fatty clay 1kg + fresh manure 1kg + copper sulphate 250 g.
You can add 100 g of karbofos or urea to the solution.
You shouldn't mix everything in one bucket. You need to focus on the population of the tree with pests.
For young trees with thin bark without damage, the solution must be prepared on the basis of chalk. If you have purchased a fluff, its disinfecting properties are weak, it has already decomposed in the air, you will need copper sulfate, karbofos, urea.
Operation sequence
Spring whitewash fruit trees consists of mandatory actions:
- preparation of the trunk for staining;
- whitewash;
- cleaning.
A canvas is spread around the tree, on which the dead bark, removed with a scraper, shavings and dust from cleaning with a metal brush falls. If the tree is damaged to cambium and deeper, the wound must be closed with garden pitch.
It is best to paint with a thick suspension using a brush, evenly covering the cracks and exits of the lower skeletal branches. If the tree is young, paint only the trunk to the first branches.
After that, the litter is collected and burned along with the contents. This is important to prevent the spread of insects and diseases.
Gardening tips
Not all farmers consider it right to mix chemical ingredients in the same bowl. Some are sure that whitewashing fruit trees in the early spring only performs aesthetic functions, that its benefits are negligible for the development of a tree. Alternatively, they suggest that after stripping the tree, spray it with Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate. At the same time, it is important to prevent the liquid from draining into the trunk circle.
Instead of whitewashing, it is proposed to protect the trunks with a coating of straw, fresh manure and clay. Experienced gardeners use an infusion of 3 kg of ash in 10 liters of water for several hours. For adhesion, shavings of laundry soap are added to the composition. It is believed that trace elements found in furnace ash feed the bark of the tree.
With experience comes an understanding of which agrotechnical measures in a particular climatic zone are more suitable for protective measures. The main thing is that the garden is healthy and fruitful.