Peach is an important stone fruit crop of the temperate zone. It is juicy, delicious and high palatable fruits. It is usually consumed as fresh fruits but delightful squash can also be prepared from its varieties. Some varieties like Shan-e-Punjab, flordared are suitable for canning purpose. From peach kernels essential oil can be obtained which is used in producing of plenty of cosmetic products as well as medicinal products. It is a rich source of proteins, sugar, minerals and vitamins.

Peach requires deep sandy loam soil rich in organic matter with good drainage. The pH of the soil should be between 5.8 and 6.8. Acidic and saline soils are unfit for peach cultivation. The land with gentle slope is ideal for peach cultivation. The fruit thrives best in foothills, high hills and mid hills situation.

Elberta: This variety is good for fresh eating and for storage purpose. It has round shape fruits and flesh is yellow in color. It has enough juice content.

Alexander: It has big sized fruits, round and deep green in color on which shiny red spots are seen. It has white-green flesh, sweet and juicy in nature.

Noblesse: It has medium sized fruits which are green in color taking yellowish color and on which red stripes are seen. Fruits have soft flesh, juicy, sweet, bound to kernel and are aromatic. The variety matures in mid-August.  

Golden Bush: Fruits are small to medium in size and has thick peel and are reddish yellow in color. Fruits have golden flesh, hard, less juicy, bound with kernel, and are tasteless.

Crawford Early: Fruits are medium in shape. Fruits have yellow flesh and are bound with kernel. The variety is suitable for storage purpose.

Florida Sun: Its tree starts giving fruit in 3-4 years and the fruit matures in end-April. Fruits are medium to big in size and are round in shape. It contains 11-12.5% soild elements, 0.5-0.6% sour content and yellow flesh which is juicy. It gives an average yield of 100kg/tree.
 
Florida Red: An excellent, mid-season fruits, it matures in the early of June. Fruits are large, almost red at maturity, juicy, with free stone.  Its average yield is 100 kg/tree.

Florida Prince: Its fruits are medium to big in size (76gm), round, light, light peak, and peel is yellow in color. Fruits have yellow color flesh, and are sticked to kernel. The variety matures in end week of April.

Florida Grande: It has big sized fruits (91.1gm). Fruits have yellow color flesh. It is good for transportation purpose. It gives an average yield of 95kg fruits per tree.

Pratap: Fruits are medium to large in size (66gm). Its flesh is firm and yellow-red in color. The fruits mature in third week of April. It gives an average yield of 70kg fruits per tree.

Shan-E- Punjab: It ripens in the 2nd week of May.  Fresh fruits are quite big, yellow-colored with radish blush, superb in flavour, as well as free stone. As fruit are rigid in quality, it is good for transportation purpose. They are suited to canning; the regular fruit yield is 125kg/tree.

Saharanpur Prabhat: The variety matures in end week of April. Fruits are medium in shape. Fruit flesh is sweet, white, bound to kernel and are flavored. The fruit contains 12.5% total soluble elements, 0.37% sour element, 6.2% sugar content and 12mg vitamin C per 100gm fruit.

Land must be prepared by proper dig at 5m X 5m apart and the beds are fully filled with 20 kg of FYM, 125 g of urea and 25ml of chlorpyriphos. These are mixed with 30 cm soil and filled above 10 cm of ground level.
 

Time of sowing
T- budding is done in the first week of May. T -budded seedlings are ready for transplantation in field in the month of December-January.

Spacing
For planting square system is used with spacing of 6.5 m X 6.5 m.

Sowing Depth
The seeds of peach tree must be sown in beds which are 5 cm in depth with 12-16 cm apart from each other.

Method of sowing
In the starting budding/grafting is done and then transplanting method is used for growing the plants in the main field.

Seed Rate

For propagation, grafting or budding method is used. For raising rootstock Sharbati, Khurmani are used. Before sowing, treat seed with thiourea and then sow them in bed of 5 cm deep. Use plant to plant spacing of 15 cm and row to row spacing of 20 cm. Then cover them with 6-10 cm dry thick grass. They are graftable in following winter.

January-February is optimum time for tongue grafting whereas T-Budding is done in May-June. 

Peach tree needs heavy and regular pruning. Pruning must be done in last week of October. Water sprouts and other shoots must be eradicated. The newly peach tree should be planted about 35 inches height.

Peach trees require more amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The trees having an age 6 or more should be given Cow dung manure@35-40kg/plant, Urea@1kg/tree, SSP@1.2kg/tree and MOP@1kg/tree. If iron deficiency is seen in the tree then spraying of Ferrous sulphate@1.5kg and quick lime@750gm should be done by mixing in 500 ltr water.

These are regulated by manual weeding however it is tiring as well as expensive. As peach roots are irregular, they can be often damaged by continual ploughing. Thus, usage of herbicides is excellent substitute. A pre-emergence applying Diuron @ 800 gm-1 kg/acre or even post-emergence use of Glyphosate @ 6 ml/acre in 200 liters of water throughout February-March efficiently manages broad-leave weeds as well as usual grasses in new orchards.

After planting the trees, irrigation should be given immediately. In rainy season, these plants may not require watering. Drip irrigation is the best method for effective use of water. Irrigation should be given at some critical stages, in case of dry spell. Watering is important at flowering/budding stage and fruit development stage.

It required regular and heavy pruning. Carried out pruning in last week of October. Pruning should be done to produce 25-50 cm of growth annually to maintain optimum productivity. Mid-winter is optimum time for pruning. In training, keep main stem cleared up to 45 cm above ground level. Remove unwanted, diseased, weak branches in second year. 

• Pest and their control:

Shot hole: The symptoms are dark brown color lesions on leaves.

Treatment: Spraying with Captan or Ziram or Thiram@0.2% should be done at the time of leaf fall or bud swelling stage

Bacterial canker and gummosis: It attacks on main trunk, shoots, branches, spurs, blossoms, dormant buds, leaves and even fruits.
 
Treatment: Ensure that a suitable peach variety and rootstock is chosen based on geographic location and environmental conditions to prevent stress to tree which predisposes tree to canker disease, apply protective copper spray to trees before flowering, prune trees in early summer to decrease likelihood of infection.

Brown rot: It causes wilting of plant and killing of petals and young twigs.

Treatment: Spraying with Captan@0.2% before 3 weeks of harvesting.

• Pest and their control:
  

Peach leaf curl aphid: The pest is active in March to May month. The pest results in curling and yellowing of leaves.

Treatment: Spraying of Rogor 30 EC@800ml/acre in 500ltr water should be done. Do spraying after 15 days if required.
 

Peach black aphid: The pest is active in April-June month.

Treatment: Spraying of Malathion 50EC @800ml/acre in 500ltr water.

Flat headed borer: It is a serious pest which is active in mid-March month. They feed on foliage.

Treatment: Drenching with Durmet 20 EC@1000ml/acre in 500ltr should be done in June month after harvesting for the prevention of this pest.

April to May is the peak month of harvesting peach crop. They reach good color and hard flesh that shows they are ready to harvest. Harvesting of peach crop is carried by twisting the fruit.

After harvesting they are stored in moderate temperature and can be used in processing squash.

Beetles: The beetles feed on leaves during night time.

Treatment: Spraying of Hexavin 50 WP@1kg/acre in 500ltr water is done at the evening time. If damage continues repeat the spray after 5-6 days.