1 Introduction

Peach is one of the most important temperate fruit trees in the world and occupies a prominent position in global temperate fruit production, ranking second only to apple in terms of cultivation area and yield (Kumar and Kaur, 2021; Manganaris et al., 2022). In countries such as Spain, Tunisia, Egypt, the United States, and Ethiopia, large-scale commercial peach production has been established, providing important support for farmers’ income and rural economies (Iglesias and Echeverría, 2022; Toumi et al., 2022). Peach trees enter the fruiting stage relatively early and have high yield potential per unit area. Under proper management, they can generate favorable economic returns, which has made them highly valued by growers for a long time (Kumar and Kaur, 2021). However, in recent years, affected by rising labor costs, declining grower profits, and intensified market competition in some major production areas, the peach industry has faced the dual pressure of stabilizing yield and improving quality while reducing costs and increasing efficiency (Manganaris et al., 2022). Consumers’ requirements for fruit size, firmness, flavor, color, and nutritional quality are also increasing. Unstable fruit quality can directly affect peach consumption and the profitability of the industry (Anthony and Minas, 2021; Manganaris et al., 2022).

In high-yield peach cultivation, water and mineral nutrition are key factors affecting tree growth, fruit set, fruit enlargement, and quality formation. Insufficient nitrogen supply can weaken root growth, flower bud quality, and nutrient absorption capacity, thereby affecting yield. In contrast, excessive nitrogen application may lead to excessive vegetative growth, reduced fruit quality, increased disease risk, and nutrient loss (Nava et al., 2022). Phosphorus and potassium are associated with flowering and fruit set, sugar transport, fruit weight formation, and stress resistance. Therefore, an appropriate nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio is an important basis for achieving high yield and superior quality in peach production (Zayan et al., 2016; Dbara et al., 2018). Field studies have shown that appropriate fertilization at key stages such as budbreak, flowering, and fruit development can increase yield per tree and improve fruit size, soluble solids content, color, and phenolic composition. However, excessive phosphorus application may be unfavorable for sugar accumulation (Maatallah et al., 2024). Excessive fertilization also increases production costs and the risk of environmental pollution. Therefore, optimizing fertilization rate, application timing, and internal nutrient balance of trees has become an important direction in peach orchard management (Casamali et al., 2021a; Nava et al., 2022; Mosie et al., 2025).

Irrigation management also determines peach yield and quality, especially in semi-arid and arid regions and areas with limited water resources (Pascual et al., 2016; Toumi et al., 2022). Supplemental irrigation can promote canopy growth, trunk thickening, photosynthesis, and early yield formation, with more pronounced effects in dry years (Fisk et al., 2015; Casamali et al., 2021a). However, severe water stress during the later stage of fruit development can reduce fruit size, quality, and economic returns (Fisk et al., 2015). Zhou et al. (2017) showed that moderate deficit irrigation can maintain yield while improving individual fruit weight, soluble solids content, vitamin C content, firmness, sugar-acid ratio, and water use efficiency. In arid regions of Tunisia, sustained deficit irrigation and partial root-zone drying treatments also improved fruit dry matter, sugars, phenolics, and mineral element contents (Toumi et al., 2022). A meta-analysis further indicated that regulated deficit irrigation generally helps improve water use efficiency in peach trees, while yield losses are usually within a controllable range (Ali et al., 2024).

With the development of high-density cultivation, dwarf tree forms, mechanized management, and increasing water constraints under climate change, traditional fertilization and irrigation practices can no longer fully meet the needs of modern peach orchards for high yield and high quality (Anthony and Minas, 2021; Iglesias and Echeverría, 2022). Integrated water and fertilizer management combines water supply and fertilizer application through drip irrigation, micro-sprinkler irrigation, and other approaches. It enables synchronized, small-dose, repeated, and precise water and nutrient supply during key growth stages, helping improve water and nutrient use efficiency while reducing input waste and environmental risks.

This study focuses on water management, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrient supply, and the coordinated regulation of deficit irrigation and fertilization in peach trees. It aims to provide technical references for stable yield, high productivity, superior quality, and sustainable management of peach orchards.

2 Physiological Basis of Peach Yield Formation

2.1 Flowering, fruit set, and fruit development

High yields and good fruit size are associated with balanced NPK supply, with peak N demand around flowering and fruit set (Figure 1). In commercial orchards, NPK supply regimes that emphasized relatively high N during S2 (flowering/fruit set) produced the highest yields (50-68 kg/tree) and supported later fruit size and quality (Maatallah et al., 2024). N is a key macronutrient for leaf development, photosynthetic capacity, and sugar formation, and peak N demand in stone fruits occurs at bud break, flowering, and fruit set (Chawla and Sharma, 2025). Inadequate N reduces flower bud quality and effective fruiting, and also impairs root growth and water and nutrient uptake (Nava et al., 2022).

Peach fruit development proceeds through four stages (S1-S4), with rapid cell division and growth in S1, pit hardening in S2, a second exponential growth phase in S3, and final ripening in S4 (Zhang et al., 2022). N supply during pit hardening and fruit expansion directly affects yield, fruit quality, and metabolite composition, particularly carbon and amino acid metabolism (Zhang et al., 2022). Excessive P supply, in contrast, can be negatively correlated with total sugar content in the fruit (Maatallah et al., 2024).

During the rapid fruit expansion stage (S3/fruit expansion), water demand is high because fruit size increases quickly and large amounts of carbohydrates are required (Zhang et al., 2022). Studies in semi-arid conditions show that water deficit from mid–pit hardening to harvest significantly reduces shoot and fruit growth, with growth more sensitive to water shortage than photosynthesis (Rahmati et al., 2015). As tree water status declines beyond a threshold (midday stem water potential around –1.5 MPa), daily net carbon gain becomes negative, indicating that carbon assimilation no longer meets the respiratory and growth demands of shoots and fruits.

2.2 Source–sink relationship in peach trees

Leaf photosynthesis provides the primary carbohydrate source for developing fruits. N is central to leaf development and photosynthetic capacity in stone fruits, supporting sugar and carbohydrate formation for fruit growth (Chawla and Sharma, 2025). Water deficit reduces leaf photosynthesis by decreasing stomatal conductance and by reducing total leaf area, thereby lowering whole-tree carbon assimilation (Rahmati et al., 2015). Altering the source-sink ratio through thinning (reducing fruit number per leaf area) can transiently decrease photosynthesis and cause sugar accumulation in leaves, indicating feedback limitation when sink demand is low (Andrade et al., 2019). Application of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) can enhance leaf photosynthetic gas exchange capacity for at least one month and enlarge “source” volume, increasing carbon fixation in leaves (Liang et al., 2023). Fruit sink strength—its capacity to import and utilize assimilates—depends on both sink size and activity. A realistic estimate of sink strength is the sum of carbon gained as dry weight plus carbon lost through respiration, with net sink strength determined by the product of sink size and sink activity (Bianco and Rieger, 2002). In peach, both sorbitol and sucrose are major forms of translocated carbon, and their contents in fruit correlate positively with growth rate; enzyme activities involved in their metabolism are closely associated with sink strength across developmental stages (Bianco and Rieger, 2002). Under conditions of high crop load or limited assimilate availability, acid invertase activity and hexose:sucrose ratios increase, which can enhance fruit sink strength by raising hexose concentrations (Morandi et al., 2008). ALA treatments further strengthen fruit sink competition by increasing the proportion of radiolabeled carbon transported from leaves to fruits and reducing allocation to young leaves (Liang et al., 2023). At the whole-tree level, simple carbon balance models in water-stressed peach show that sinks (fruits and shoots) demand carbon for growth and maintenance respiration, and once daily carbon assimilation falls below this demand, net carbon gain becomes negative and carbohydrate reserves in the trunk decline (Rahmati et al., 2015). This illustrates that fruit set and final yield are constrained not only by local fruit sink strength but also by whole-tree carbon balance under the prevailing irrigation regime.

2.3 Root growth and resource uptake

Root distribution and nutrient absorption capacity strongly influence how trees exploit soil water and nutrients. Peach rootstocks differ in their efficiency for N, P, and K uptake, transport, and use; rootstocks with greater efficiency in nutrient transport and use show superior growth parameters, indicating better adaptation to low nutrient availability (Menegatti et al., 2021). In ‘Okinawa Roxo’ rootstock, complete nutrient solutions that optimize N, P, and K contents promote strong root growth, better dry-weight partitioning, and morphophysiological characteristics suitable for grafting within three months (Souza et al., 2019).

Root system architecture (depth and angle) varies among peach × (peach × almond) backcross populations; deeper, more vigorous root systems with narrower angles are better able to explore and exploit water and nutrients in deep sandy soils (Lesmes‐Vesga et al., 2023). Soil moisture and root-zone conditions directly affect root activity and water/nutrient uptake. Increasing soil water content and N supply raises leaf area and leaf, shoot, and root hydraulic conductivities in peach seedlings, improving water transport and growth under low soil moisture (Zhang et al., 2014). Conversely, severe water deficit in orchards reduces root length density by about 73% compared with well-irrigated trees, while partial rootzone drying reduces root length by about 42%, indicating that continuous deficit irrigation imposes stronger constraints on root system development than alternated wet–dry zones (Abrisqueta et al., 2008).

Roots are concentrated mainly in the upper 0.55 m of soil, especially at 0.40-0.55 m depth, with more than 88% of roots being very thin (<0.5 mm), highlighting the importance of maintaining moisture and nutrients in this zone (Abrisqueta et al., 2008). Root-zone aeration can further enhance root activity and nutrient availability. In a peach orchard, aeration increased soil oxygen, raised the abundances of N-fixing and K-solubilizing microorganisms, and increased soil alkaline N, available K, organic matter, and numbers and thickness of new white roots (Sun et al., 2022b). These changes also altered plant N and K status and increased the shoot K:N ratio, which was associated with improved fruit quality (Sun et al., 2022a). Soil management practices, including cover crops and bare soil strips, influence root growth, tree water use, and NO₃-N availability in adjacent soil; tree growth is allometrically related to root growth under these heterogeneous soil conditions.

3 Nutritional Strategies for High-Yield Peach Production

3.1 Macronutrient management

Nitrogen is the primary driver of shoot growth, leaf area development, and fruit sink strength. In peach, an annual N supply is required due to its mobility and leaching risk, with early-season soil applications commonly recommended to stimulate spring shoot growth and blossom development and to support ovary growth and fruit set (Tsoumanis et al., 2025). Nitrogen fertilization directly affects yield and fruit quality, but both deficiency and excess are detrimental: low N reduces flower bud quality, root growth, and fruiting capacity, whereas excessive N promotes vegetative overgrowth, lowers fruit quality, and increases disease incidence (Nava et al., 2022).

Field studies show that moderate N rates (around 200 kg N/ha) can maximize yield without sacrificing quality, and that the timing of N application (e.g., pit hardening vs. fruit expansion) significantly influences yield, leaf N status, and quality traits (Zhang et al., 2022). Integrated omics analyses further indicate that pre‑harvest N modifies carbon and amino-acid metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis, helping to explain stage‑specific effects on fruit growth and quality.

Phosphorus and potassium act mainly on flowering, fruit growth, and sugar accumulation. P, N, and K together are essential macronutrients for Rosaceae fruit yield and quality, affecting fruit development and postharvest performance (Bai et al., 2021). In commercial orchards, combinations of N-P-K adjusted by phenological stage have been shown to increase total yield and improve fruit size, weight, and soluble solids, particularly when N is emphasized around flowering and K during fruit development and ripening (Maatallah et al., 2024). However, high P supply can be negatively correlated with total sugar content, underscoring the need for balanced P inputs. (Maatallah et al., 2024). Foliar potassium (often combined with silicon) additionally enhances sugar translocation, coloration, soluble solids, firmness, and postharvest quality when applied at fruit set, stone hardening, and physiological maturity (Abidi et al., 2023).

3.2 Micronutrient supplementation

Calcium, boron, and zinc play crucial roles in fruit set, structural integrity, and quality formation. Soil and foliar Ca supply influences cell wall strength and postharvest behavior across Rosaceae fruits (Bai et al., 2021). In peaches and nectarines, foliar Ca applications increase fruit Ca content, especially when applied in late fruit development, with Ca retained mainly in the flesh and skin, which are critical for eating quality and shelf life (Carrasco-Cuello et al., 2024).

Boron is indispensable for cell wall formation, flowering, and fruit set; its imbalance reduces pollination success, fruit set, yield, and quality, and can increase acidity and physiological disorders (Thakur et al., 2023). Foliar B or Zn sprays in peach increase fruit set, yield, and quality traits such as TSS, TSS:acidity ratio, ascorbic acid, and firmness, while raising leaf B and Zn concentrations (Ali et al., 2019b; Muradi and Godara, 2020).

Deficiency symptoms of these micronutrients can manifest as poor flowering, low fruit set, small or deformed fruits, and increased physiological disorders. Boron deficiency is highlighted as one of the most widespread trace-element problems, producing a wide range of symptoms in young tissues and substantially reducing yield and quality (Thakur et al., 2023). In soil-based surveys of peach orchards, available B and Ca strongly influence single fruit weight and soluble solids, emphasizing the importance of maintaining adequate levels to avoid hidden deficiencies (Sun et al., 2022a). Foliar fertilization is generally considered 10-20 times more efficient than soil application for correcting micronutrient deficiencies in fruit trees, because it delivers nutrients directly to metabolically active leaves and developing fruit (Muradi and Godara, 2020).

3.3 Fertilization methods and timing

Basal soil fertilization and in‑season topdressing form the backbone of macronutrient supply in many peach orchards. Early soil applications rich in N (often in 2‑1‑1 N:P:K ratios) before blossom are widely recommended to support spring growth and flower initiation, followed by additional N (e.g., ammonium sulfate) at early fruit set to sustain ovary growth and fruit retention (Tsoumanis et al., 2025). Multi‑year trials combining intra-row spacing with N-P-S blends show that intermediate spacing and moderate basal rates (e.g., 150 kg/ha) can maximize yield, fruit weight, and economic return (Mosie et al., 2025).

Split N applications targeted to reproductive growth stages improve uptake and reduce environmental losses; isotope tracing in high‑input orchards reveals that only about one‑third of applied N is taken up by the tree, with substantial portions remaining in soil or lost to the environment, suggesting that total rates can be reduced by about 30% while focusing on reproductive stages (Yang et al., 2024). Foliar fertilization during key growth stages complements soil applications and allows rapid correction or strategic boosting of particular nutrients.

Foliar N‑fixing biofertilizers applied at fruit appearance and full development can enhance chlorophyll content, shoot growth, and fruit weight while decreasing reliance on synthetic N sources (Tsoumanis et al., 2025). Foliar K (often as potassium‑silicon) at fruit set, stone hardening, and maturity improves fruit weight, firmness, soluble solids, titratable acidity, and postharvest resistance, illustrating the value of stage‑specific sprays (Abidi et al., 2023). Similarly, foliar B, Zn, and Fe sprays applied once or twice from early spring significantly increase yield, fruit size, TSS, ascorbic acid, and leaf micronutrient content while reducing acidity, with double sprays outperforming single applications (Ali et al., 2019a; Muradi and Godara, 2020).

4 Irrigation Strategies for Peach Yield Improvement

4.1 Water requirement at different growth stages

During flowering and young fruit development, avoiding severe water stress is essential for canopy growth, carbon acquisition and early yield formation. In humid subtropical conditions, daily evapotranspiration of young peach trees peaks during active shoot development, and accurate crop coefficients allow scheduling to avoid both stress and over-irrigation (Zambrano-Vaca et al., 2020).

Field studies show that non-irrigated trees under drought have markedly reduced canopy volume, trunk growth, leaf water potential and photosynthesis, with lower commercial yields than irrigated trees, highlighting the importance of supplying adequate water from establishment through early cropping (Casamali et al., 2021b). Water requirements and sensitivity change as fruits enlarge and mature. Soil-water-potential thresholds for triggering irrigation differ among stages: stem and fruit growth become progressively less sensitive to deficits from stage I to III, and irrigation at moderate soil water potentials (around –10 to –17 kPa) promotes both fruit growth and assimilate allocation to fruit (Lou et al., 2024).

Studies imposing water shortage at specific growth stages report that deficits from flowering to early growth (stage I) cause the largest yield reductions, whereas moderate deficits during stone hardening or mid-season can save 25%-50% of water with limited effects on yield and improved color and soluble solids (AboOgiela, 2021).

4.2 Irrigation methods in peach orchards

Modern orchards commonly use drip or micro-sprinkler irrigation. In young trees under variable rainfall, irrigation-regardless of method-improves water status, growth, and early yield compared with rainfed conditions, while drip uses substantially less water than micro-sprinklers. A related study on nitrogen partitioning likewise found higher cumulative N removal (reflecting greater growth) in irrigated than in non-irrigated trees, and ~38% water savings with drip versus micro-sprinkler irrigation (Casamali et al., 2021b).

Long-term comparisons including furrow (flood-type) irrigation indicate that drip and micro-sprinkler systems can match yields with less water and fewer quality penalties. Over 10 years, postharvest deficit irrigation under furrow, drip, or micro-sprinkler saved up to 40% water without significant reductions in yield or key quality attributes; surface drip in particular maintained soil water better than furrow and micro-spray under deficit conditions (Zhang et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2020). Broader meta-analysis across crops confirms that drip typically produces higher yields and water-use efficiency than flood, border, furrow, sprinkler, and even micro-sprinkler irrigation, especially under water shortage (Yang et al., 2023).

4.3 Deficit irrigation and water-saving approaches

Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) and related strategies deliberately apply less than full crop evapotranspiration during periods when trees are less sensitive, aiming to balance yield and quality. In semi-arid Spain, sustained deficit (≈62.5% of full) and RDI (50% during stone hardening) often produced fruit yields similar to full irrigation, with only modest reductions in average fruit weight but higher soluble solids and sugar/acid ratios, suggesting improved commercial quality with water savings (Faci et al., 2014).

In Morocco, RDI at 75% ETc during slowdown stages allowed water savings of up to 25% in peach without yield loss, while 50% ETc reduced yield and size but enhanced sugar/acid ratio and polyphenols (Razouk et al., 2020). RDI scheduled by stem-water-potential thresholds (–1.5 to –1.8 MPa) cut water use by 43%-65% without affecting fruit size or yield and even slightly improved quality (Mirás-Avalos et al., 2016). A broader review and case study in Morocco reported that sustained deficit irrigation of peach reduced water use by 20% without affecting yield or quality and increased water productivity by 33% (Laita et al., 2024).

Partial root-zone drying (PRD), through alternating irrigation on both sides of the root system, can further improve water-saving efficiency and enhance fruit quality. In arid regions of Tunisia, deficit irrigation and partial root-zone drying at 50% ETc increased fruit dry matter content, firmness, soluble solids, phenolic compounds, and mineral element concentrations, thereby enhancing market value while reducing water use by half (Toumi et al., 2022). Deficit irrigation and partial root-zone drying can save 48%-52% of water. Although yield losses are approximately 25%, water productivity is improved, making these strategies highly attractive in areas facing severe water scarcity. A study in Tunisia using saline drip irrigation found that deficit irrigation at 50% ETc and PRD50 produced similar results, with yield reductions of 20%-25%. However, long-term soil salinity remained stable, and significant water savings were achieved, supporting the application of these practices in arid and salinized environments (Toumi et al., 2024).

5 Interaction Between Nutrition and Irrigation

5.1 Water–nutrient coupling mechanisms

Soil moisture is fundamental because nutrients are dissolved in water and transported with soil solution flow to the root surface, where they can be absorbed by trees. In sandy, coarse-textured soils typical of many peach orchards, improving soil moisture in the root zone increases water availability and also enhances solubility and accessibility of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium (Hamza et al., 2025). Under drip irrigation, higher soil moisture near emitters supports better root function and fertilizer uptake, while drier zones between emitters limit nutrient movement and uptake.

Different irrigation regimes alter nutrient availability and use efficiency. In arid sandy soils, irrigation with magnetized water increased root-zone moisture, improved soil chemical properties, and led to higher nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium use efficiencies compared with non-magnetized water, indicating more effective fertilizer uptake under improved water conditions (Hamza et al., 2025). Supplemental irrigation in young peach orchards increases vegetative growth and total nitrogen removal compared with non-irrigated trees, reflecting higher biomass and nutrient uptake under better water supply (Casamali et al., 2021b).

5.2 Fertigation technology in peach production

Fertigation—applying water-soluble fertilizers through drip systems—directly integrates fertilization and irrigation in the active root zone (Figure 2). Drip irrigation is highlighted as highly efficient in delivering water to roots and enabling precise fertigation that matches crop needs, reducing leaching losses and improving nutrient use efficiency and yield compared with conventional methods (Sharma et al., 2024). Meta-analysis across Chinese crops shows drip fertigation increases yield by about 12%, water productivity by 26%, and nitrogen use efficiency by 34% compared with traditional surface irrigation plus broadcast fertilization, while reducing evapotranspiration (Li et al., 2021).

Optimizing fertilizer concentration and irrigation frequency under drip fertigation is essential to balance high yield with minimal nutrient losses. A review of nitrogen losses under drip systems identifies soil moisture, fertigation, and irrigation regime as core factors controlling nitrate leaching and gaseous losses, and notes a shift from focusing only on application amounts to integrated management of rates, methods, and timing (Wei et al., 2024). In intensive fruit orchards, drip fertigation combined with plant hedgerows reduced total nitrogen and phosphorus runoff losses by about 45% and 37% compared with conventional fertilization, while maintaining high fruit yields, showing that concentrating nutrients in the wetted root zone and using vegetative barriers can both improve efficiency and reduce pollution (Song et al., 2023).

5.3 Effects on yield and fruit quality

Interactions between irrigation and nutrition influence fruit size, weight, and yield per tree. Soil applications of nitrogen, potassium, and calcium in a drip-irrigated sandy peach orchard increased yield and fruit weight versus unfertilized controls; the best macronutrient combination nearly tripled yield from about 37-40 kg to 97-104 kg per tree (Ali et al., 2019a). Mild deficit irrigation (75% ETc) in semi-arid China maintained total yield equal to full irrigation (100% ETc) but produced fewer, larger fruits, effectively shifting assimilates to remaining fruit under limited water (Zhou et al., 2017). Under stronger deficit irrigation in arid Tunisia, yields were not reported, but deficit strategies (DI and PRD) at 50% ETc improved internal quality traits and increased mineral concentrations in fruits, suggesting more concentrated uptake and allocation of nutrients under reduced water (Toumi et al., 2022).

Water-nutrient interactions also shape soluble solids, firmness, and appearance quality. In deficit-irrigated orchards, fruits often show higher soluble solids and improved sugar:acid balance compared with fully irrigated trees, as seen in semi-arid China where 75% ETc produced fruit with more soluble solids, vitamin C, firmer texture, and better color than 100% ETc (Zhou et al., 2017). In arid Tunisia, sustained deficit irrigation and partial root-zone drying increased dry-matter content, firmness (by 13%-15.5%), soluble solids (up to 14.3 °Brix), glucose, phenolic compounds, and mineral nutrients, enhancing nutritional and commercial value (Toumi et al., 2022).

Potassium supply interacts with water regime: foliar K applied under full and deficit irrigation increased fruit size and soluble solids, with the highest soluble solids observed in potassium-sprayed trees under deficit conditions (100F+DI) (Dbara et al., 2018). In a fertilized, drip-irrigated sandy orchard, macronutrient applications increased fruit length, diameter, firmness, total soluble solids, and total sugars compared with unfertilized trees, confirming that adequate nutrition under efficient irrigation enhances both physical and internal quality attributes (Ali et al., 2019b).

6 Orchard Management Practices Supporting Nutrition and Irrigation

6.1 Soil management and organic amendments

Organic amendments can support fertilizer and water efficiency in peach orchards by improving soil structure, nutrient supply, and moisture buffering. In young orchards, annual applications of food-waste compost at 2× rate (≈20 t/ha pre-plant, then 10 t/ha annually) increased soil organic matter, phosphorus, and sodium in replant soils, improved soil moisture during the growing season, and produced larger trees and higher early yields than the unfertilized control, while allowing 80%-100% reduction of spring synthetic NPK inputs (Lawrence and Melgar, 2023). In bearing orchards, surface application of mixed compost (5-10 t/ha/yr) increased soil organic C and total N, reduced bulk density and water-filled pore space, and slightly improved fruit quality without significantly changing yield, indicating benefits for soil physical properties and carbon storage (Bruno et al., 2025).

Organic manures and mulches also influence tree nutrition and water relations. Fertigating slurry-composting-biofiltration liquid manure increased shoot growth, leaf N and K, soil exchangeable K, fruit weight, and yield compared with mineral fertilization, though leaf Ca and Mg declined and K accumulation risk required periodic soil testing (Park et al., 2013). Long-term compost or manure mulching in orchards more broadly reduces bulk density, loosens soil, increases nutrient elements and organic content, and improves crop yield and quality (Wang and Wang, 2016; Goldan et al., 2023). In mature peach orchards, municipal mulch with or without poultry litter buffered soil water relative to bare soil, reduced soil Cu, increased soil P and, in some cases, increased fruit size and tree growth, while enabling reductions in synthetic fertilizer inputs (Lawrence and Melgar, 2024).

6.2 Canopy management and crop load regulation

Canopy training and pruning determine light distribution, labor efficiency, and the balance between vegetative growth and fruiting. Traditional vase systems often show uneven light distribution and high pruning labor, whereas planar or multi-axis systems (central leader, Catalan vase, Quad-V, Tri-V) in intensive orchards improve light uniformity, fruit size, and soluble solids, while reducing total labor by up to 39% and production costs by about 15% (Iglesias and Echeverría, 2022; Oran et al., 2024). Within a given system, shorter pruning (heading bearing branches to 20-40 cm) reduced fruit number and yield per tree but increased average fruit weight and diameter, illustrating the trade-off between total yield and size (Saraginovski and Kiprijanovski, 2021).

Crop load regulation through fruit thinning is critical for balancing yield and quality and for efficient water use. In ‘Xiahui 5’, thinning twice at 20 and 40 days after full bloom increased individual fruit weight (to ~186 g), yield (≈981 kg/ha), external and internal quality, and leaf water-use and CO₂-use efficiency, while saving labor compared with blossom thinning plus fruit thinning (Zhang et al., 2024). In ‘Royal Gem’, combinations of fruit thinning and summer pruning lowered total yield but significantly increased average fruit weight, firmness, and diameter, again showing that reducing sink number enhances fruit size and market value (Lesičar et al., 2017). Experiments with flat peaches confirm that higher crop loads increase total yield but reduce fruit weight and circumference and lower soluble solids content, whereas lower loads favor fruit quality and antioxidant compounds (Mazzoni et al., 2022).

6.3 Monitoring and diagnostic techniques

Leaf and soil diagnostics underpin rational fertilization that supports high yield without excess inputs. In peach orchards amended with compost, leaf sampling at standardized times after full bloom is used to quantify total N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and B, enabling evaluation of tree nutritional status under different compost rates and supporting adjustment of applications (Melo et al., 2016). Organic-amended orchards also highlight the need for periodic soil testing to detect nutrient accumulation (e.g., K under slurry manure fertigations) and guide safe long-term management (Park et al., 2013; Lawrence and Melgar, 2024). More broadly, intelligent orchard nutrient diagnosis is moving toward rapid, often spectral, detection of tree and soil nutrients combined with models to generate cultivar- and stage-specific nutrient standards for precision fertilization (Yuan et al., 2024).

For irrigation, soil-moisture sensing and automated scheduling tools link water status to tree demand. Traditional soil-based readings (TDR, capacitive sensors) and UAV imagery allow efficient monitoring of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and canopy status in tree crops, supporting precise irrigation decisions (Tirado-Corbalá et al., 2021). Capacitance probes, already used in best-management programs, can measure volumetric water and ion content; they are especially sensitive to changes in K concentration and thus could feed decision-support systems for both irrigation and nutrient management (Stroobosscher et al., 2024).

In drip-irrigated orchards, automated scheduling that combines FAO water-balance models with feedback from capacitance soil-moisture sensors has been shown (in apples) to match lysimeter-measured evapotranspiration in vigorous sectors while automatically reducing irrigation in less vigorous sectors, illustrating how sensor-driven systems can adapt water supply to spatial variability within orchards (Domínguez-Niño et al., 2020).

7 Challenges and Optimization of High-Yield Peach Production

7.1 Problems in current nutrient management

Many peach orchards still rely on uniform, empirically based fertilizer programs that ignore variability in soils and tree demand. In the southeastern United States, current N recommendations may be based on half-century-old work, with growing concern about over-fertilization, imbalanced vegetative/reproductive growth, fertilizer runoff, and inefficient use of financial resources (Casamali et al., 2021b). Excessive phosphorus use in perennial orchards can create very low P use efficiency (≈15%) and large P surpluses, shifting soil P to more labile forms and sharply increasing the risk of P loss (Chen et al., 2022).

Low fertilizer-use efficiency is a major challenge in N management for peaches. Conventional high-N programs in China result in low N absorption, substantial N leaching and gaseous losses, and elevated greenhouse gas emissions (Xiao et al., 2019). In typical surface-broadcast systems, conventional management produced considerable NH₃ volatilization, N₂O emissions, and runoff, alongside only moderate yields (Yang et al., 2023). Spatial analyses in Brazilian orchards further show strong within-orchard variability of soil nutrients, yield, and fruit quality, meaning uniform fertilization leads to over-application in some zones and under-application in others (Oldoni et al., 2019).

7.2 Problems in current irrigation management

Integrated crop management has often been implemented only partially, with irrigation still applied empirically and usually in excess, wasting water and energy and raising greenhouse gas emissions (Maletsika et al., 2022). Energy-use analysis in Greek canning peaches identified irrigation as the single largest energy consumer and the practice with the highest impact on GHG emissions, mainly through electricity and fuel use.

Conversely, many new orchards elsewhere are not irrigated for several years after planting and depend solely on rainfall, leaving trees vulnerable to the increasingly frequent droughts (Casamali et al., 2021b). Under severe drought, non-irrigated young trees showed 56% smaller canopy volume, 39% smaller trunk cross-sectional area, 40% lower leaf photosynthesis, and reduced commercial yield compared with irrigated trees, with negative effects persisting in subsequent years. In arid Tunisia, cutting irrigation to 50% ETc caused 20%-25% yield losses in mature orchards, underscoring the risk of unplanned, severe water cuts (Toumi et al., 2024).

7.3 Integrated optimization strategies

Precision fertigation links water and nutrient supply to tree demand in space and time. Drip irrigation, by delivering water directly to roots, provides an efficient platform for fertigation and precise matching of crop needs (Sharma et al., 2024). In perennial orchards, applying fertilizers through drip (fertigation) increased peach and apple yields and improved fruit quality compared with non-fertigated controls (Figure 3). Bag-controlled release fertilizers and super-large granular slow-release humic acid fertilizers further synchronize N release with peach growth stages, substantially increasing N use efficiency and reducing losses, while maintaining or increasing yield and net economic benefit (Xiao et al., 2019; Yang et al., 2023).

Region-specific, spatially explicit management models are another key optimization pathway. In Brazil, delineating two management zones in a 1.8-ha orchard based on soil and tree attributes creates opportunities for site-specific fertilization to correct over- and under-application (Oldoni et al., 2019). Precision irrigation protocols using thermal imagery and variable-rate drip at subfield scale in a commercial peach orchard maintained stem water potential within target ranges and improved water productivity in responsive management cells, showing the value of downscaling management within orchards (Katz et al., 2023). At a broader scale, deficit irrigation case studies in Moroccan peaches demonstrate that sustained deficit can reduce water use by 20% without affecting yield or quality and increase water productivity by 33%, though adoption is limited by conceptual ambiguity and risk perceptions (Laita et al., 2024).

8 Conclusions and Future Perspectives

Based on existing studies, high-yield and high-quality peach cultivation cannot be achieved simply by increasing fertilizer or irrigation inputs. Instead, it should be built on the coordinated regulation of water, nutrients, tree growth, and environmental conditions. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are key factors affecting peach yield and fruit quality, among which nitrogen regulation is particularly sensitive. Peach trees generally maintain better yield and fruit quality when leaf nitrogen content remains within an appropriate range and when phosphorus and potassium supplies are relatively balanced. If the interactions among nutrients are ignored, or if the influence of nutrient reserves from the previous year on current-year growth is not considered, fertilization decisions may become inaccurate, leading to nutrient imbalance, quality decline, or resource waste. Therefore, integrated water and fertilizer management in peach cultivation should shift from experience-based fertilization to precise regulation based on tree demand, soil nutrient supply, and target yield.

Figure 3 Smart orchard management system for precision irrigation and fertilization

Image caption: This system integrates sensors, UAV remote sensing, an IoT platform, and an AI decision model to achieve real-time monitoring, intelligent decision-making, automated execution, and feedback optimization of water and nutrient management in peach orchards, thereby improving resource use efficiency and promoting stable yield and improved fruit quality

Under the background of climate change and water scarcity, irrigation optimization is of great significance for maintaining stable peach production. Proper water supply in young orchards is beneficial for canopy formation and later yield improvement. In mature orchards, techniques such as drip irrigation, regulated deficit irrigation, and partial root-zone drying can reduce water consumption while maintaining relatively stable yield. Integrated drip irrigation and fertilization can synchronously deliver water and nutrients to the active root zone, thereby improving water use efficiency and fertilizer uptake efficiency while reducing evaporation, deep percolation, and nutrient loss. This indicates that water management and nutrient management in peach cultivation should not be treated separately. Only through water-fertilizer coordination can resource use efficiency be improved.

In the future, peach water and fertilizer management will further develop toward intelligent and digitalized systems. Technologies such as thermal imaging, crop water stress index, stem water potential monitoring, satellite multispectral data, and Internet of Things sensors can be used to evaluate tree water status and guide precise irrigation. Machine learning models can integrate meteorological, soil, tree, and remote sensing data to predict water demand, nutrient status, and changes in yield and fruit quality, thereby providing decision support for orchard management. Future research should strengthen the integration of sensor data, water-fertilizer management records, and nutrient diagnosis models, and develop peach-specific management tools suitable for different production regions, tree ages, and soil types.

From the perspective of production application, efficient peach cultivation should take integrated drip irrigation and fertilization as the core, combined with regulated deficit irrigation, soil mulching, microclimate regulation, and precise fertilization. The key is not to apply more water and fertilizer, but to ensure that water and nutrients are absorbed and utilized by trees at the appropriate time, location, and ratio. Future studies should also pay attention to soil salinity accumulation, microbial changes, nutrient residues, and environmental impacts under long-term application. A water and fertilizer integrated management system that balances high yield, high quality, water saving, fertilizer saving, and ecological safety should be gradually established, so as to promote the peach industry toward green and sustainable development.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Mr. Li for his assistance in organizing the literature materials. The authors also extend special thanks to the two anonymous peer reviewers for their comprehensive evaluation of the manuscript. 

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

The authors affirm that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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