This study investigated the effects of canopy microenvironment on chestnut fruit ripening and explored the use of ethephon to promote uniform maturity in delayed canopy regions thereby facilitating mechanized harvesting The main planted chestnut ‘Yanshanzaofeng’ in Qiangxi County Hebei Province was used as the research object and the canopy was divided into upper middle and lower layers and four directions east west south and north with a total of 12 areas Microenvironmental factors were measured in different regions of the canopy from chestnut expansion to ripening Bulb dehiscence was recorded daily in different regions of the canopy and fruit ripening differences between dehiscence and ripening were analysed Bulb dehiscence was correlated with microenvironmental factors and areas with late fruit ripening were sprayed with ethylene glycol to promote consistent fruit ripening There were highly significant differences in light intensity in different areas of the canopy and no significant differences in temperature or humidity The general trend of light intensity and temperature was from bottom to top gradually increasing from north to south with the maximum difference in light intensity between the upper south-facing layer and the lower north-facing layer amounting to 56 40 klx The humidity was lower>middle>upper with a trend of increasing humidity from south to north The onset of bulb dehiscence varied from 1 to 4 d between canopies and was generally 2-6 d later in north-facing canopies than in other directions The onset of maturity varied from 1 to 6 d between canopies and from 2 to 6 d between orientations Fruit ripened later in the lower canopy and in the north-facing centre than in the other canopies light intensity was highly significantly negatively correlated with bulb dehiscence and ripening while it was highly significantly positively correlated with bulb dehiscence rate Spraying 200 mg L ethylene glycol can advance the ripening period of chestnut crowns by 1-4 d and shorten the ripening period by 5-6 d There are differences in fruit ripening in different regions of the chestnut canopy and it is recommended that 200 mg L ethylene glycol be sprayed on the lower canopy and northward central canopy fruits to promote ripening when the upper bulb appears to be slightly yellow 22 August and that tree machinery be used for harvesting the fruits when they are slightly dehiscent