How many years after planting does a kiwifruit vine usually bear fruit?
The kiwifruit gets its name because its skin is covered with fuzz and it resembles a macaque (monkey). It is a fruit with tender flesh, rich nutrition and a delicious flavor. So, how many years after planting does a kiwifruit vine bear fruit?
1. How many years after planting does a kiwifruit vine bear fruit?
Kiwifruit is a large deciduous woody vine with separate male and female plants. Under normal conditions it needs to be planted for 5 years before it bears fruit; with proper management it can bear fruit 1 year earlier, at 4 years.
2. Key points for cultivating kiwifruit
1. Site selection
It is best to choose a hilly or mountainous area with convenient transportation, ample sunlight, close to a water source, moderate rainfall and slightly high humidity, with loose, well-aerated sandy loam or sandy soil, or loose soil rich in humus, as the site for establishing the orchard. After the site is determined, first plan the roads, drainage and irrigation system, and the fertilizer storage room, etc., then plan the aeration blind ditches in the planting area.
2. Fertilization
The amount of fertilizer applied is determined by the kiwifruit variety, the intended yield and the soil fertility status. Before planting, 2.5kg of fruit-tree fertilizer can be applied at one time to each plant in the pit or trench; young trees are fertilized with small amounts applied frequently. Thereafter, fertilizer is generally applied 3 times a year: 1 basal application and 2 topdressings. The basal fertilizer, also called winter fertilizer, is applied after the fruit is harvested, with 20kg of organic fertilizer per plant, mixed with 1.5kg of phosphate fertilizer.
The first topdressing is applied after bud break, with 2kg of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer per plant, to strengthen the spring shoots and the fruiting trees; the second is applied before the peak growth period, and fruit-tree fertilizer or compound fertilizer may be used. Because the kiwifruit root is a fleshy root, chemical fertilizer must be applied in a shallow ditch some distance from the roots and then covered with soil, to avoid burning the roots. After fertilizing in the dry season, irrigation must be carried out.
3. Training, pruning and fruit thinning
Kiwifruit pruning is divided into winter pruning, summer pruning and male-plant pruning. Winter pruning is carried out during the period from leaf fall to 1 month before bud break in early spring, mainly by thinning, with a moderate amount of heading back. Keep more main canes and fruiting mother canes, and cut out overly dense large branches, weak slender branches, crossing branches and diseased or pest-damaged branches. Summer pruning is mainly carried out from mid-May to early July and consists of removing sprouts, pinching tips, thinning and tying, promptly rubbing off sprouts on the trunk, and arranging the space for canes. Male-plant pruning is carried out after flowering in May-June. Keep 3-4 branches per plant and 4-6 buds per branch, and pinch the tip when the new shoot grows to 1 m.
Fruit thinning is generally carried out 1 month after flowering. Keep the middle fruit and thin out the side fruit, so as to leave 1 fruit per 4-5 leaves. On ordinary branches, leave 1-2 fruits per 20 cm; on weak branches, leave 5-6 fruits per 20-25 cm. For a yield of 50kg per plant, 500-600 fruits should be left.
4. Pest and disease control
The main diseases harming kiwifruit include anthracnose, root-knot nematode disease, damping-off, seedling blight, root rot and fruit soft rot, etc. Among them, anthracnose harms both stems and leaves and the fruit, and can be controlled by spraying 800-fold carbendazim 2-3 times at bud break. For root-knot nematode disease, fertilizer and water management should be strengthened, and isofenphos-methyl or 30% carbofuran toxic soil should be used for control.
Kiwifruit grown from cuttings generally bears fruit in 2-3 years, and the ratio of female to male plants can be adjusted artificially, avoiding the situation of too many male plants from seed-grown seedlings and low yields.