How to trellis kiwifruit? A detailed guide to planting and trellis-building methods
AbstractKiwifruit is a vine plant. To provide kiwifruit with an excellent growing environment, the "T" trellis, the large canopy trellis and the small canopy trellis are currently the most widely used. The "T" trellis requires first setting up a post, then setting a crossbeam on the post; the installation of the large canopy trellis is roughly the same as that of the "T" trellis, except that angle iron or steel strand is used to tighten the posts; the small canopy trellis is mostly "door"-shaped and is basically installed in the same way as the large canopy trellis.
Kiwifruit is a vine plant. During cultivation, to ensure they can maintain a good growth state, supports must be erected. At present, the "T" trellis and the large canopy trellis are the most widely used in cultivation, and many non-standard commonly used trellis types have been eliminated.
1. The "T" trellis
This kind of trellis has a relatively low cost, is relatively easy to erect, and is convenient for later field management and operations. Ventilation and lighting within the planting yard will also be relatively good, which is good for bee pollination and promotes later fruiting.
For the "T" trellis, first set up a post, then set a crossbeam on top of the post to form a "T"-shaped support. Generally, one support is set about every 6 m along each vertical row.
The length of the upright post should be controlled at about 2.5 m, the support above ground should be about 1.8 m high, and it should be buried about 0.7 m into the ground. The crossbeam should be controlled at about 2 m in overall length, and 5 strands of No. 8 galvanized iron wire should also be set along the row on top, with 1 central wire set at the top of the post. The posts and crossbeams of the support can be made of logs about 15 cm in diameter, or they can be made of reinforced concrete.
Generally, the interior of the reinforced concrete should have 4 steel bars. The cross-section of the post can be controlled at about 12×12 cm, and the cross-section of the crossbeam can be controlled at about 15×10 cm. At 2 m along the row extension line outside the post at the end of each row, set one ground anchor guy wire. Reinforced concrete can also be used to make the ground anchor, with a length of about 50 cm, a width of about 40 cm, and a height of about 30 cm, and it needs to be buried 1 m deep in the ground.
If logs are used for the posts, they need to be treated with preservative before being buried. To ensure the support is firm enough, the posts at both ends of each row and the edge rows need to have their diameter increased by about 2-3 cm, 2 steel bars added inside, their length increased by another 20 cm, and their burial depth increased by another 20 cm.
2. Large canopy trellis
Installing a large canopy trellis provides relatively strong wind resistance and can increase the yield and quality of kiwifruit, but the cost input is relatively high. New Zealand, the country of origin of kiwifruit, also used the "T" trellis at first. With the continuous development of society and continuous improvement of technology, the number of large canopy trellises is now increasing.
The post specifications, planting spacing and ground anchor guy wire burial used for installing a large canopy trellis are similar to those of the "T" trellis, except that the posts of the large canopy trellis use angle iron or steel strand to horizontally tie the posts of the entire plantation together. On the angle iron, one strand of No. 8 galvanized iron wire should be installed along the row about every 50-60 cm. In addition to burying ground anchor guy wires outside the posts at both ends of each row, it is also necessary to bury one ground anchor wire 2 m outside the posts at both ends of each horizontal row.
3. Small canopy trellis
The small canopy trellis is mainly used for male kiwifruit plantings. The structure of the small canopy trellis is generally 2 posts supporting 1 crossbeam, mostly in a "door" shape. Generally, the post length should be controlled at about 2.6-2.7 m, the diameter at about 12-15 cm, and it needs to be buried about 0.7-0.9 m into the ground, with a height above ground of about 1.8-1.9 m. The crossbeam length should be controlled at about 3 m, with a thickness of 10×5 cm. Generally, the spacing of small canopy trellises is about 5-6 m. Other installation precautions are basically the same as those for installing a large canopy trellis.
4. Upright trellis and fixing of trellis materials
The best row spacing for planting kiwifruit is 3-4 m×2 m, so the row spacing of trellis materials is best controlled at about 3-4 m, but the specific trellis spacing is best adjusted according to the terrain of the plantation and the firmness of the trellis materials. Generally, it can be controlled at about 5-6 m. After choosing the trellis type, individual post materials and tension wires, installation of the trellis type can begin. Generally, points are marked first, and then the upright posts are buried. Make sure the upright posts are set straight and the rows can be aligned, and it is best if they can form straight lines horizontally, vertically, diagonally left and diagonally right. Only by laying a good foundation can later training be carried out better.
To ensure the trellis is stable, methods such as planting edge posts at an angle, tensioning plus burying ground anchors, and adding diagonal support posts, or tensioning plus burying ground anchors, can generally be used for reinforcement. Generally, the length of the diagonal posts is best controlled at about 4-4.5 m, and steel cables can be selected as the diagonal guy wires.