How to plant apricot seeds: apricot grafting time and method

In rural areas, almost every household grows some crops or fruit trees. Peach trees, orange trees, jujube trees and so on are all fruit trees people commonly see. Of course, some people also grow apricot trees at home. So, how should the apricot seeds we buy back be planted? And what are the grafting times and methods for apricot trees? Next, the editor will introduce them to you.

How to plant apricot seeds

1. To propagate apricot trees from seeds, generally in November before winter, soak the apricot pits in clean water for 24 hours, then sow the seeds directly in the ground at a depth of 5-8 cm, and water thoroughly; after the water seeps down, cover with soil. You can also cover with plastic film to keep warm and retain moisture. Before the seeds emerge, be careful to keep the soil moist and not too dry. Generally, the seedlings emerge in early April of the following year.

2. You can also soak the apricot pits in clean water for 24 hours in November, then bury them in wet sand for germination; after the seeds sprout in the following spring, plant them in the field. When germinating in wet sand, prevent the temperature from being too low in winter to avoid freezing, and at the same time keep the sand moist; you may spray water at irregular intervals, but do not let water accumulate.

3. Some varieties do not sprout easily from dry pits. Fresh apricot pits need to be kept fresh and moist with wet sand in a cool place, then germinated before winter according to conventional breeding methods, and sown in the following spring.

4. To speed up the breeding time, you can also remove the outer shell of the apricot pit and use the seed for germination, which is faster than the previous two methods. For some varieties, you can take the pits from fresh, well-ripened apricots in the same year, place them in wet sand at room temperature for germination, and sow in June-July, so seedlings can be produced in the same year.

5. After apricot seedlings emerge in spring, keep the soil moist and prevent it from becoming too dry or too wet. At the same time, apply additional fertilizer appropriately according to the growth of the seedlings, mainly fully decomposed organic fertilizer or cake fertilizer, strengthen ventilation, and promptly prevent and control pests and diseases. Generally, apricot seedlings in the same year can grow to about 1.5 m, and begin to bear fruit in about 4-5 years.

When to prune apricot trees

In late May and early June, determine the trunk and select shoots; choose and keep 7-12 shoots with better angles, and remove the rest. When new shoots grow to 40 cm, select 2-4 key ones for training, train them into a “V” shape or open-center shape, pinch the remaining new shoots to promote a second round of shoots, repeatedly pinch upright shoots on the back, and remove excessive and overly dense branches. In early November, spray urea to promote early leaf fall.

Apricot grafting time and method

1. Apricot grafting time

Apricot grafting can roughly be divided into three periods, namely spring, summer, and autumn. Summer and autumn grafting generally uses the bud grafting method; the grafting period is from June to September, but the July rainy season should be avoided. In North China, the dry and high-temperature period in mid-June is the first suitable grafting period, and early August after the rainy season is the second suitable period. Summer and autumn bud grafting should be carried out on sunny days; grafting on sunny days helps the graft union heal and gives a high survival rate.

2. Apricot grafting method

1. Select healthy apricot branches, cut 5-8 cm as the scion, keep 2-3 strong buds at the top, and cut the other end into a slant.

2. Insert the apricot scion into the cut on the rootstock and tie it tightly with a plastic bag.

3. Check the survival of the grafted apricot seedlings. Check about 10 days after grafting; if the bud piece is fresh, it means the growth condition is good. If the leaf petiole falls off when touched, it means it has survived. If the bud piece shrivels and turns black, or the petiole does not fall when touched, it means it has not survived, and timely re-grafting is needed.

4. Before and after apricot grafting, water sufficiently in time to promote sap flow and improve the grafting survival rate.

Pruning methods for apricot trees in full fruit period

1. Short cutting to promote fruiting

In the early fruit-bearing stage of apricot trees, some vegetative branches and extension branches need to be pruned appropriately, and they should be properly short-cut to encourage the plant to grow new branches and buds and produce fruiting branches. Be sure to short-cut at the right time; if the short cutting is too light, although more fruiting branches will be produced, the new branches will also grow weakly, causing the fruit tree's growth to lose balance, reducing overall vigor, and shortening the fruiting years of the apricot tree.

2. Pruning fruiting branches

Although fruiting branches can bear fruit effectively, if these fruiting branches are allowed to grow freely, they will disrupt the tree shape and may even form a competitive trend with the main scaffold branches, just as shown in the apricot tree pruning diagram. This is not conducive to the overall development of the apricot tree, so reasonable pruning is needed to change the extension direction of the fruiting branches, which is beneficial for long-term fruit bearing.

3. Pinching excessive vegetative shoots

During the growth of apricot trees, overly vigorous vegetative shoots will appear. If not handled in time, they will take away a large amount of nutrients and slow the growth trend of the whole plant. If the vegetative shoot is useful, pinch and top it in time; if the vegetative shoot is useless, it can be pruned off directly.

In the article above, the editor also introduced some planting methods for apricot trees. In fact, if conditions at home allow, you can also appropriately grow some crops or fruit trees. After all, there are really too many hidden dangers in food safety in our country now, and what you grow yourself is, after all, healthy and safe.