How Many Years Until Winter Jujube Bears Fruit? Key Management Techniques for Greenhouse Winter Jujube

Winter jujube is a sweet fruit that many people enjoy eating. When buying winter jujubes, most people choose the large and sweet ones. Winter jujube is a high-quality late-maturing fresh-eating variety from the northern Shandong region. Because its ripening period is relatively late, it is called winter jujube. It is said that the nutritional value of winter jujube is also very rich, so how many years does it take for winter jujube to bear fruit? Let's take a look together with the editor.

How Many Years Until Winter Jujube Bears Fruit

1. Winter jujube generally takes three years to bear fruit. The fruiting time of winter jujube trees varies depending on the region and the variety. Under normal circumstances, it takes three years for winter jujube to go from a young tree to fruiting. Among jujube trees, winter jujube trees are relatively difficult to set fruit. At the same time, the fruiting branches (zaotou), leaves, and bearing shoots (zaodiao) of winter jujube trees have a habit of secondary growth, that is, when the young fruit develops to the size of a mung bean, the bearing shoot it is on will continue to extend and grow forward.

2. Among jujube trees, winter jujube trees are relatively difficult to set fruit. At the same time, the fruiting branches, leaves, and bearing shoots of winter jujube trees have a habit of secondary growth, that is, when the young fruit develops to the size of a mung bean, the bearing shoot it is on will continue to extend and grow forward.

3. In winter jujube production, fruit growers often use gibberellin again to promote fruit setting because the first fruit setting was not ideal. However, when gibberellin is used to promote fruit setting, it coincides with the second growth of the bearing shoots of the winter jujube tree. At this time, using gibberellin will promote faster growth of branches and leaves, thereby robbing the young fruit of nutrients, affecting young fruit development, and causing a large number of young fruits to drop.

Greenhouse Winter Jujube Management Techniques

1. Prune according to the tree and control tree height. Generally, pruning is carried out using the open-center shape or the small-crown delayed-open shape. The tree height should be determined in combination with the height of the greenhouse structure, and generally should be 30—40 cm lower than the greenhouse structure. Build quickly and cover the greenhouse in time. Because the greenhouse construction period is relatively concentrated and labor is in short supply, fruit growers should use their time reasonably and build the greenhouse structure in time.

2. During the flowering period of winter jujube trees (early to mid-June), carry out summer pruning and pinching. For jujube orchards where pinching was not done in time before flowering, or where summer pruning and pinching was not thorough, continue pinching the fruiting branches during this period. For young trees that have not yet borne fruit, pinch when the fruiting branches on the scaffold branches have 5-8 nodes. For fruiting trees, keep 2-4 fruiting branches in places with space as nutrient branches, and remove other fruiting branches as they grow according to the available growing space.

3. Timely and moderate girdling. Girdling jujube trees is also called ring-barking (kaijia). Through girdling or scoring, the phloem is cut, temporarily interrupting the transport of organic nutrients from above ground to the roots, relatively raising the nutrient level of the above-ground tree body, meeting the urgent needs of flowering, fruit setting, and early young fruit growth and development, thereby increasing the fruit-setting rate and jujube fruit quality.

4. Strengthen pest and disease control. Jujube flowers are relatively sensitive to pesticides, and improper use can cause poor pollination and cause a large number of flower drops. Therefore, various pests and diseases should be controlled as much as possible before flowering to avoid using pesticides during the flowering period.

How to Plant Winter Jujube Trees

Choose a good cultivation site. Jujube trees have relatively strong adaptability and do not have strict requirements for soil conditions. All regions can make full use of wasteland and saline-alkali land for cultivation. However, in order to achieve relatively high economic benefits and produce high-quality, pollution-free products, it is best to choose a site where the air, water sources, soil, and other environments are not polluted, the terrain is flat and open, drainage conditions are good, the soil has strong permeability and good aeration, the groundwater level is relatively high, and the soil is fertile. When planting jujube trees in mountainous and hilly areas, choose sunny slopes with deep soil layers; shady slopes are not suitable for planting.

What to Pay Attention to When Planting Winter Jujube Trees

1. Young trees are trained using the delayed-open central leader shape, open-center shape, or multi-main-branch natural round-head shape, while densely planted orchards are trained using the free spindle shape. Fruiting trees should be pruned according to the tree, shaped according to the branches, the tree structure adjusted, and various types of scaffold branches reasonably arranged; the top should be lowered to control height, and excessively dense branches, thin and weak branches, crossing branches, and overlapping branches should be thinned out, while drooping branches and excessively long branches should be headed back. Pruning of old trees mainly involves heading back scaffold branches for renewal and rejuvenation.

2. Clean up the jujube orchard: clear away fallen leaves, weeds, bearing shoots, mummified fruit, grass rings, scrape off old and peeling bark, prune diseased and pest-infested branches, dig out heavily witches'-broom-affected trees and their large roots, and bury them deeply in a centralized manner or burn them to reduce overwintering pests and disease sources.

The dormant period of jujube trees is from November of the current year to March of the following year, that is, the period from the Start of Winter to the Spring Equinox. Winter jujube is very popular among fruit types, but many people like to pick large, bright red winter jujubes. In fact, the bark of jujube trees can also be used as medicine. Jujube tree bark can stop diarrhea, and at the same time the phlegm-resolving and cough-relieving effect of jujube tree bark is also very good.