Raspberry Cultivation Methods and Precautions Explained

The raspberry is a common fruit, and its appearance is somewhat similar to that of the strawberry, as both are red. The raspberry has a sweet-and-sour taste, and it can be seen every year after it ripens in summer. The medicinal value of the raspberry is very high, which is why it attracts many people to buy it. Therefore, many people grow it now, but before planting, everyone should still have a comprehensive understanding of its cultivation techniques.

How to grow raspberries

Generally, branch division, root division, and seed propagation can be chosen for planting.

1. Division propagation can use seedlings sprouted from the rhizomes of the mother plant for transplanting. Root division propagation means digging up the rhizomes in early spring before the adventitious buds on the rhizomes have emerged, cutting them into sections 10-15 cm long, inserting them obliquely or burying them shallowly, and keeping the soil moist to facilitate survival.

2. For seed propagation, collect ripe fruit every year in May-June, wash off the fruit, store it in stratified wet sand until autumn or sow it the following spring, and it can be transplanted one year after sowing. The most practical method is to dig up renewal branches and plant them in December after the leaves have all fallen.

3. For cutting propagation, dig out lateral roots about 25px thick, choose roots with buds, cut them into root sections about 250px long, and carry out cuttings in mid-March. Dig a ditch 250px deep, insert the roots obliquely into the seedbed, leaving one quarter exposed above the soil, then cover level.

Raspberry cultivation methods and precautions

I. Cultivation methods:

1. Land preparation. Choose slightly acidic gently sloping land with deep soil, fertility, looseness, and good drainage, and plow deeply to prepare the land. Transplant at a plant spacing and row spacing of 50 cm×100 cm or 100 cm×100 cm.

2. Orchard establishment. Rubus chingii can be planted in spring or autumn, generally preferably in mid-to-late November or mid-to-late March. Choose a plot sheltered from wind and facing the sun, with loose soil, high organic matter content, and moist soil that is not prone to waterlogging to establish the orchard. Before establishing the orchard, deep plow and level the land, and apply 2000-4000 kg/mu of farmyard manure.

3. Planting method. Use the strip method, with a row spacing of 2 m and a plant spacing of 0.4-0.8 m. The planting hole size is 30×30×30 cm. When planting seedlings, be careful to protect the basal buds from damage. After planting, promptly cut back level, leaving stubble about 20 cm, and plant 2-3 plants per hole to achieve early high yield.

II. Precautions:

Raspberry branches are soft and often easily droop to the ground, or lodge in wind, affecting yield and quality. Therefore, set up supports in the orchard, tie the biennial branches to the supports so that the branches receive light evenly and good air permeability is maintained in the orchard.

Field management of raspberries

1. Cultivation and weeding: Raspberry orchards should carry out cultivation and weeding 2~3 times each year. Loosen the soil and remove weeds early, while small, and completely, and chemical herbicides may also be used. At the same time, in order to improve land utilization and economic benefits and solve the source of organic fertilizer for the land, some annual short green manure crops can be planted in the raspberry orchard, such as beans, potatoes, and vegetables.

2. Water management: Raspberry roots are very shallow, so they do not easily absorb deep soil moisture. Therefore, raspberries must be planted in soil with good water-holding capacity. After planting, raspberries should be irrigated promptly, especially under dry conditions with little rain, because the soil layer dries out very easily and the soil water content is very low. The roots of young trees cannot absorb water and nutrients from the soil, so after planting, water promptly to settle the roots, so that through irrigation the young tree roots closely combine with the soil, the roots begin to sprout and grow, and the young trees are secured.

Common diseases and pests and their control

1. Stem rot. Control method: In autumn, clean the orchard, cut off diseased branches and burn them together to eliminate the pathogen. From May to August, pesticide spraying can be used for control. In mid-May and in early July during the initial onset of disease, spray susceptible varieties with 500-fold thiophanate-methyl solution, or 500-fold 40% fosetyl-aluminum solution, or 500-fold thiram solution.

2. Powdery mildew. Control method: Before winter cold protection, clean the orchard, gather diseased leaves and diseased branches and burn them together to eliminate the pathogen. Before sprouting in early spring, after flowering, and during the young fruit stage, spray 1000-fold 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder, or 1000-1500-fold 25% triadimefon wettable powder, or 200-300-fold 50% sulfur suspension concentrate.

3. Willow ghost moth. Control method: In late August, before adult emergence, prune off damaged branch tips. Raspberry orchards where plants are buried in soil for winter cold protection can reduce the occurrence of this pest. In severely affected raspberry orchards, from late May to early June during the active period of young larvae, spray the ground with 2000-3000-fold 2.5% deltamethrin solution.

When planting raspberries, it is essential to do a good job of site selection, and then sow at the appropriate time. Field management after planting is also very important. Weeding, fertilizer and water management, and disease and pest control all need to be managed well. Only by doing these tasks well can raspberries grow better.