Detailed Explanation of Key Points on Loquat Tree Seedling Cultivation Techniques
The loquat tree is a fairly common tree in the south, often used as a landscaping tree, and every March and April the loquat tree also produces delicious loquat fruit. Below, let's learn together with the editor about how loquat tree seedlings should be planted. Is this kind of tree easy to grow? How should it be cared for normally?
Cultivation Techniques for Loquat Tree Seedlings
The loquat is the earliest fruit variety to ripen in the year. High-quality loquat fruit is large, has few seeds, bright orange-red skin, soft and juicy flesh, moderate sweet-and-sour taste, a unique flavor, and rich nutrition, with effects such as clearing heat, moistening the lungs, relieving cough, and strengthening the stomach. High-quality loquat has quietly entered the high-end fruit market, not only selling at a high price but also having a large market. Planting loquat has broad market prospects. To obtain high quality and high yield when planting loquat, pay attention to the following points:
1. Reasonable close planting: Choose red, yellow, or loamy soil with deep soil layers, good drainage, and rich humus for planting. The required spacing between plants and rows is 4*5 m, with 30-40 plants planted per mu.
2. Dig planting holes deeply: about 1 m wide and 0.8 m deep, or blast the bottom layer and then dig it open.
3. Apply heavy base fertilizer: Fill each hole with 0.5-0.75 kg of lime and 1-1.5 kg of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate fertilizer. Apply 1 kg of compound fertilizer and 20-30 kg of decomposed manure, filling in three layers with coarse material below and fine material above, and it is best to build a soil mound 35-40 cm above the ground.
4. Scientific topdressing: Within 3 years after the loquat seedlings are planted is the young tree tending period, mainly focused on vegetative growth to expand the canopy. In fertilization, achieve “light fertilizer applied frequently, promote early and control later.” Each year, before and after the spring shoots, summer shoots, and autumn shoots sprout, apply one fertilizer to promote shoots and one fertilizer to strengthen shoots each time. Apply 5-10 kg of decomposed human, livestock, and poultry water fertilizer per plant each time, mixed with 50-100 g of urea. Fertilization for adult fruiting trees: generally divided into 3-4 applications. From January to February, after the flowers fall and during the young fruit stage, quick-acting potassium and phosphorus are mainly used; from May to June, heavily apply the post-harvest fertilizer, applying 30-40 kg of decomposed human, livestock, and poultry water fertilizer in deep pits around each plant, mixed with 1-2 kg of pond cake (rapeseed cake) fertilizer and 1 kg of superphosphate, to restore tree vigor and promote summer shoot growth. Apply the pre-flowering fertilizer and fruit fertilizer well in good time.
5. Training and pruning: After the loquat is planted, cut the top to set the trunk at about 50 cm above the ground. When buds sprout in spring, select and keep 1 strong upward-growing bud and 4-5 side buds in different directions, and grow and cultivate them into the central trunk and several main branches. Use methods such as pulling, propping, and hanging to open the angle of the main branches so that they grow obliquely (or horizontally), forming the first tier of branches. According to this method, cultivate the second and third tiers of branches, remove the top of the central trunk above the third tier of branches to open the center, and control the canopy height at about 3 m. For a loquat orchard after fruiting, summer pruning can be carried out from May to June after harvest, or pruning can be done before sprouting in early spring. The main task is to remove overly dense branches, dead branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, and water sprouts, so as to facilitate ventilation and light penetration and concentrate nutrients.
How to Care for and Manage Loquat Tree Seedlings?
1. Low fertilizer and water input. During the young tree stage, if little fertilizer and water are applied and growth is left unchecked, the young tree will lack nutrients and be unable to meet the material needs of the flowering stage. For this kind of “starved” young tree, fertilizer and water should be increased to improve the nutritional status so that it can bear fruit at the proper time.
2. Improper pruning. For young tree pruning, if it is cut back once a year and cut back too heavily, it will inevitably cause vigorous growth, unstable tree vigor, and difficulty in flowering and fruiting. The pruning of young trees should take shaping as the long-term goal, with the purpose of increasing branches, expanding the canopy, and stabilizing tree vigor.
3. Branch angles not opened. Fruit tree branches have a natural habit of growing upward. If the branch angles of a young tree are not opened, the tree vigor will inevitably be vigorous without slowing down, the growth center will shift outward, the inner canopy will become closed, ventilation and light conditions will deteriorate, and flowering and fruiting will be difficult. The solution is to use methods such as propping, pulling, bending, and hanging during the growing season to open the branch angles. This is the structural basis for early fruiting.
4. Effects of pests, diseases, and intercrops. When orchard management is extensive, pests and diseases are mostly relatively serious. Branches, new shoots, and leaves are all damaged to varying degrees, inhibiting normal growth and delaying the proper fruiting period. Some orchards unscientifically plant certain intercrops, competing with the fruit trees for fertilizer, water, and light, and even becoming hosts for fruit tree pests, which is unfavorable to the growth and fruiting of the fruit trees.
When Is It Suitable to Transplant Loquat Tree Seedlings
1. The best time to transplant loquat trees
If you want to increase the success rate of transplanting loquat trees, you must strictly pay attention to the transplanting time. We all know that tree planting is best chosen in the two seasons of spring and autumn. The transplanting of loquat trees should also be chosen in these two seasons, and the very best is to transplant from the end of March to the beginning of April. During this period, for a newly transplanted tree, it still needs some time to adapt to the soil beneath its roots, and only after a period of time can it absorb water from the soil well. During this period, the temperature must not be too high, otherwise the tree is likely to be dried out by the sun. Also, the water in the soil during this period is neither too much nor too little, which is very suitable for the tree's survival.
2. Choose the transplanting area
For loquat tree planting, it is best to choose dry land with soft, fertile soil rich in organic matter, and the area should have sufficient irrigation conditions. However, it cannot be chosen in areas prone to water accumulation, because loquat trees like dry land, and too much water will drown the loquat tree.
3. Precautions during transplanting
When transplanting a loquat tree, try as much as possible not to damage the root system of the loquat tree, because the root system is the key part for the tree's survival. If a large area of the root system is damaged during transplanting, the transplanted loquat tree will be unable to absorb water and nutrients from the soil and will very easily wither and die. In addition, during the transportation process of transplanting the loquat tree, attention should also be paid to keeping the loquat tree moist. It is best to leave some soil on the root system when lifting the seedlings, thereby maintaining moisture. When planting, it is best to add some rooting agent, as this can further help the loquat tree survive.
How to Prepare the Land and Sow Loquat Tree Seedlings
The nursery land should be chosen as sunny, well-drained sandy loam. Before sowing, the nursery land needs to be deeply dug and disinfected with 3% quicklime. The seedbed width is 1.2 m, the bed height is 20 cm, and the bed surface should be fine and level, with stones and weeds removed. The side ditches and paths should be dug straight, and the ditch bottoms should be level and must not accumulate water.
Sow in early March. Sowing can be done by dibbling or drilling. For dibbling, the spacing between plants and rows is 10*25 cm; for drilling, the row spacing is 30 cm, and the sowing furrow depth is 8 to 10 cm. First place decomposed cake fertilizer at the bottom of the furrow, then place a 5 cm thick layer of loess to cover the base fertilizer before sowing. After sowing, cover the seeds with another 2 cm thick layer of loess. This helps reduce weeds between the seedlings and promote the growth of the seedling root system. Finally, cover with a layer of straw to retain moisture. Generally above 80%. About 40 days after sowing, they sprout and emerge. When 30% of the seedlings have emerged, the straw should be uncovered in time.
Through the above content, I believe everyone has understood the cultivation techniques for loquat tree seedlings. In fact, the loquat tree is relatively a very easy tree to care for, with fairly strong vitality, and it does not require very high soil requirements. Moreover, the loquat fruit produced by the loquat tree is fresh and delicious and is highly sought after by people.