Sharing Experience on Cutting Propagation of Lycium potaninii

I believe many people have eaten goji berries. Don't underestimate those tiny little goji berries - they actually have great benefits. Many people like to soak goji berries in water to drink or use them in soups, and eating goji berries regularly is very helpful for human health.

What is Lycium potaninii

Lycium potaninii Pqark., also known as northwestern goji, is a wild fruit tree distributed in northeast China, Inner Mongolia and other places. Its fruit is both medicinal and edible, and it has outstanding characteristics such as cold resistance, drought resistance, early fruiting and strong high-yield potential. At present, large-fruited strains have been selected from wild resources. In addition to large-scale artificial cultivation, it can also be used for windbreak and sand fixation or for landscaping and ornamental purposes.

Experience in Cutting Propagation of Lycium potaninii

1. Hardwood cuttings. Hardwood cuttings are carried out in early to mid-April. Before cutting, set up a heated kang or electric heating hotbed. Before late March, obtain cuttings wood in conjunction with winter pruning, cut the wood into 15-17cm cuttings, soak the base 5cm of the cuttings in 150mg naphthaleneacetic acid for 24 hours, rinse with clean water, then insert into the hotbed at a plant-row spacing of 5×10cm, with a cutting depth of 15-17cm, and maintain the base temperature of the cuttings at 28-30°C. Roots begin to form 25 days after cutting, and the rooting stage ends 35-40 days after cutting. The average rooting rate of cuttings is 85%, with a maximum of 95%. In early to mid-June, they are moved to the nursery for management. They become seedlings in the same year, and vigorous ones can flower and fruit.

2. Softwood cuttings. Softwood cuttings are carried out in late June. Before cutting, set up a plastic shed (or use an existing plastic greenhouse or glasshouse), and shade the outside or inside of the plastic shed with a shade net so that the light transmittance is about 30% of natural light. Inside the shed, use fine river sand to make a cutting bed 150-200cm wide and 25-30cm high. Collect semi-lignified new shoots, cut them into 10-12cm long cuttings, remove the leaves from the base 5-6cm, keep all the upper leaves, use rooting powder or 1000-2000mg naphthaleneacetic acid solution, quickly dip the lower end 5-6cm of the cuttings, then insert them. The plant-row spacing for cutting is 5×10cm, the cuttings are perpendicular to the bed surface, and the cutting depth is 5-60cm. After cutting, spray water with a small-holed pot every day from 8 to 16 o'clock to keep the leaves of the cuttings moist. The relative humidity inside the shed is maintained above 80%, and the temperature is 30-35°C. The cuttings begin to root 20-30 days after cutting, and are transplanted to the field after 40 days. The average rooting rate of softwood cuttings is about 80%, with a maximum of 95%; the transplant survival rate can reach 90%, and they can become seedlings in the same year. 

Analysis of the Goji Berry Planting Project  

Goji berry is a very good tree species for soil and water conservation, and it is also an important traditional Chinese medicinal material. Its whole plant is treasured, and its leaves, fruits and bark can all be used as medicine. In recent years, with the development and utilization of tonic medicines and foods, the market demand for goji berries has surged. In addition, existing goji cultivation is scattered, management is extensive, and yields are low and unstable, so the market demand for goji berries shows a situation of supply falling short of demand. To meet market demand, planting goji berries is economical and practical, simple and easy to do, and is expected to expand cultivation.  

Goji berry is a deciduous shrub, reaching more than one meter tall, with grayish-yellow stem bark, slender and weak branches that often bend and droop, and short lateral branches that often become short thorns growing in leaf axils. Leaves are rhombic-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-5cm long, and flowers are pale purple. The berry is bright red, ovate or oblong, and the seeds are mostly flat kidney-shaped, pale yellow, 2.5mm long. The flowering period is 6-9 months, and the fruit ripens from August to October.  

It likes light, tolerates drought, cold and alkali, and can grow on loess cliffs and sandy wasteland edges. It is produced from south of Liaoning to north of Yunnan in China, from Taiwan in the east to Gansu in the west. It is a tree species with an extremely wide distribution, and the cultivation in Zhongning, Ningxia is the most famous and has a relatively long history. The main excellent varieties are Damaoye goji and Xiaomaye goji.

Field Management of Goji Berry  

1. Intertillage and weeding. Carry out intertillage and weeding in a timely manner to prevent weeds from competing with the plants for nutrients.  

2. Topdressing. Apply topdressing 3 times at the seedling stage, each time applying 7~8 kilograms of urea per mu. After planting, during the peak flowering and fruiting period, apply phosphorus compound fertilizer 2 times, with 20~100 grams per plant. Every year from late October to early November, open a ring-shaped ditch on one side of the tree roots to apply organic fertilizer, cover with soil and water.  

3. Irrigation. After planting, irrigate once each during the new branch growth period and the flowering and fruiting period from May to June each year, and irrigate once each after fruit harvesting in August and in early September. From October to November, irrigate once more with winter water in conjunction with topdressing. Avoid excessive moisture and poor drainage.  

4. Shaping and pruning. For newly planted goji seedlings, set the trunk at a height of 60cm and select and retain 3~5 lateral branches. In the second year, cut back the selected 3~5 lateral branches to 30cm to form the first layer of canopy. In the third and fourth years, shorten the vigorous shoots on the 2~3 layers of scaffold branches at 20cm to gradually form the upper canopy. After the canopy is basically formed through several years of shaping, prune dead branches, old and weak branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, and overlapping branches every autumn or summer. If making a bonsai, in the spring before germination in the second year, cut off the thick and strong branches of goji and use them for cutting, and they can flower and fruit the following year.  

5. Common pests and diseases. The main diseases include black fruit disease and root rot, and the main pests include goji fruit fly, goji fruit-boring moth, aphids, etc. 

With the continuous development of the rural economy, the planting industry in China's rural areas has also developed very well. The threshold for the planting industry is low, and investment risk is relatively much smaller, so many farmer friends have now begun to plant all kinds of agricultural products. China's rural economy has also achieved overall development.