Ningxia Goji Berry Cultivation Techniques and Management Methods Explained in Detail

1. Site selection and land preparation: For the seedling plot, choose flat terrain with good drainage and irrigation, ample sunlight, deep soil, and relatively fertile sandy loam or silt soil. Apply 2500-4000 kg of farmyard manure per mu, plow deeply 21-25 cm, harrow fine and level, and make flat beds 90 cm wide, ready for sowing.

2. Propagation methods: Seed propagation is the main method, but cuttings, layering, and other propagation methods can also be used.

(1) Seed seedling raising: Cultivate seedlings. Sowing can be done in spring, summer, and autumn, with spring sowing in March being the best; summer sowing in May-July; autumn sowing in early to mid-August. Place the selected seeds in the prepared bed, sow in furrows at a row spacing of 35-40 cm, with trenches 3 cm deep, cover with soil and firm, then water thoroughly, and cover with grass to preserve moisture. At a temperature of 17-21°C, seedlings emerge in 5-7 days. When seedlings are 6 cm tall, thin them to a plant spacing of 6-9 cm; when seedlings are about 25 cm tall, final thinning to a plant spacing of 15 cm. After thinning and final spacing, fertilize and water to promote seedling growth. When seedlings are over 30 cm tall, promptly remove basal side branches; when over 40 cm, keep 2-3 upper side branches; when 60 cm tall, pinch off the growing tip to encourage thick main stems and side branches. When the stem base reaches 0.7-1 cm in diameter, they can be transplanted.

(2) Transplanting: In spring from late March to early April, in autumn around “Cold Dew”. In the planting plot, dig holes at a spacing of 2 m × 2.5 m, with each hole 30 cm wide and 30 cm deep. Apply 2-2.5 kg of human and animal manure per hole, mix well with soil, place the seedling in the hole, 1-2 plants per hole, let the roots spread out in all directions, fill with soil while lifting the seedling slightly upward so the root crown is level with the ground, then fill with soil and firm. After watering, cover the base with loose soil to preserve moisture. Vegetative propagation methods such as cuttings, division, layering, and grafting are generally not used in production.

3. Field management

(1) Mounding soil around young trees: Goji berry young trees grow fast and branch vigorously, with the canopy expanding rapidly, but the main trunk is relatively thin and easily bent or blown over by strong winds. Timely mound soil around the base of the trunk to about 25 cm high to support the young tree, or thin the canopy to reduce upper weight.

(2) Turning the garden and loosening soil: Each year in early spring after the ground thaws, turn the soil 15 cm deep between rows (shallower under the canopy) to loosen the soil, preserve moisture and increase temperature, promoting root growth. In early winter, deeply turn 20-25 cm between rows (under the canopy to the extent of not damaging roots) to improve soil physical structure and aeration, and turn weeds underground to fertilize the field. During the growing season, pay attention to loosening soil and weeding, prevent soil from crusting, and keep the field free of weeds.

(3) Topdressing and watering: Mature trees need heavy base fertilizer. Each year in early winter, combine with turning the garden to apply 2500-3000 kg of barnyard manure or 100 kg of cake fertilizer as base fertilizer, by digging a ring-shaped trench under the canopy edge for deep application (trench 20-25 cm wide, 30-40 cm deep). Young trees should have appropriately reduced fertilizer amounts. In addition, during spring branch development and the vigorous growth period of flowers and fruits, apply 2-3 times of quick-acting fertilizer, urea or ammonium phosphate compound fertilizer. According to weather conditions, combine with topdressing and water promptly to meet water requirements. Note that watering should not be excessive, and standing water should be drained promptly.

(4) Shaping and pruning: Goji berry has strong branching ability, so reasonable shaping and pruning are necessary to improve ventilation and light conditions and achieve high yields. Young tree shaping: In the year of planting, cut the top at 60 cm on the main trunk. Below the cut, select 3-5 evenly distributed, thick branches within 10-20 cm as main branches, and cut back at about 20 cm. In the second year, cut new branches growing from main branches at 20-25 cm as scaffold branches. In the third year, cut back new branches on scaffold branches to encourage small side branches to fill out the canopy. After 5-6 years of shaping and pruning, tree height reaches 1.5-2 m, upper canopy diameter about 1.5 m, lower canopy reaching 2 m. After the goji berry tree takes shape, it enters the heavy fruiting period. Pruning focuses on removing old and replacing with new, mainly renewing fruiting branches. The principle for spring, summer, and autumn pruning is to cut dead and old branches, diseased and pest-damaged branches, rubbing branches, and sweeping branches, and thin out overly dense branches.

(5) Pest and disease control

1) Goji berry black fruit disease: The pathogen is Colletotrichum, a fungus in the Deuteromycetes class. It is an important disease of cultivated goji berry in Hebei, Shandong, Shaanxi, and other places, mainly harming green fruits, flower buds, and flowers. It occurs during high-temperature and rainy summer weather, and is severe when air humidity is high. Infected green fruits turn black, and under humid conditions the diseased area has orange-red slime, which is the spore mass of the pathogen.

Control methods: Strengthen winter and spring water and fertilizer management; lightly prune branches in winter to promote more spring fruit and early ripening, avoiding the peak disease period; control fertilizer and water in summer, heavily prune branches, and abandon summer fruit; clean the garden in winter, burn or deeply bury branches and leaves; after flowering, spray preventively with 500-fold wettable zineb solution or 800-fold thiram solution; in the early stage of disease, spray with 1:1:120 Bordeaux mixture or 50% thiram 1000-fold solution.

2) Goji berry gray leaf spot (Cercosporalycii Ellet Halst.): Harms leaves, lesions nearly circular, center grayish-white, edges brown, mostly producing light brown mold on the back of leaves, prone to occur when humidity is high.

Control methods: Spray with 1:1.5:300 Bordeaux mixture or 65% zineb 500-fold solution.

3) Goji berry root rot (Fusarium sp.): Harms roots, occurs in mid to late June, severe in July-August. In the early stage, roots turn black and gradually rot, then the aboveground part withers and the whole plant dies. Control methods: Pour 50% thiophanate 1000-1500-fold solution at the root.

4) Goji berry fruit fly [Neoceratitis asiatica (Becker)]: Harms young fruits. Occurs 2-3 generations per year, pupae overwinter in soil, adults mate on trees in May, lay eggs inside young fruit skin, hatched larvae feed on flesh inside the fruit skin. The second generation occurs in mid to late July; the third generation occurs from late August to early September.

Control methods: Use dichlorvos emulsion 1000-fold solution or 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate 1500-fold solution, spraying once every 7-10 days, continuously 3-4 times. Also can use poisoned soil to kill newly emerged adults in the soil; or manually remove infested fruits.

5) Goji berry aphid (Aphis sp.): Harms young buds. Occurs one generation per year. Eggs overwinter in axillary buds or rough areas. The following year from late April to early May when spring shoots emerge, damage begins. Damage is most severe from mid-May to mid to late July. Control methods: 20% dimethoate emulsion 2000-4000-fold solution, spraying once every 7-10 days, continuously three times, has certain effect.

6) Goji berry psyllid (Poratriozasinica Yang et Li): Adults and nymphs use piercing-sucking mouthparts to pierce the epidermis tissue of host branches and leaves to suck sap, causing early leaf fall, with nymph damage being more severe. Occurs 3-4 generations per year. Adults overwinter under dead leaves in the field, begin activity in late April, severe damage from June to October, adults overwinter in October. Control methods: See control of goji berry fruit fly.

7) Goji berry gall mite (Aceriamacrodonis Keller): The mite harms within galls, and in severe cases galls can cover all leaves, causing leaves, flower buds, and fruits to become deformed. Occurs multiple generations per year. Adult mites overwinter in bark and bud scales. The following year in mid to late April when overwintering buds begin to unfurl leaves, adults migrate from overwintering sites to new leaves to lay eggs, and nymphs invade plant tissues, causing galls. In mid-May when new branches flourish, gall mites on two-year-old branches crawl out of galls and spread to new branches to cause damage, peaking in early June, ending in early August, and in mid to late August when autumn shoots grow, they move to new shoots again, reaching a second peak in September, and dormant by mid-November. Control methods: Spray with 0.5 Baume lime-sulfur mixture, once every 7-10 days, continuously four times; or spray with 50% dimethoate emulsion 1500-fold solution.

8) Goji berry leaf beetle (Lemadecempunctata Scopoli): Adults and larvae harm leaves, causing notches or holes, and in severe cases completely eat the leaves. Occurs three generations per year. Adults overwinter in shaded areas in the field, severe damage from June to July. Control methods: In July-August use 40% dimethoate emulsion 1500-2000-fold solution; dichlorvos emulsion 1500-fold solution, spraying once every 7-10 days, continuously 3-5 times.

4. Selection and breeding of superior varieties

Select goji berry trees of the two varieties "Mae leaf goji" and "Large hemp leaf goji", choose those with thick branches, preferably taking upper canopy branches. Before spring sprouting, take weak leggy branches or about 10-15 cm long, about 0.4 cm in diameter, cut the upper end flat and the lower end into a wedge shape, and keep 2-4 buds as cuttings, bury them in sand pits for seedling raising. Cultivating superior goji berry varieties can only be done through vegetative cutting propagation to keep the variety from degenerating.

Harvesting and processing

Ningxia goji berry fruits ripen red successively from June to November, harvest promptly, sun-dry when there is no rain, and dry by heat on cloudy and rainy days. For sun-drying, place on mats, spread evenly, and they can dry in about 10 days; during drying, never turn them randomly, to avoid blackening and affecting quality. Heat drying is divided into 3 stages: in the early stage of 24-36 hours, control the temperature at 40-45°C; when the fruit shows wrinkles and softens, raise the temperature to 50°C, and after 36-48 hours, the fruit shows shrinking wrinkles; finally, when the temperature reaches 55°C, it can be dried completely in about 2 days. 4-4.5 kg of fresh fruit processes into 1 kg of dried product.

Ningxia goji berries are best when large-grained, thick-fleshed, small-seeded, red in color, soft in texture, and sweet in taste.