How to Grow Waxberry from Seed? A Detailed Guide to the Correct Sowing Method
When it comes to growing waxberry, some people enjoy an abundant harvest while others get nothing at all; some people grow waxberries that everyone loves to eat, while others grow waxberries that are extremely sour. Why is that? Read on with the editor to find out how to grow waxberries that everyone loves.
How to Grow Waxberry from Seed
Waxberry propagation methods vary from place to place, but grafting is mainly used, along with layering and division. Waxberry rootstock is its own species. Seeds should be collected from healthy, superior mother trees. The germination rate of seeds from seedling trees is higher than that of seeds from cultivated varieties. Generally, the germination rate of wild waxberry seeds is 30-60%, while the germination rate of cultivated variety seeds is mostly around 10-30%, though some are relatively high, such as the Chidazhong and Zaodazhong varieties from Cixi County, Zhejiang, whose seed emergence rate can reach about 70%. The fruit used for seed collection must be fully ripe. After harvesting, the fruit is piled for 3-5 days; once the flesh has rotted, the seeds are washed clean and dried in the air or stored buried in damp sand. Because dry storage of waxberry seeds easily causes them to lose their germination ability, sand storage is the main method. About 20 kg of seeds can be obtained from every 100 kg of fruit. Waxberry is mainly sown in spring, with a sowing rate of 250-300 kg per mu when broadcast on the seedbed. The seeds sprout and emerge about one month after sowing, are transplanted in May-June, and can be grafted 1-2 years after transplanting.
Waxberry grafting is mainly done by scion grafting. For the scion, 1-2 year old branches are generally selected from the upper or outer part of the canopy of strong-growing, high-yielding trees that have entered full bearing. For thicker rootstocks, 2-3 year old branches are preferable as scions. If a male waxberry plant is grafted with a female scion, it can be changed into a female plant. The grafting period is generally from mid-March to early April. Because the sap flow of waxberry is vigorous, grafting early before spring bud break is advantageous. Graft on a windless, clear day, preferably with no rain within 3-4 days after grafting. The grafting methods generally used include cleft grafting, improved cut grafting and bark grafting.
The vigorous sap flow of waxberry often affects the grafting survival rate. To suppress tree vigor and reduce the rise of sap from the roots, the following methods can be used:
1. Cutting the root system: used for 2-3 year old rootstock; after grafting, cut deeply on both sides of the seedling with a spade to sever some of the main and lateral roots;
2. Grafting in a different location: before grafting, dig out the rootstock seedlings, cut off some of the main and lateral roots, then replant them in another location before grafting;
3. Digging and grafting: dig up the rootstock and graft indoors; used for 2-3 year old rootstock; after grafting, heel in or plant directly at the final planting site;
4. Leaving a branch to slow vigor: used more for large rootstocks, that is, grafting on the main branch while leaving another branch as a “water-drawing branch”,
to attract water flow toward that branch and slow the growth vigor of the grafted part.
Grafted seedlings in the nursery produce many shoots, so weak branches should be thinned at any time during June-July to promote robust growth of the retained shoots. If summer temperatures are high, shade frames are needed to maintain a certain temperature and humidity in the nursery so the seedlings do not die. Rootstock sprouts must be removed in batches to reduce nutrient consumption, but removing sprouts too early can sometimes also affect the grafting survival rate.
In addition, in Xiaoshan, Lanxi and other places in Zhejiang, layering is also used for propagation. This is generally done in February-March. That is, below the canopy of the tree to be layered, fill with soil up to 15-20 cm from the lowest branch, mix in burnt mud ash and make a flat bed raised above the ground. Wound the underside of the branch to be layered, pull it down and press it into the soil in a star shape, then cover with soil about 10-15 cm thick, leaving the tip of the branch still exposed above the soil. At the place buried by soil, press down a large stone to maintain certain humidity and prevent shaking. After one year, new roots grow at the wounded place; in early April (around Qingming), cut it away from the mother plant with a sharp knife, move it to the nursery, cultivate for another 1-2 years, and then it can be planted in the field. Lanxi fruit growers cut off the canopy of 4-5 year old young trees and use the mound-layering method to make them produce sprouts. In this way, one tree can yield more than 15-20 new seedlings. The layering method produces seedlings quickly and bears fruit early. However, the root system is shallow and growth is weak.
What Are the Small White Insects on Waxberries After They Are Left Standing
Waxberry helps promote salivation and quench thirst, and relieve summer heat. In addition, it can harmonize the stomach and aid digestion, and is used for vomiting and diarrhea, dysentery, abdominal pain, cleansing the intestines and stomach, and sobering up after drinking. But have you noticed that when waxberries are soaked in salt water, some small white insects crawl out from inside the fruit? Many people worry whether waxberries containing insects can be eaten and what harm eating them would do to health. So someone specially took waxberries to a testing institution for inspection, and it turned out that the small white insects inside waxberries are the larvae of fruit flies.
Fruit fly larvae are white; eating them not only does not harm health, but they are also rich in protein. However, once the fruit fly larvae mature and turn black, they must not be eaten, because they will harm human health. Although it has been confirmed that the larvae inside waxberries can be eaten, after all, not everyone can accept the challenge of eating insects.
Market Situation of Waxberry Cultivation
The market prospects for the waxberry industry are broad, but problems such as the long cultivation cycle, concentrated ripening period and the poor storability and transportability of fresh fruit still limit the development of the waxberry industry to a certain extent. Waxberry has rich nutritional value.
1. Waxberry is one of China's specialty fruits, and has long enjoyed the reputation that “at first one suspects a single berry is worth a thousand in gold”;
2. Waxberry fruit is bright in color, juicy, sweet and sour and pleasant to the taste, and high in nutritional value, and is deeply loved by consumers;
3. Waxberry is a truly green food, containing various potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium and cations as well as rich anthocyanins, flavonoids, selenium and other trace elements essential to the human body, especially selenium, which has anti-aging and anti-cancer pharmacological effects;
4. Waxberry can remove phlegm, stop vomiting and aid digestion, promote salivation and quench thirst, harmonize the five viscera, cleanse the intestines and stomach, remove irritability and foul qi, stop dysentery, and relieve headache, etc.
5. Waxberry fruit generally ripens at the turn of spring and summer, exactly when fresh fruit is scarcest in the year, so it is generally welcomed by the public;
6. Because waxberries are very difficult to keep fresh, their market price is relatively high, and growing waxberries can increase farmers' income, making it one of the preferred fruit trees for broad mountain-area farmers to escape poverty and become rich;
7. Whether as fresh fruit or processed products, waxberry is a highly competitive product of China in the international market.
Points to Note When Choosing a Waxberry Orchard
1. Altitude: Generally speaking, waxberry is mostly cultivated in mountain land at an altitude of 50-500 m. As altitude rises, the annual average temperature decreases, the diurnal temperature difference increases, and the fruit ripening period is delayed. Therefore, when building an orchard, different altitudes can be used to grow waxberries in order to extend the supply period of fresh fruit.
2. Slope aspect: Choose north or northeast slopes as far as possible. South slopes, especially southeast slopes, have sufficient light and high temperatures; although waxberry fruiting can be slightly earlier, the quality is not as good as on north slopes. When opening an orchard in deep mountain valleys or deep mountain basins, no matter which slope face it is, as long as there is dense shade, the planted waxberries grow and bear fruit well.
3. Vegetation: Site vegetation is often an indicator of soil fertility. For example, soil dominated by dicotyledonous plants is often more fertile; soil dominated by ferns, rhododendrons and Cyclobalanopsis glauca is most suitable for cultivating waxberry.
4. Soil: Sandy soil is best, followed by sandy clay, then clay soil.
5. Economic and geographical conditions: Convenient transportation and communication conditions are required, along with good public security conditions and no pollution or serious air pollution.
6. Ecological conditions: Surrounding vegetation should be retained as much as possible. Where the vegetation around the orchard is well protected, the relative air humidity in the orchard tends to be more balanced, there are more natural enemies of pests, there are fewer pests and diseases in the orchard, and the fruit quality is also better.
In fact, if you want to grow good waxberries, the choice of planting orchard is the first thing that cannot be ignored. Different soil and water, different environments, and different sunlight all produce fruit with different flavors, so do not underestimate this small waxberry; its cultivation actually contains great technical skill and knowledge.