How to Plant Apricot Kernels So They Sprout and Survive Easily

Planting apricot kernels is best done in spring and autumn. Choose fresh apricot kernels and place them in a plastic bag, sprinkling water once every three days until the shells crack. After they crack, soak them in warm water at 50 degrees for 1-2 hours, remove and dry them, then sow them in breathable, loose, fertile soil, covering with a thin layer of soil. After the seedlings emerge, just do a good job of watering, fertilizing, weeding and so on. After the seedlings emerge, pay attention to the following points.

Key points to note during the apricot seedling stage

1. Fertilizer and water

Irrigate once each before budding, after flowering, in autumn and before the soil freezes. Irrigation and topdressing can be carried out at the same time. If there is a year with abundant rainfall, pay attention to draining the apricot orchard to prevent waterlogging. Apply the base fertilizer before leaf fall. For topdressing, apply quick-acting nitrogen combined with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer before budding and during the fruit expansion stage; after harvest, mainly apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer with a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer; for aging trees, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer combined can be appropriately increased after harvest.

2. Pruning

For shaping and pruning young trees, apricot trees have a relatively strong central stem, so a natural open-center form with multiple main branches is suitable. Pruning in the early fruiting stage: apricot trees generally can flower and bear fruit 3 years after planting. In the middle and late stages of the full fruiting period, the fruiting parts move outward, and the branches at the lower part of the canopy begin to become bare, so the main task of pruning during the full fruiting period is to regulate the relationship between fruiting and growth, keep the tree vigorous, and prolong the years of the full fruiting period. For pruning in the aging stage, the main task for apricot trees is rejuvenation and renewal and re-cultivating fruiting branch groups.

The specific pruning method is to increase the retrenchment of weakened perennial branches, stimulate latent buds to sprout vigorous shoots, and from these select and cultivate new scaffold branches, extension branches and fruiting branch groups.

3. Pest and disease control

Before winter, thoroughly clear the weeds from the ground and between clumps, and deeply plow and air the soil, and carry out targeted chemical treatment. At the same time, also spray Xingaozhimo to enhance the efficacy of the chemicals, thoroughly treat the overwintering environment of pests. For pest control at different growth stages, targeted chemical treatment must be carried out according to plant protection requirements, and Xingaozhimo should be added to enhance the control effect. Also regularly spray Hushu Jiangjun to enhance the plant's insect resistance and disease resistance, ensuring its healthy and vigorous growth.