A Detailed Guide to the Cultivation Techniques and Management Key Points of Chempedak

Chempedak is a deciduous evergreen tree; the flesh surrounding its seeds is edible, its leaves and fruit can also be used to feed animals, and the tree's wood can be used as a craft material. What are the cultivation techniques for chempedak?

Cultivation techniques for chempedak

1. The orchard slope should be below 25°, the soil should have good permeability, an organic matter content of 1% or more, and a pH value of 5.3-6.8.

2. Chempedak is a typical tropical fruit tree and is especially suitable for planting in areas with high temperatures. Compared with jackfruit, chempedak has poorer cold tolerance, and the suitable annual average temperature is 24-25.4°C.

3. Chempedak has poor wind resistance. A windbreak forest should be established around the chempedak orchard. The tree species used for the windbreak forest should be relatively fast-growing, wind-resistant species such as Eucalyptus congolensis No. 12, Casuarina equisetifolia, Antidesma hainanense, Calophyllum inophyllum, Bischofia javanica, and Bischofia polycarpa; these species do not share the same major pests and diseases as chempedak.

4. After the young shoots of the seedlings have matured, orchards with poor irrigation conditions should plant on rainy and cloudy days, mainly establishing plantings in spring and autumn. In Hainan, orchards with good irrigation conditions can be planted in all four seasons.

5. The planting spacing can use a plant spacing of 5-6 m and a row spacing of 6 m. Flat land and orchards with better soil fertility are suitable for sparse planting, while orchards with steeper slopes can appropriately reduce the plant spacing.

6. The planting hole length × width × depth is 80 cm × 80 cm × 60 cm. When digging the hole, separate the topsoil from the subsoil, and when backfilling, mix in organic fertilizers such as straw, human and livestock manure and urine, and green manure, as well as calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer or superphosphate. Apply 30-40 kg of organic fertilizer, 1.0-2.0 kg of phosphate fertilizer, and 0.5-1.0 kg of lime per hole. Place green manure, straw, and lime in the lower layer of the planting hole, human and livestock manure and urine plus calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer or superphosphate in the middle layer, and topsoil in the upper layer of the planting hole. Complete the planting hole preparation work 1 month before planting. When planting, make a tree plate about 1.0 m in diameter around the seedling, water thoroughly to settle the roots, and cover to retain moisture and suppress weed growth.

7. In order to improve land utilization, short-term crops such as vegetables, watermelons and muskmelons, and legumes such as peanuts can be intercropped in young chempedak orchards.

8. Plants grow fastest and have the greatest growth increment in high-temperature seasons with a monthly average temperature of 29-30°C, and the amount of fertilizer applied during this period should account for more than 50% of the annual fertilizer application. For young trees, apply 300-500 g of 50% decomposed human and livestock manure and urine per plant 1 year after planting. For fruiting trees, the fertilizer application amount should be appropriately increased each year according to the fruit load.

9. When drought occurs during the new shoot flushing stage, flower bud emergence stage, flowering stage, and fruit development stage of chempedak, appropriate irrigation is needed, and the irrigation amount should be sufficient to wet through the main root distribution layer. During the period of controlling shoots to promote flowering in chempedak, water should be controlled so that chempedak is under moderate drought conditions, which is conducive to flower bud differentiation. Prolonged waterlogging will affect the growth of chempedak. Therefore, in rainy seasons or when the orchard accumulates water, drainage should be carried out in time.

10. For young trees, top the trunk at 30-50 cm, and keep 2-3 evenly distributed primary branches on the main trunk with basically consistent growth to cultivate as main branches. Cut off the top of the main branches at about 50 cm to cultivate 2-3 secondary main branches. Pruning should be light pruning to form a natural open-center shape. Pruning of fruiting trees is mainly carried out during the fruiting period and after fruit harvest. Pruning during the fruiting period mainly removes flowerless and fruitless new branches, shaded branches, and diseased and insect-damaged branches on the main trunk, main branches, and secondary main branches.

11. During the period when chempedak produces inflorescences and young fruit, good work must be done to protect flowers and fruit. During the flowering and fruiting period, promptly thin out overly dense flowers and fruit, small fruit, and diseased and insect-damaged fruit.

Chempedak is suitable for planting in warm places; therefore, when opening an orchard, the local climate conditions must be taken into consideration.