Detailed Explanation of the Key Cultivation and Management Techniques for the Akizuki Pear
The Akizuki pear is a variety of pear; it is a hybrid pear variety introduced from Japan, and it is also grown in China, so what are the cultivation and management techniques for the Akizuki pear?
1. Growth habits of the Akizuki pear
The Akizuki pear generally has flower buds beginning to swell in late March, with the initial flowering period on April 15, and the full flowering period from April 20 to 25, with the flowering period lasting about 10 d. Leaf buds begin to swell in mid-April and start to sprout in late April. The fruit ripens in mid-to-late September.
It has strong adaptability. It is strongly cold-resistant and drought-tolerant; it is relatively resistant to scab and black spot disease. Its main disadvantages are persistent sepals; the tree habit is relatively upright, and 4- to 5-year-old scaffold branches are prone to becoming bare on the lower part.
The Akizuki pear has large fruit, with an average single fruit weight of 450 g and a maximum of up to 1000 g. The fruit shape is regular, the fruit uniformity is extremely high, and the rate of marketable fruit is high. The fruit shape is oblate, with a fruit shape index of about 0.8. The peel is yellow-red-brown, and the fruit color is pure; the flesh is white, crisp and tender, with very few stone cells, a delicate fragrance in taste, and a soluble solids content of about 14.5%.
2. Cultivation and management techniques for the Akizuki pear
1. Planting management
Choose an orchard with fertile soil and convenient watering, select suitable seedlings, and plant them at a reasonable density.
Seedling selection: large and vigorous seedlings should be selected;
Digging planting holes: decide whether to dig planting holes according to the soil conditions. Hilly and mountainous land requires digging planting holes, removing gravel, and backfilling with replaced soil. On flat sandy loam plains, there is no need to dig planting holes;
Planting density: fertile plains generally use a row spacing of 1 m×4 m or 2 m×4 m in the early stage, and change to 2 m×4 m or 4 m×4 m later (after 8~9 years); hilly and mountainous land should use 0.75 m×4 m or 1 m×3 m in the early stage, and change to 1.5 m×4 m or 2 m×3 m later.
2. Flower and fruit management
Thin flowers during the inflorescence separation stage of the Akizuki pear, pollinate when 25% of the flowers are open, and thin fruit in suitable weather.
Flower thinning: generally leave 1 inflorescence at a spacing of about 25 cm, and remove all the rest;
Pollination: use mixed pollen for artificial pollination, which can significantly increase fruit size;
Fruit thinning: remove fruit damaged by pests and diseases, poorly fertilized fruit, irregularly shaped fruit, leaf-rubbed fruit, upright fruit, and drooping fruit.
3. Fertilizer and water management
Water according to the growth conditions of the Akizuki pear. Fertilization should be mainly organic fertilizer, supplemented by chemical fertilizer. Topdressing in early August is more suitable.
Under normal circumstances, before the soil freezes, 4- to 6-year-old trees should be given 150~200 kg of granular organic fertilizer with an organic matter content of more than 30% per 667 sq m, plus 100~150 kg of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizer.
In order to improve fruit quality and prevent physiological diseases, apply to the soil around each tree 150 g of borax (do not apply every year; apply every other year), 200 g of calcium nitrate, 1~1.5 kg of crushed peanut shells (or rice husks), 0.5~1.0 L of 100-fold EM microbial fermentation liquid, 0.25~0.3 kg of peat soil, and 8~10 g of magnesium sulfate (to improve the fruit's surface gloss), stir thoroughly, and then apply.
Shallow fertilization is recommended, generally 10~20 cm below the soil surface. Topdressing should be in early August, that is, the late stage of fruit growth, mainly with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. Foliar fertilizer spraying should generally be carried out 4~5 times a year.