Detailed Guide to Ash Tree Planting Key Points and Photo Appreciation
The ash tree is a sand-fixing tree species, named because Chinese wax scale insects are placed on the tree. There are more than twenty species of ash trees in China, and its wood is extremely tough and unaffected by water, so it can be made into furniture, plywood, farm tools, etc., and has a certain economic value. Below let us take a look at the key points for growing ash trees and an introduction with photos.
1. Seed collection
Ash trees bloom from April to May and mature from September to October. Select superior plants that grow vigorously and are free of pests and diseases, and pick when the samaras change from green to yellowish brown and the seed kernels become hard. The seeds do not fall after maturing, so the fruit-bearing branches can be cut off, sun-dried to remove the wings, and cleaned of debris; then the seeds are placed in containers and stored indoors in a sterilized, low-temperature, dry, and ventilated room.
2. Seed treatment
Ash seeds have a long dormancy period, so before spring sowing they must first be germinated. The methods for promoting germination include low-temperature stratification and rapid high-temperature germination. Before sowing in March, soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours, or mix them with wet sand and germinate them indoors. After the seeds begin to sprout, they can be sown in drills in the seedbed. Each 1 hectare requires 45 kg of seeds.
3. Land preparation and material preparation
Choose sandy loam soil that is loose and fertile and convenient for irrigation and drainage. Before sowing, prepare the land carefully so that it is level, loose, even, and fine. For sandy soil or clay soil, take effective soil improvement measures, such as applying more organic fertilizer and mixing in large amounts of sand or imported soil, to improve the soil's physical and chemical properties. Mix ferrous sulfate with 20 times its amount of fine soil and spread it evenly into the seedbed to prevent damping-off disease of the seedlings.
4. Cutting propagation and management
Spring sowing should be early, generally from late February to early March. Sow in furrows in drills, using 3-4 kg of seed per 667 sq m, at a depth of 4 cm; the depth should be uniform, and the furrows should be opened, sown, and covered with soil as you proceed, with a soil covering thickness of 2-3 cm. To make the soil and seeds closely contact, press down after covering with soil.
1) Cutting seedling raising: Carry this out from late March to early April in spring. Before cutting, prepare the land carefully and apply sufficient base fertilizer so that the soil is loose and has adequate moisture. From fast-growing, healthy young mother trees free of pests and diseases, select 1-year-old sprouting branches, generally with a thickness of more than 1 cm and a length of 15-20 cm, with the upper cut made flat and the lower cut shaped like a horse's ear. Insert 2-3 cuttings per hole, spreading the cuttings apart, with a row spacing of 40 cm and a plant spacing of 20 cm. For spring cuttings, bury them deeply, firm the soil, and leave few tips exposed, inserting 4000 plants per 667 sq m.
2) Watering: After cutting, water frequently to keep the soil moist, and promptly remove the lower young buds to ensure normal growth of the terminal buds. One-year-old seedlings can reach a height of 40-50 cm. When the seedlings are about 80-100 cm tall, they can be transplanted for afforestation.
3) Weeding: Following the principle of “weed early, weed small, weed completely”, pull out weeds in time. Weeding is best done after rain or after irrigation. When the seedlings enter the period of vigorous growth, loosen the soil; it should be shallow at first and slightly deeper later, as long as the seedling roots are not damaged. During the seedling hardening period, to promote lignification of the seedlings, stop loosening the soil and weeding.
4) Fertilization: Fertilization of seedlings should mainly be base fertilizer. Apply nitrogen fertilizer during the seedling stage. During the rapid growth stage of the seedlings, apply more nitrogen fertilizer, potassium fertilizer, or a combination of several fertilizers. In the later growth stage, stop applying nitrogen fertilizer and apply more potassium fertilizer. Topdressing should mainly use quick-acting fertilizers (such as urea, monopotassium phosphate, and superphosphate), in small amounts and multiple times.
5) Thinning: To adjust seedling density, thinning and replanting are needed. In nursery land for raising ash seedlings from seed, thinning is generally done twice. Thinning should keep the superior and remove the inferior, removing seedlings that are poorly developed, affected by pests or diseases, mechanically damaged, or too densely crowded. It is best to thin when the soil is moist after rain.
6) Control: Diseases include sooty mold, and control requires attention to ventilation and light transmission. Pests include aphids, scale insects, and others, which can be killed by spraying with lime-sulfur mixture; for cottony maple scale, spray from June to July with a 1000-fold dilution of 50‰ fenitrothion; for longhorn beetles, use a cotton ball dipped in 15-20 times diluted 80% dichlorvos emulsion or 40% dimethoate emulsion and insert it into the insect hole to kill them.