How to Grow California Prunes? A Detailed Guide to European Plum Cultivation Methods

Prunes are also called California prunes, European plums, French black dates, and so on. Prunes have a sweet and sour, delicious taste, and can be made into dried fruit or used as an ingredient. So, what are the cultivation methods for California prunes? Let's find out together!

1. Variety selection

There are many varieties of prunes. We generally choose varieties with large, plump fruit, good color, good taste, high yield, and small pits based on the soil and climate conditions of the location. At the same time, we also need to consider the market conditions for prunes and which varieties sell better. At present, the best prune varieties on the market mainly include French Prune, Hongxi Mei, Lanmi, and Stanley. You can use these as a reference.

2. Site selection and orchard establishment

The prune is a new type of fruit crop introduced to China from Europe. Its cultivation requirements are not very high, and it can be grown in many places in China. The selection of its planting site is similar to that of traditional Chinese plum planting sites. After the planting site is selected, pit cultivation is generally carried out, but if conditions permit, full-field cultivation can be used. This can reduce the threat of soil-borne pathogens and insect pests. After the land is prepared, sufficient fertilizer is spread in each pit as base fertilizer, and then planting can be done at a row spacing of 3 m and a plant spacing of 2 m. At the same time, a fence should be built around the orchard.

3. Fertilizer and water management

After planting, in addition to base fertilizer, prunes generally need to be fertilized three times a year. The first is usually during the flowering period to promote flowering, mainly using urea, with a small amount of potassium fertilizer added. The second is when the fruit is swelling, mainly potassium fertilizer, to promote fruit expansion, and an appropriate amount of foliar fertilizer should be sprayed and a small amount of urea applied to prevent branch aging. The third is fertilization after harvest, mainly compost, which provides good care for the prune tree and prepares for the yield of the coming year.

4. Pruning and shaping

Prune trees need to be pruned and shaped at least once a year. We mainly need to prune some very messy branches at the base of the prune tree, and also prune away some old branches, while mainly preserving the main branches of the prune tree so that they grow rapidly. When they reach a certain height, prune again to make them grow new side branches and maintain a good canopy and tree shape. For mature prune trees, we mainly need to prune weak branches, dead branches, diseased branches, and dense branches to ensure the yield of prunes.

5. Artificial pollination

Prune trees can pollinate naturally, but the phenomenon of physiological fruit drop is relatively serious and pollination is unstable. In order to increase the yield of prune trees, we generally use artificial assisted pollination. During the flowering period, we collect flower buds and gather pollen, then choose a sunny morning for pollination, which gives a higher success rate. Generally, the point pollination method, smearing method, spraying method, or even wrapping pollen in cotton cloth and tapping for pollination can all be used.

6. Flower and fruit thinning

During the flowering period, we should reasonably thin the flowers, gently tapping down some very densely growing flowers as well as diseased and weak flowers, so as to ensure a reasonable fruit-setting rate. Next, after fruit set, diseased fruits require one round of fruit thinning, removing some weakly growing fruit, diseased fruit, deformed fruit, and dense fruit. This can reduce the probability of fruit drop, thereby improving the yield and quality of prunes.

The above are the prune cultivation methods compiled by the editor. I hope they can help you!