What Varieties of Longan Are There? A Detailed Guide to Planting and Management Techniques

Longan, also called guiyuan, is rich in nutrients and is a precious nourishing tonic. Besides being eaten fresh, the fruit can also be made into canned goods, wine, paste, sauce, and so on, and can also be processed into dried guiyuan flesh. So what varieties of longan are there? How do you plant and manage it?

1. What varieties of longan are there?

1. Early-maturing varieties ripen and go on the market in mid-August, mainly including “Dongbi”, “Liuyuebai”, “Early-maturing Fuyan”, and others.

2. Mid-maturing varieties ripen and go on the market in early September, mainly including “Fuyan”, “Jiaoyan”, “Shuinan No. 1”, and others.

3. Late-maturing varieties ripen and go on the market from late September to early October, mainly including “Songfengben”, “Lidongben”, “Dongbao No. 9”, “Jiuyuewu”, and others.

In addition, there is another fairly well-known saying, the “Eight Great Varieties of Chinese Longan”:

Shixia longan, Chuliang longan, Lingshan Linglong longan, Gushan No. 2 longan, Lidongben longan, Songfengben longan, Dongbi longan, Rongxian Dawuyuan longan.

2. How do you plant and manage longan?

1. Deep plowing

Longan is a deep-rooted plant, and its root growth requires sufficient nutrients and good permeability. Although it has fairly good tolerance, it has relatively high requirements for the soil layer. Generally speaking, soil that is deep, loose, fertile, and well-drained helps increase longan yield and quality. If the groundwater level is high, soil moisture is great, and the soil texture is sticky and tight, then it is not suitable for planting longan.

During the planting process, the soil should be deep-plowed and improved, and the planting holes should be expanded and fertilized to increase the organic matter content in the soil. When planting longan in some hilly and mountainous areas, within 1-2 years after field planting, its root system has basically filled the planting hole. In order to promote rapid growth of the tree, the soil should be deep-plowed in good time to loosen the soil layer, and green manure and other organic fertilizers should be applied to the soil to improve soil fertility.

Generally, broadcasting 3000 kg of farmyard manure or stable manure per mu in the orchard is sufficient. At the same time, according to the pH value of the soil, superphosphate or calcium magnesium phosphate should also be applied to the soil, with the specific amount determined according to the soil conditions.

2. Mounding soil

Mounding soil is an important task in soil management during longan planting. Mounding soil can make the soil thicker, prevent the root system from being exposed due to soil erosion, and ensure that the longan root system can obtain sufficient nutrients from the soil. In summer and autumn, it can prevent drought and lower temperature, and in winter it can retain moisture and protect against cold. When choosing the soil for mounding, it should be selected according to the actual local conditions, trying to choose loose, slightly sandy fertile soil. Red loam soil can also be used, and garbage soil is most suitable. The mounded soil should not be too thick, otherwise it will cause root suffocation and affect root growth. Generally speaking, for 3-5-year-old young longan trees, 50-250 kg of mounded soil can be added per tree each year, while for mature trees, 250-300 kg of mounded soil can be added each year.

3. Fertilization

Fertilizing and topdressing are the processes of providing sufficient nutrients for longan. During longan planting, fertilizers must be reasonably selected according to the growth conditions of the longan, and the amount and method of fertilizer application should be controlled, so as to continuously improve the growth level of longan. Longan fertilizers include pre-flowering fertilizer, post-harvest fertilizer, base fertilizer, topdressing, and so on. Generally, pre-flowering fertilizer is applied at the end of March each year, mainly phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer, and nitrogen fertilizer can also be used in combination to improve the quality of longan flowers and increase the fruit-setting rate.

4. Irrigation

Longan has different water requirements at different growth stages. Irrigation provides sufficient water for longan, but during irrigation the water should not be too much or too little. Water should be supplied according to weather conditions and the growth cycle of longan.

5. Prevention and control of pests and diseases

Longan diseases include longan witches' broom disease, anthracnose, downy blight, and so on. Witches' broom disease is one of the main diseases of longan. It causes the young leaves of longan to fail to extend and inhibits longan growth. During prevention and control, some disease-transmitting vector insects should be controlled in good time, for example, controlling stink bugs, longan psyllids, and so on. At the same time, diseased branches and leaves should be pruned away, and management during longan planting should be strengthened to improve the disease resistance of longan.