How to Manage Waxberry After Harvest? Key Points of Tillage, Weeding and Scientific Fertilization
The planting method of waxberry is very important. In addition, doing a good job in the management of waxberry after harvest and overcoming various phenomena that easily lead to diseases in the coming year also lays the foundation for high and stable yields in the coming year. Among these, tillage and weeding is an indispensable step. Besides this step, what else should be noted?
1. After waxberry harvest, pay attention to tillage and weeding
When waxberry enters the harvest period, tillage and weeding are very critical. Carry out tillage and weeding together with fertilization, with a tillage depth of 10-20 cm, and then spread weeds over the tree disc as mulch. Intertillage can change the soil compaction under the tree canopy caused by rain and foot traffic, enhance the soil's capacity to store water and retain fertilizer, improve the tree's resistance to drought, and is very beneficial to flower bud differentiation. If conditions permit, earthing up to protect the roots can be carried out.
2. Key points of fertilization for waxberry after harvest
1. Apply the “tonic” fertilizer well after harvest
Because waxberry consumes a large amount of nutrients during fruiting, applying the “tonic” fertilizer well after harvest is of great significance for promoting the recovery of tree vigor, stimulating summer shoots, and improving and promoting flower bud differentiation. It can be said that this fertilization is the most important fertilization of the whole year and also the basal fertilizer of the whole year. It is generally required to be carried out within one month after harvest. The fertilizer used for this fertilization is better applied as a mixture of quick-acting fertilizer combined with organic fertilizer such as cake fertilizer and manure. Reference fertilization method: taking an adult tree with a per-plant yield of 30-50 kg of waxberry as an example, apply 1.5 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer, 0.5 kg of superphosphate or lime, and 3.5-4 kg of cake fertilizer or manure per plant.
2. Apply the shoot-promoting fertilizer well
When waxberry produces new shoots in the eighth and ninth lunar months, flower buds also grow at the same time in the leaf axils. That is to say, waxberry fruit matures along with the growth of new shoots. Therefore, waxberry must be given shoot-promoting fertilizer in the sixth and seventh lunar months, and this fertilization is mainly based on topdressing quick-acting chemical fertilizer. Reference fertilization method: taking an adult tree with an annual per-plant yield of 30-50 kg of waxberry as an example, apply 0.5 kg of urea and about 0.5 kg of potassium sulfate per plant.
3. Topdress lime to regulate pH value
This point is a problem that fruit growers often overlook. Because the red soil in the mountainous areas of the south is relatively acidic and the soil pH value is relatively low, it affects both the growth of waxberry roots and the absorption of water-soluble phosphorus. Applying lime can not only reduce soil acidity and increase soil pH value, but also provide a large amount of calcium to promote the development of waxberry roots, accelerate the growth of waxberry mycorrhizae, and improve the nitrogen-fixing activity of mycorrhizae, thereby promoting the fullness of the waxberry tree and improving fruit quality. Topdressing lime can be applied together with other fertilizers during the first fertilization after harvest, or broadcast within the tree canopy in winter, which can also play a role in preventing insects and diseases. The application of lime depends on the type of soil, and generally no more than 0.5 kg per plant.
4. Bearing trees should avoid excessive phosphate fertilizer
Because phosphorus has the effect of promoting nuclear division, excessive application of phosphate fertilizer will cause problems such as many fruits, hard fruit stones, little juice, and dryness, seriously affecting the quality and edible value of fresh fruit. Of course, phosphate fertilizer cannot be omitted either, otherwise it will lead to too few flower buds being formed and affect the yield of the coming year. Generally, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium should be 6:3:1 or 1:0.3:4.
Warm reminder: Because chloride ions can harm waxberry roots, it is not suitable to apply too much chlorine-containing fertilizer such as potassium chloride and ammonium chloride. It is best to use potassium sulfate instead of potassium chloride.