Can Waxberry Trees Be Grown in the North? Planting Methods and Detailed Pest and Disease Control Measures
Waxberry, also known as Sheng Sheng Mei, Bai Di Mei and Shu Mei, is a small tree or shrub in the genus Myrica of the family Myricaceae, with high medicinal and edible value.So can waxberry trees be grown in the north? How do you plant them? How do you control pests and diseases? What pesticide should be used?
Can waxberry trees be grown in the north?
Waxberry is not suitable for growing in the north. This is because the basic moisture conditions and temperatures in the north cannot meet its needs, and even if it were planted it could not grow normally. Waxberry likes a warm, humid climate with plenty of cloud and mist. It is not tolerant of strong light or cold. It is best planted on north- or east-facing mountain slopes, in deep, loose, fertile, well-drained acidic soil.
How do you plant waxberry?
1. Planting time. It is divided into spring planting and autumn planting. Spring planting is from February to early April, and autumn planting is from September to November. Generally, spring planting is preferable. In Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Fujian, planting can also be done from October to late March of the following year.
2. Planting density. A spacing of 4m×4m or 4m×5m between plants and rows is suitable, with 33 to 42 plants per mu. A ratio of female to male plants of 100:1 is preferable; if wild waxberry grows locally, no male plants need to be allocated.
3. Applying base fertilizer. The planting hole should be 80×80×60cm; apply about 50kg of compost or 25-30kg of barnyard manure or 3-4kg of cake fertilizer per hole, plus 1kg of superphosphate, and cover it with 15-20cm of fertile topsoil.
4. Planting. When planting, place the seedling in the center of the hole, spread out the roots, hold the seedling upright, then add fine soil and firm it with your foot or tap it firm with a hoe or other tool. Water thoroughly to settle the roots, then cover the top with subsoil until it is 20-30cm above ground level, and bury the graft union below the soil surface. After the seedlings are planted, during the high-temperature season in July and August, loosen the soil, water and mulch the tree disk in good time to reduce water evaporation.
How do you control pests and diseases on waxberry trees? What pesticide should be used?
1. The main disease of waxberry is brown spot disease, also known as anthracnose, an important disease that harms waxberry leaves; severe outbreaks cause heavy leaf loss, leading to insufficient tree nutrition and ultimately a decline in fruit quality. The pathogen overwinters as ascocarps in diseased leaves, and disease occurs from late March to early April of the following year; plots with a shaded canopy, insufficient sunlight, poor soil, and a lack of potassium fertilizer and organic matter fertilizer suffer more severe disease.
Control methods:
(1) Clean the orchard. In autumn and winter, in combination with pruning, gather and burn or deeply bury diseased leaves and diseased or pest-infested branches.
(2) Strengthen cultivation management: in the management during the growing season, reasonably strengthen soil, fertilizer and water management, and at the same time improve the tree's ventilation and light conditions through pruning. (3) Spray control: at the early stage of disease, that is, after the flowering period ends, spray 1500 grams per mu of 1 degree Beaume lime sulfur aqueous solution for control.
2. The main insect pest of waxberry is the whitefly, which harms young new shoot leaves, with more severe occurrence in June and July.
Control methods:
(1) Protect and use natural enemies such as ladybugs and small wasps, and implement pest control by insects.
(2) During winter and spring pruning, cut off dead branches and branches with high pest density, and gather and burn them to reduce pest sources.
(3) Spray control: in July, when the pest occurs severely, spray 4.5% cypermethrin emulsifiable concentrate per mu for control, which can achieve a good effect.