The Chestnut Tree, King of Dried Fruits: What Kind of Tree Is It? Suitable Growing Regions and Fertilization Methods

Chestnut, long known as the “king of dried fruits”, is also called “ginseng fruit” abroad. The unsaturated fatty acids contained in chestnuts have effects against arteriosclerosis and other diseases. So, what tree species is the chestnut tree? Where is it suitable to plant? What fertilizer is best? What methods are there?

I. What tree species is the chestnut tree?

Chestnut is a light-loving tree species and dislikes shade. In gullies with less than six hours of sunlight per day, the canopy grows upright, the leaves are thin and the branches slender, and yields are low. During flowering and fruiting, insufficient light can cause physiological fruit drop. If excessively shaded for a long time, the inner canopy branches and leaves turn yellow, thin and weak, and may even die. Therefore, when planting chestnut trees, it is best to choose a sunny slope or an open gully. To increase light, the scaffold branches of the canopy should be kept sparse to favor fruiting in the inner canopy.

II. Where is the chestnut tree suitable to plant?

Chestnut management requires less labor than fruit trees, and it is also helpful for soil and water conservation, so hillsides with a slope of within 45 degrees can all be used. Because the lower slopes of hillside land and the alluvial fan areas of gullies have thicker soil layers, when cultivating chestnuts in mountainous areas, the lower slopes of alluvial fans or gully land are generally chosen. When planting chestnut trees on sloping land, although the soil layer on the lower slope is thicker, it is prone to water accumulation, so drainage should be attended to. Although the soil layer on the upper slope is thin, the deep soil layer contains colluvial soil mixed with gravel, and chestnut roots can extend into the soil layer along cracks between stones, so chestnut trees can also grow normally. If thin soil layers can be improved, that is, by digging large pits before planting and filling them with good soil, or by strengthening soil improvement and management of the chestnut orchard during the growing period, the results will be even better.

III. What fertilizer is best for chestnut trees? What methods are there?

1. Base fertilizer is the fundamental fertilizer supplying the chestnut tree's growth and development throughout the year. It can enhance the photosynthetic efficiency of leaves, help restore tree vigor, accumulate more nutrients, and lay the foundation for a bumper harvest the following year. It is generally applied in autumn after fruit harvest, together with deep plowing to improve the soil, and is mainly organic fertilizer. For trees of moderate vigor, with medium fertility and a relatively large crop, apply about 2000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu, and 1.0-1.5 kg of sulfur-based compound fertilizer per tree.

2. The main fertilization methods are:

① Radial trench application: with the trunk as the center, dig 4-6 radial trenches at equal distances around the edge of the canopy, 30-40 cm wide, with length depending on canopy size; generally half the trench length is inside the canopy and half outside; the trench depth is about 30 cm, and the depth should gradually increase from the inside outward.

② Ring trench application: dig a ring-shaped trench 40-50 cm wide and 50 cm deep 20-30 cm outside the canopy, and apply fertilizer into it. This method is suitable for young trees with smaller canopies.

③ Strip trench application: dig fertilization trenches 50 cm deep and 40 cm wide on two opposite sides slightly outside the canopy, with length depending on canopy size, and apply fertilizer into them.

3. Reasonable topdressing

Pre-flowering fertilizer: generally the first application is before and after bud break, mainly nitrogen fertilizer, with 0.3-0.5 kg of high-nitrogen compound fertilizer per tree, which can promote leaf growth and shoot emergence, flowering and fruiting, and increase fruit set rate and yield.

Fruit-swelling fertilizer: applied after flowering in the early stage of fruit enlargement, with 0.5-1 kg of high-potassium compound fertilizer per tree, which can promote fruit enlargement and improve yield and fruit quality.

During the growing period from May to July, pesticide spraying for pest and disease control should be combined with mixed spraying of manganese and magnesium elements to supplement micronutrients. This extends the functional period of leaves, increases the single nut weight, and boosts the accumulation of nutrients in the fruit, thereby raising the commercial value of the fruit.