How much does a Red Fuji apple sapling cost? Cultivation techniques and producing areas explained

Red Fuji is the collective name for the colored strains of Fuji selected and bred from bud (branch) mutations of the ordinary Fuji. Its characteristics are large size, red color, and round shape, with an average size about that of a baseball. So how much does an apple sapling cost? What are the cultivation techniques? What are the producing areas? According to the apple planting base in Tai'an, Shandong, Red Fuji apple saplings cost around 1.4. During planting, care should be taken to thin out diseased and pest-damaged branches, densely growing branches, water sprouts and other useless branches. Methods include heading back the main scaffold branches, and cutting back overly long and large fruiting branch groups, auxiliary branches and weakened scaffold branch tips. Their purpose is to adjust the angle and extension direction of scaffold branches, auxiliary branches and fruiting branch groups, control the ratio of flower buds to leaf buds, and balance tree vigor, so as to achieve the goal of abundant and high yields.

What are the cultivation techniques for Red Fuji apple trees?

1. Growth characteristics of Red Fuji apple trees

(1) Vigorous growth. Red Fuji apple forms its canopy quickly; a two-year-old Fuji can reach 167% of the size of a Ralls Genet of the same age.

(2) Early fruiting and high yield. Red Fuji apple has relatively many axillary flower buds; in the early stage, axillary flower buds can account for about 20% of the total flower buds. In the early fruiting stage, long fruiting branches and axillary flower buds make up a certain proportion, but this quickly shifts to fruiting mainly on short fruiting branches, which is especially obvious in dwarfing-rootstock trees. In five-year-old M7 rootstock Changfu 6, the proportion of short fruiting branches reaches 89%. Under the same conditions, it fruits earlier and has stronger high-yield potential than Ralls Genet; generally it can bear fruit at three years old.

(3) High quality and good storage. Red Fuji apples are large and attractive, with single fruit weight generally 200-300g; the coloring period is early, 15-20d earlier than Ralls Genet; coloring is uniform, with the colored surface reaching over 80%; the quality is excellent, the peel is thin, the flesh is crisp, sweet, fragrant and juicy, containing 13%-16% soluble solids; and they do not become mealy after long storage.

2. Cultivation techniques:

(1) Propagation and cultivation use grafting. Rootstocks include standard rootstocks and dwarfing rootstocks. Commonly used standard rootstocks include: Malus prunifolia, Malus micromalus, and Malus baccata; dwarfing rootstocks are mainly varieties introduced from the UK. Use wide rows and close planting, with rows running north-south. In more southern areas, plant in autumn and winter before the soil freezes; in more northern areas, plant in spring when the soil thaws. Apples have poor self-fruiting ability, so pollinator trees must be configured when planting.

(2) Apple is a temperate fruit tree that prefers low temperatures and dry conditions, requiring no severe cold in winter and no intense heat in summer. The suitable temperature range is an annual average temperature of 9—14°C, with the extreme low temperature in winter not lower than -12°C, and the highest monthly average temperature in summer not higher than 20°C; annual accumulated temperature of ≥10°C around 5000°C; average temperature during the growing season (April—October) of 12—18°C; and in winter it needs 1200—1500 hours below 7.2°C to successfully pass natural dormancy. If the low-temperature period is insufficient, leafing out and flowering are delayed and uneven, and some flower buds may even fail to sprout, and by May the scales loosen and fall off, becoming dead spurs, severely reducing yield; if the absolute low temperature falls below -30—-32°C, frost damage occurs again.

(3) Although apples originated in inland climatic regions with dry summers and prefer a relatively dry environment, they still need sufficient water and suitable air humidity during the growing period to grow and develop normally; however, excessive rainfall and overly high humidity will lead to dense branches and leaves, severe pests and diseases, poor fruit color, and low sugar with high acidity. Generally, an annual rainfall of 500—1000 mm and air humidity of 60%—70% are suitable.

(4) Apple is a light-loving fruit tree. According to measurements, the light compensation point of most varieties is 600—940 lux, and the saturation point is 24000—75000 lux. Insufficient light directly reduces photosynthesis and the tree's nutritional level, and affects fruit coloring and sugar conversion; excessive strong direct light and too long exposure can easily cause sunburn on branches and fruit. Therefore, it is essential to select a good site and carry out proper pruning and training, improve ventilation and light penetration, and keep a reasonable leaf canopy layer, so as to avoid the above drawbacks.

(5) It can be planted on flat land, mountain land, seashores, and river flats, but the best planting is on sunny, open, wind-sheltered gently sloping land with good surrounding vegetation, good light, and convenient irrigation and drainage; low-lying land and ravine ditches, although having deep soil, have poor light, are prone to waterlogging in the rainy season, and have overly high air humidity; steep slopes have shallow, thin soil, poor soil, and severe soil erosion, all of which are unfavorable for fruit tree growth.

(6) It has no strict requirements for soil; clay, sandy soil, and loam are all acceptable, but deep, loose, fertile sandy loam is best. Shallow soil and heavy clay soil with too much gravel must be improved before planting. The suitable pH range is 5.3—8.2, with the optimum being 5.4—6.8. Below 5.4, it is too acidic and prone to fruit cracking disease and bitter pit caused by boron and calcium deficiency; above 7.8, it is alkaline and prone to iron deficiency, causing leaf chlorosis.

(7) Standard-rootstock ordinary-type Red Fuji is planted at 405-660 trees per hectare (27-44 trees per mu), with a spacing of 3-4 m×5-6 m. Dwarfing interstock (M26, MM106, M7) varieties are planted at 660-990 trees per hectare (40-66 trees per mu), with a spacing of 2.5-3 m×4-5 m.

(8) For young Red Fuji trees, attention should be paid to opening up the branch angles, properly heading back the central leader and extension branches, and lightly pruning and leaving long the other branches that do not affect tree shape. Attention should be paid to cultivating a relatively loose tree structure with clear layers, timely thinning out overly dense vegetative branches and competing branches, keeping sufficient light in the inner canopy, and paying attention to heading back and cutting back fruiting branches.

What are the producing areas of Red Fuji apples?

Red Fuji apple originated in southeastern Europe, in the region of Turkey and the Caucasus. It was first introduced to Shandong, China around 1870. Zhucheng City began introducing and propagating Red Fuji apples in 1982, introducing a total of five single strains: Changfu 1, Changfu 2, Changfu 6, Qiufu 1, and Yanfu 10, becoming one of the earlier counties and cities in Shandong Province to develop Red Fuji apple production. In recent years it has been widely cultivated in Liaoning and the provinces of North China and Northwest China.