What is the best month to plant fig saplings?

Figs have strong resistance and wide adaptability, and are not demanding on soil, moisture, climate, etc. Planting a sapling in the same year bears fruit in the same year, and by years 3—5 they enter the full-yield period, with a yield of more than 2000 kg per mu. They bear fruit early, have high yields, show no alternate bearing, have few pests and diseases, and almost no pesticide is applied, making cultivation and management easy. In addition, the fig tree has dense branches and leaves and an elegant form, making it a good ornamental tree species for landscaping. Therefore, cultivating figs has very high economic significance.

I. Orchard establishment and planting

Establishing an orchard means creating good conditions for the growth and development of figs, selecting a good site and good varieties, and building an orchard suitable for fig growth and fruiting and convenient for cultivation and management. This is of great significance for increasing yield and quality and achieving high-quality, efficient cultivation.

(1) Requirements of figs for environmental conditions

Figs originated in the subtropical arid semi-desert zone and are resistant to cold, barren conditions, drought and waterlogging. Their suitable growing area is very broad. In China, figs are cultivated from Hainan in the south to Liaoning in the north, from Weihai in Shandong in the east to the western frontier of Xinjiang in the west.

1. Temperature. The fig is a deciduous fruit tree that likes warmth and tolerates high temperatures. High temperatures usually do not damage fig plants; it is also relatively cold-resistant, and cold resistance varies by variety. Varieties such as Blanche, Ziguang, Kawasaki and Japanese Purple Fruit have relatively strong cold resistance, and adult trees can withstand low temperatures of minus 16 degrees. In areas south of the Yellow River, figs can overwinter safely if a suitable plot is chosen. Varieties such as Masui Dauphine and Lukang No. 1 have poorer cold resistance and can be frozen at minus 8 degrees. Through many years of practice, the Jiaxiang County Fig Research Institute in Shandong Province has developed a complete set of technical methods for cold-resistant fig cultivation, enabling figs to overwinter safely and achieve ideal yields even in high-cold areas such as Liaoning and Jilin.

2. Moisture. Figs have a well-developed root system and relatively strong drought resistance, and can still achieve relatively high yields when cultivated on mountain slopes. For a long time, people continuously assumed that figs were drought-resistant and feared waterlogging, but cultivation practice in recent years has proven that figs are also very resistant to waterlogging. In the autumn of 1999, the Jiaxiang County Fig Full-Yield Orchard in Shandong Province suffered a flood, and some plots were waterlogged for more than 20 days. A large number of aerial roots grew from the submerged parts such as the main trunk of the fig. Apart from slightly poorer fruit quality, growth and fruiting were basically normal. However, severe waterlogging or excessively high air humidity may cause fruit cracking and fruit rot, and long-term water shortage will cause fruits to become smaller and fruit drop. Therefore, when establishing a full-yield orchard, efforts should be made to ensure irrigation in drought and drainage in waterlogging, so as to improve yield and quality.

3. Soil. Figs have particularly strong adaptability to soil, and can be cultivated in sandy soil, loam and even various heavy clay soils, but the most suitable is a deep neutral or slightly alkaline sandy loam calcareous soil. Figs also have very strong salt tolerance and are one of the fruit trees most tolerant of saline-alkali conditions. They can be planted on coastal tidal flats and inland saline-alkali land. Figs have a relatively large demand for calcium. When planting on slightly acidic calcium-deficient land, applying lime to adjust the soil has an obvious yield-increasing effect.

(2) Site selection

Figs have strong adaptability to the environment and are not demanding on soil, so plains, hills, dry fields, saline-alkali land and coastal tidal flats are all suitable. However, better soil conditions are more conducive to improving yield and quality. In addition, because figs are soft and juicy, have poor storage tolerance and are inconvenient to transport, developing an orchard should choose a place with convenient transportation and relatively close to cities or processing plants, so as to facilitate processing and sales.

(3) Variety selection

According to different cultivation objectives, figs can be divided into several variety types, namely fresh-eating varieties, processing varieties, landscaping varieties and dual-purpose varieties.

In recent years, the Jiaxiang County Fig Research Institute in Shandong Province, in cooperation with other scientific research units, has introduced from France, the United States, Japan, Israel and other countries and collected domestically more than 90 fine fig germplasm resources, and has selected and bred more than ten high-quality varieties suitable for cultivation in most areas of China. Among them, Kawasaki, Japanese Purple Fruit and Ziguang are high-quality fresh-eating varieties, with the largest fruit reaching more than 280 g. Kawasaki has excellent quality and high yield, while Blanche has the strongest resistance and is dual-purpose for fresh eating and processing. Hongaisheng is especially suitable for horticultural bonsai and is a rising star among fig varieties. Masui Dauphine has large fruit but ordinary flavor and is prone to fruit cracking, so it is not suitable for cultivation in rainy areas. Qingpi has relatively high sugar content, but its peel is thick and its appearance is not attractive.

(4) Planting

Figs grow relatively quickly and are not strict about seedling specifications. Usually, one-year-old cut-back seedlings (retaining 10—30 cm) are used, and either autumn planting or spring planting is acceptable. Because bush-type cultivation is carried out, the planting density is relatively high, with row spacing of 2—3 m and plant spacing of 1—2 m, ranging from 111—333 plants per mu. Dry fields and poor land are suitable for dense planting, while fertile plots are suitable for sparse planting. When cultivating with the Y-shaped pruning method, the row spacing is usually 2 m, the hole spacing is 4 m, with 2 plants per hole and 170 plants per mu. This method bears fruit early, has high yield and is convenient to manage, and is worth promoting. Before planting figs, the orchard land should be deeply plowed throughout, sufficient organic fertilizer should be applied, and planting holes should be dug 0.5 m square. Before planting, apply 20 kg of farmyard manure and 2 kg of phosphate fertilizer in each hole. After planting, cover the aboveground part of the seedling with soil and seal it tightly to protect against cold and preserve moisture. Before sprouting in spring, remove the soil again to facilitate sprouting.

II. Soil, fertilizer and water management

(1) Soil management

1. Soil improvement. Usually when a fig orchard is established, the plants are own-rooted seedling types, the root layer is shallow, and the main distribution area of the root system is about 30—40 cm underground. Therefore, to obtain high yield and high quality in fig cultivation, the soil should be improved and the soil structure improved to make the soil loose, aerated and water-retentive, so as to promote root development. Main methods: First, deep plowing of the soil. For fig orchards in hilly and clay areas, deep plowing should be carried out 2—3 times during the young fruiting stage, with a depth of 40—50 cm. Deep plowing can be carried out in alternate rows and alternate plants to mature the soil around the roots. Second, intertillage and weed control. Because the fig harvest period is long and the orchard is trampled many times, the soil is prone to compaction, thereby damaging the soil structure around the roots. According to the soil type, intertillage and loosening of the soil should be strengthened, and weeds should be controlled.

2. Inter-row management. For fig orchards on saline land, a soil management system combining inter-row grass growing or intercropping with straw mulching should be adopted, which can inhibit salt return, reduce soil salt content, improve soil structure and build soil fertility. For fig orchards on hills, a soil management system combining straw mulching and grass planting should be adopted, which can improve soil moisture conditions, maintain water, and also prevent soil and water loss during the rainy season. For fig orchards in plain areas, during the young tree and initial fruiting stages, leguminous crops and vegetable crops can be intercropped between rows. For densely planted orchards, intensive cultivation should be implemented.

(2) Fertilization

Figs have a large growth volume and also need a lot of fertilizer. Particular attention should be paid to supplementing potassium fertilizer and calcium fertilizer, so as to supplement tree growth and maintain the soil at neutral to slightly acidic.

1. Base fertilizer. For applying base fertilizer to figs, it is usually best to apply barnyard manure from mid-November to early December after leaf fall. For the requirement of adult trees, calculate the actual application amount of base fertilizer for different varieties according to the amount of nitrogen 100—120 kg, phosphorus 80—100 kg and potassium 80—100 kg supplemented per hectare. As for the fertilization method, a fertilization ditch 30 cm wide and 30—50 cm deep can be opened between rows or between plants, and base fertilizer can be applied into it.

2. Topdressing. The growth of fig branches and leaves and fruit development are synchronous and mutually reinforcing, and the demand for nutrients is balanced. If possible, topdressing should be applied 7—8 times each year, and usually it should also reach 3—4 times. If the base fertilizer can be applied sufficiently, the first topdressing should be in May when new shoots grow vigorously, mainly with nitrogen fertilizer, at 200—300 kg per hectare. During the fruit ripening period from August to October, topdressing should be applied 2—3 times, mainly with compound fertilizer, at 250—300 kg per hectare each time. The fertilization method is the same as for base fertilizer. In addition, spraying 0.3%—0.5% potassium dihydrogen phosphate or a compound fertilizer mainly of nitrogen and potassium can also achieve the effect of enlarging fruits and reducing cracking.

(3) Irrigation and drainage

1. Irrigation. Figs have a well-developed root system and are relatively drought-resistant; but their leaves are large, and in the high-temperature summer season they evaporate a lot of water, so their water demand is high. If water supply cannot be met, in mild cases it will inhibit new shoot growth and reduce yield; in severe cases the fruit will be small, quality poor, and even leaves will fall early. Therefore, to ensure high yield and high quality, water should be replenished in time when normal rainfall cannot meet the demand. The main water-demand periods for figs are before overwintering, during the sprouting period and during the fruit growth and development period from July to September. As for irrigation methods, in addition to traditional furrow irrigation and hole irrigation, sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation can also be used.

2. Drainage. During the fruit ripening period, if there is too much rainfall, it will not only reduce the sugar content of the fruit and worsen its quality, but may even cause fruit cracking. Therefore, in rainy seasons or low-lying areas, attention should be paid to promptly eliminating accumulated water or making high ridges, so as to reduce waterlogging.