What are the latest control measures for alternate bearing in kiwifruit?
Kiwifruit is what we commonly call the kiwi in daily life, rich in vitamins and welcomed by many people. At present, the planting area of kiwifruit in China is still very large, but when we grow kiwifruit, alternate bearing is prone to occur, which is very unfavorable to kiwifruit yield. So how should alternate bearing in kiwifruit be controlled? Below, the editor brings you the control measures for kiwifruit. Let's take a look!
1. Reasonable crop load
The occurrence of alternate bearing in kiwifruit may be caused by the kiwifruit trees being overloaded. If the yield per mu of kiwifruit is about 2000kg, as long as a robust tree vigor is maintained, the commercial fruit rate of kiwifruit trees can reach more than 90%. However, if various supporting production measures are insufficient, alternate bearing may occur. Therefore, the number of fruits retained per mu should be controlled between 10000-18000, and the number of branches retained per plant should be kept at about 15 long fruiting branches. The tree vigor of kiwifruit trees should be maintained to ensure stable yield.
2. Fertilizer and water management
When we fertilize, we should carry out soil testing and formula fertilization. We should understand the demand for various nutrients at a certain yield per mu, and control the fertilization amount after determining the absorption amount. For example, producing about 100kg of fresh fruit requires about 0.08:0.25:0.05kg of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In addition, an appropriate amount of medium and trace elements and organic matter should also be applied. During the growth period of kiwifruit, we generally topdress about four times, including fruit-picking fertilizer, bud-promoting fertilizer and fruit-swelling fertilizer, etc. When topdressing, it can be applied by flushing with water, and the watering amount should be controlled well to keep the soil moist but without water accumulation, so as to avoid root rot.
3. Number of flowers and fruits retained
We should also control the number of flowers and fruits retained on the fruit trees in Anhui. For kiwifruit in an on-year, about 5 fruits are retained on robust long fruiting branches, 3 on medium fruiting branches, and about 2 on short fruiting branches. If it is a clustered vigorous branch, then no fruit may be retained. For umbrella-shaped fruit set, only the middle fruit is retained, and the fruits on both sides are removed. In addition, deformed fruits and dead fruits, etc., should also be removed. The leaf-to-fruit ratio of the fruit trees should be kept at about 7:1. Trees in an off-year should retain even fewer fruits: three on long fruiting branches, 1-2 on medium fruiting branches, and as few as possible on short fruiting branches.
4. Proper pruning
For fruit trees with a dense canopy and poor light penetration, excessively dense and parallel branches should be removed in time. Generally, one fruiting mother branch should be retained about every 20 cm, and branches such as thin and weak branches, pest- and disease-damaged branches and clustered branches should be vigorously removed from the base. Then, after fruiting in the current year, the fruiting branch groups should be renewed and alternately pruned. If excessive nitrogen fertilizer application causes excessive vegetative growth of branches and leaves, then the main vine should be girdled. After girdling, a fungicide should be sprayed for sterilization to avoid excessive vigorous growth, accumulate tree nutrients, and promote flower bud formation.
The above is a brief introduction to the control measures for alternate bearing in kiwifruit. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can be helpful to everyone!