Latest Detailed Guide to Fruit Plum Planting Methods and Techniques

Fruit plum is a fruit unique to the south, with high nutritional value, containing health substances essential to the human body, such as organic acids, vitamins, amino acids and flavonoids, and is hailed as a health food. It also has certain medicinal value, tastes fairly good, and can treat coughs, so how should fruit plum be planted? Let's take a look together.

1. Land preparation and fertilisation

Fruit plum is not strict about soil requirements; it can be planted on plains and mountain land, and in slightly acidic or slightly alkaline soil, but it is best to plant it in plots with deep soil layers, loose soil texture and good drainage. After choosing the land, the soil should be turned over to a depth of about 60 cm, and the subsoil should be placed under the sun to be exposed to strong sunlight; afterwards, decomposed farmyard manure or compound fertiliser should be mixed in, and after mixing it should be spread evenly over the ground surface, then the land should be ploughed again. The purpose of ploughing is to mix the fertiliser and soil thoroughly, with about 3000-4000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu.

2. Planting

For some plots with better planting conditions, generally about 42 plants are planted per mu, that is, the plant spacing and row spacing are both controlled at 4 m, while for plots with poorer conditions, the planting density should be slightly lower, with about 55 plants per mu, and the plant and row spacing controlled at about 3×4 m. After planting, weeding should be carried out frequently; generally weeding is done together with loosening the soil. Just after planting, the depth of soil loosening should be slightly shallower to avoid damaging the root system of the young trees, and afterwards the depth of soil loosening can be increased accordingly as the young trees grow.

3. Fertiliser and water management

In addition to base fertiliser, fruit plum also needs multiple topdressings according to its growth stages. Base fertiliser is generally applied in autumn, but at the latest it must not be later than August, otherwise it will affect the plant's absorption of nutrients; base fertiliser accounts for more than half of the annual fertiliser application. Before flowering, 1 kg of nitrogen-potassium compound fertiliser and 15 kg of high-quality farmyard manure should be applied per plant, and foliar fertiliser should also be used to promote flowering. After flowering, for those with weaker growth or suffering from pest and disease damage, some additional fertiliser should be applied, with phosphorus fertiliser as the main type. After fruiting, when the fruit enters the rapid growth period, more phosphorus and potassium fertiliser should be applied, about 4 jin per plant, and after picking, decomposed organic fertiliser should be applied.

4. Pest and disease control

The diseases that affect fruit plum include damping-off and scab. When found, a 100-fold Bordeaux mixture can be sprayed several times in succession, or an 800-fold thiophanate-methyl solution can be used. Common pests include aphids and cutworms. They can be controlled with pesticides or caught by hand.

The above is an introduction to fruit plum planting methods. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.