How to Grow Prunes? A Full Breakdown of the Latest Planting Methods
Prunes contain rich nutrients and are free of fat and cholesterol, making them a fruit suitable for men and women of all ages. The prunes on the market today are basically processed products, such as dried prunes, prune juice and canned prunes. In fact, prunes can also be made into salads and pastries, and they are very delicious too, a favorite of many people. So how are prunes grown? Today let's learn about the methods for growing them.
1. Variety Selection
There are many varieties of prunes. We generally choose varieties with large, plump fruit, good color, good taste, high yield and small stones according to the soil and climate conditions of the location, and we also need to consider the market conditions for prunes, that is, which varieties of prunes sell better. At present, the best prune varieties on the market mainly include French Prune, Hongxi Plum, Blue Honey and Stanley, which everyone can use as a reference.
2. Site Selection and Orchard Establishment
The prune is a new type of fruit crop introduced to China from Europe. Its growing requirements are not very high, and it can be grown in many places in China. Its planting site selection is similar to that of traditional Chinese plum planting sites. After the planting site is selected, pit cultivation is generally carried out, but if conditions allow, full-field cultivation can be used, which can keep it safe from the threat of waterborne bacteria and insect pests. After the ground is prepared, sufficient fertilizer is spread in each pit as a base fertilizer, and then planting can be done at a row spacing of 3 m and a plant spacing of 2 m, while a fence is set up around the area to establish the orchard.
3. Fertilizer and Water Management
After planting, apart from the base fertilizer, prunes generally need to be fertilized three times a year. The first time is usually at the flowering stage to promote flowering, mainly using urea with a small amount of potash fertilizer. The second time is when the fruit is swelling, mainly with potash fertilizer to promote fruit expansion, and an appropriate amount of foliar fertilizer needs to be sprayed and a small amount of urea applied to prevent the branches from aging. The third time is after harvest, mainly with compost, which plays a good role in caring for the prune tree and prepares for the yield of the coming year.
4. Pruning and Shaping
Prune trees need to be pruned and shaped at least once a year. When the prune tree is still young, we mainly prune some very messy branches at the bottom of the tree, and at the same time prune away some old branches, mainly retaining the main branches of the prune tree so that it grows quickly. When it reaches a certain height, pruning is carried out to make it grow new side branches and maintain a good canopy and tree shape. For mature prune trees, we mainly prune the weak branches, dead branches, diseased branches and dense branches to ensure the yield of prunes.
5. Artificial Pollination
Prune trees can carry out natural pollination, but the phenomenon of physiological fruit drop is relatively serious and pollination is unstable. In order to increase the yield of prune trees, we generally choose artificial assisted pollination. At the flowering stage, flower buds are collected and pollen is gathered, and then pollination is carried out on a sunny morning, so the success rate of pollination will be higher. Generally, the point pollination method, smearing method and spraying method can be used, and even wrapping pollen in cotton cloth and tapping to pollinate is also fine.
6. Flower and Fruit Thinning
At the flowering stage, we should reasonably thin the flowers, gently tapping down some very densely growing flowers as well as diseased and weak flowers, so as to ensure a reasonable fruit-setting rate. Next, after fruit set, fruit thinning needs to be carried out once, removing some of the weaker-growing fruit, diseased fruit, deformed fruit and densely set fruit, which can reduce the chance of fruit drop and thus improve the yield and quality of prunes.
7. Pest and Disease Control
The prune has strong resistance, so diseases rarely occur. It is enough to spray fungicidal agents two to three times a year at reasonable times, such as carbendazim and chlorothalonil. The most common insect pests include leaf miners, scarab beetles, caterpillars and mites. We can use trapping methods to trap and kill them, and can also use targeted agents for spraying and killing, such as dimethoate emulsion and trichlorfon.