Latest Plum Seedling Prices and a Detailed Guide to Planting Methods
Plum is a deciduous tree of the genus Prunus in the rose family, also known as Jiaqingzi, Yuhuang plum, mountain plum, etc. It grows in hillside thickets, sparse mountain valley woods, or by water, at the bottom of ditches, and along roadsides, and is cultivated in every province across China. The fruit ripens between July and August, plump and round, exquisitely delicate, beautiful in form, sweet in taste, and rich in nutrients. Now let us take a look together at plum seedling prices and planting methods!
How much does a plum seedling cost?
The price of plum seedlings is generally around 1 to 3 yuan each, but the price varies greatly between different varieties and specifications of plum seedlings. There are many varieties of plum. China's traditional fine varieties include Furen plum, Jiaqing plum, Xieli plum, Hongxiang plum, Yuhuang plum, Mi plum, Wuyue plum, etc. Introduced foreign plum varieties mainly include Oishiwase, Japanese Plum King, Methley plum, Rose Queen, Black Gem, American Large plum, Changle Niuxin plum, Xianfeng plum, etc.
Planting conditions for plum seedlings
Plum has strong adaptability to climate. As long as the soil layer is relatively deep and has a certain level of fertility, it can be planted in any type of soil. It has relatively high requirements for air and soil moisture and is extremely intolerant of waterlogging. Poor drainage in an orchard often causes root rot, poor growth, or susceptibility to various diseases. Therefore, for production, it is advisable to choose a site with loose soil, good soil aeration and drainage, a deep soil layer, and a low groundwater table to establish the orchard.
Propagation methods for plum seedlings
1. Grafting: The scion for grafting is collected from high-quality, high-yield mother trees. It can be done by budding or cut grafting. Budding is carried out from June to August, and cut grafting from January to February.
2. Cuttage: Cuttings of one-year-old plum branches root very easily and grow into seedlings. Root segments 7 to 8 mm in diameter dug up in winter also root easily when used for cuttings.
3. Division: Mounding soil around the root zone promotes the formation of adventitious buds on horizontal roots. After the buds sprout and send up shoots, the following year the root-sucker seedlings are separated from the mother plant and transplanted as independent small seedlings.
Planting methods for plum seedlings
1. Seedling selection: There are many varieties of plum trees, but plum seedlings with pure variety, complete root systems, vigor, plump buds, no quarantine objects, and no pests or diseases should be selected for planting.
2. Timely planting: Plum trees should be planted before the buds sprout. They exhibit self-incompatibility, so a single cultivar should not be planted alone; different cultivars with the same flowering period should be planted as pollinizers.
3. Rational fertilization:
① The base fertilizer for plum trees is generally dominated by slow-release farmyard manure, such as compost, barnyard manure, crop straw, green manure, fallen leaves, etc. Applying it in autumn is best. For each mature plum tree, apply 50 to 100 kg of farmyard manure.
② Pre-flowering topdressing can be carried out 10 days before plum trees sprout (early April), applying 0.5 to 1 kg of quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer per tree or 25 kg of decomposed human excrement and urine.
③ Post-flowering topdressing for plum trees should promptly apply quick-acting nitrogen and potassium fertilizer to reduce physiological fruit drop, applying 0.5 kg per tree from late May to mid-June.
④ After physiological fruit drop and before the fruit enters the rapid expansion stage (late June to mid-August), apply a quick-acting nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizer, 0.5 to 1 kg per tree.
⑤ Apply topdressing from when the fruit begins to color until the harvest period. This time, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are the main focus. For quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, foliar spraying is preferable at a concentration of 0.2 to 0.3%, applied together with pesticide spraying.
4. Drainage and irrigation: Plum trees need a certain amount of water at every phenological stage throughout the year. Irrigation should be carried out before bud break, during the young fruit expansion stage, and during the new shoot growth stage. Before winter begins, one irrigation of freezing water is needed. In addition, plum trees are afraid of waterlogging, so a drainage system should be built in the plum orchard to avoid suffering from waterlogging damage.
5. Pest and disease control: The main diseases harming plum trees are plum red spot disease and plum gummosis. The main insect pests are the plum fruit moth, aphids, red spiders, etc.
① Red spot disease: Spray 1:2:200 Bordeaux mixture before the plum tree flowers and when the leaf buds unfold. At the same time, clear away diseased leaves and diseased fruit in the plum orchard and destroy them in a centralized manner.
② Gummosis: Strengthen orchard drainage, increase the application of organic fertilizer, improve the tree's disease resistance, promptly control pests and diseases on branches and trunks, reduce pest and disease wounds, scrape off the gumming areas, then apply 5 degrees Baume lime-sulfur mixture, and finally apply white lead oil protective agent.
③ Plum fruit moth: Turn over the tree plate in autumn or spring to destroy the larvae's overwintering sites and reduce the number of overwintering insects. During the peak hatching period of plum fruit moth larvae, spray 5% Fenvalerate EC at 2000 to 4000 times dilution or 40% Triazophos EC at 1000 times dilution.
④ Aphids: Before damaged leaves curl in spring, spray 2.5% Kung Fu EC at 4000 times dilution or 40% Dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution. During the growing season, use 7 parts 40% Dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate stock solution plus 3 parts water, apply the solution with a brush in a band about 6 cm wide around the trunk, and wrap it well with paper strips.