Loquat Cultivation Techniques Tutorial, Latest Methods Detailed

The loquat tastes delicious and contains various nutrients such as fructose, glucose, iron, calcium, and vitamins A, B, and C. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that the loquat fruit has the effects of moisturizing the lungs, relieving cough, and quenching thirst, and it can be eaten by most people. When eating loquat, it must be peeled. Besides being eaten fresh, loquat flesh can also be made into canned fruit in syrup or brewed into wine. According to the “Compendium of Materia Medica”, “loquat can nourish the five internal organs and moisten the heart and lungs.” The entire loquat plant is a treasure; besides the fruit, loquat flowers, loquat seeds, and other parts each have their own benefits. Loquat is a subtropical evergreen fruit tree, more cold-resistant than citrus. It can be planted in areas where the annual average temperature is above 12℃-15℃, the winter temperature does not drop below -6℃, and the annual rainfall is above 1000 mm.

Orchard Establishment

1. Selection of orchard site: First, choose a location with convenient transportation to establish the orchard. Loquat has strong adaptability to soil, but deep, fertile, slightly acidic soil with a pH of about 6-6.5 is best.

2. Orchard soil improvement: Because the loquat root system is shallow, has weak expansion ability, and poor wind resistance, we must carry out deep plowing to improve the soil, or trench green manuring, or large-hole green manuring, and plant the seedlings on the trenches or large holes (where the soil layer is less than 50 cm, blasting should be used to improve the soil). Thereafter, every year expand the holes outward, deep plow, and press in green manure to improve soil aeration and fertility, guide roots deeper into the soil, enhance root growth, expand the root distribution, make the plants grow robustly, and increase wind resistance. For flat land or clay soil, a drainage trench 40 cm wide and 50-60 cm deep should be opened every 2-4 rows.

3. Seedling planting

① Planting time: In areas where winters are colder, loquat should be planted in spring to avoid frost damage. In most areas of the south, where winters are warm, planting can be done from September to March of the following year, but October-November is best.

② Seedling treatment: Before planting, the seedlings must be soaked in a fungicide such as carbendazim for 15-30 minutes, soaking the seedlings up to more than 10 cm above the graft union. This is one of the key measures for improving the survival rate. Dip in mud slurry before planting. Because loquat leaves are large and transpiration is high, 1/2-2/3 of all leaves should be cut off at planting, and all tender shoots should be cut off. Spray water on the leaves 3-4 times a day.

③ Planting density: For dwarf, dense, early-bearing orchards, planting can be done at a spacing of 1 by 3 m or 1.5 by 2 m (222 plants planted) and 2 by 3 m (111 plants per mu).

④ Planting method: When planting, spread the root system evenly and press in soil layer by layer, just covering the root crown, and make the root crown 10-20 cm higher than the surrounding ground. Then build an earth ridge around the plant and water the settling water inside the ridge, 20-25 kg per plant. It must be watered sufficiently and thoroughly; this is the key to improving seedling survival rate. After the water seeps into the soil, cover with a layer of fine soil, and finally cover the tree disk with plastic film over an area of 1 sq m to maintain soil moisture and raise ground temperature. If there is prolonged drought after planting, continue watering.

Fertilization Management

Loquat is an evergreen fruit tree with luxuriant leaves and abundant flowers, and its fertilizer demand is greater than that of deciduous fruit trees. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium should be used in combination. Young trees mainly need nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer, while mature trees should also be given potassium fertilizer. Fertilization time must be determined in combination with shoot and root growth. Loquat shoots have 4 growth peaks in a year, mainly: spring shoots (February-April), summer shoots (May-June), autumn shoots (August-September), and winter shoots (November-December), with spring, summer, and autumn shoots being the main ones. The root activity of loquat and the growth of aboveground shoots clearly alternate. Generally, root growth occurs about 2 weeks earlier than shoot growth, with 3-4 growth peaks in a year: the first from late January to early March, with the largest growth increment; the second from mid-May to mid-June; the third from mid-August to September; and the fourth from October to late November. Combining the growth characteristics of roots and shoots, mature orchards generally need fertilization only three times a year.

1. The first application is spring shoot fertilizer, applied in early to mid-February, when the root system is at its first growth peak, making nutrient absorption easier. Its main role is to promote spring shoots and enlarge the fruit. Since spring shoots can become the bearing shoots of the year and the base shoots of summer and autumn shoots, this fertilization is relatively important, accounting for about 30% of the whole year. It mainly uses quick-acting fertilizer, and potassium fertilizer is also applied at this time to promote the expansion of young fruit. Per mu, 30 kg of urea, 15 kg of superphosphate (phosphorus fertilizer), 30 kg of potassium sulfate (potassium fertilizer), and about 1000 kg of human and livestock manure water can be applied.

2. The second application is summer shoot fertilizer, applied from mid-May to early June after fruit harvest (for late-maturing varieties, apply before harvest). This coincides with the second root growth peak, mainly to promote summer shoots and promote flower bud differentiation in July-August. Because summer shoots emerge abundantly and uniformly, and most can form bearing mother branches in the same year, promoting summer shoots is the main measure to ensure high yields year after year. Therefore, this fertilization amount is very large, accounting for about 50% of the whole year. It uses quick-acting chemical fertilizer combined with organic fertilizer, and all phosphorus fertilizer is applied (to favor flower bud differentiation). Generally, per mu, 100 kg of urea, 30 kg of phosphate fertilizer (superphosphate), and 2000 kg-3000 kg of organic fertilizer are applied.

4. The third application is autumn fertilizer or pre-flowering fertilizer, applied from September to early October, after heading and before flowering. It accounts for about 20% of the whole year, mainly to promote good flowering, improve fruit set, and increase cold resistance for overwintering. It mainly uses slow-acting fertilizer, with 10 kg of urea and 1000-1500 kg of organic fertilizer per mu.

5. Fertilization for young trees follows the principle of light and frequent application. From planting survival to budbreak, apply the first fertilizer, mainly quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer plus quick-acting phosphorus fertilizer and clear manure water. Thereafter, apply fertilizer once every 1 month until October. For the first time, apply 2.5 kg of urea, 5 kg of superphosphate, and 250 kg of clear manure water per mu, increasing month by month thereafter. In the second year, apply fertilizer once each in February, April, June, August, and October. After the seedlings survive planting and sprout in spring, from April to May, about every 10 days, spray once with monopotassium phosphate plus Yunda 120 or brassinolide, plus fungicides and insecticides for disease and pest control, spraying continuously 4-5 times. Adopting this technical measure is extremely critical for improving seedling survival rate.

Orchard Management

1. Orchard intercropping: In young loquat orchards, legume crops, vegetables, strawberries, etc. can be intercropped between rows. However, planting green manure is best; cut it down from April to August and cover it in the tree disk. In mature orchards, from April to September, weeds or crop straw, etc. can be used to cover the tree disk, and during autumn fertilization or hole expansion and soil improvement, they can be pressed into the orchard together, which can both enrich the soil and keep the soil moist in summer, lower ground temperature, and benefit plant growth. Winter covering of the tree disk is beneficial for loquat overwintering. In winter, cultivate the whole orchard once, at a depth of 10-20 cm.

2. Deep plowing of the orchard: For orchards improved by trenching and planted in large holes, in autumn the holes should be expanded, deep plowed, and pressed with weeds, straw, phosphate fertilizer, etc. The whole orchard should be turned within 3-5 years. This helps guide the root system to grow downward and increases fertilizer absorption capacity.

3. Drainage and irrigation: If there is excessive rainfall during fruit ripening, loquat fruit is prone to poor coloring and cracking, so in rainy areas attention should be paid to drainage. During the spring drought, which coincides with young fruit development (March-April), appropriate irrigation should be given. Summer drought has a serious impact on flower bud differentiation and the growth and development of flower clusters, especially in August-September; if the weather is dry, irrigation should be given to combat drought.

Training and Pruning

Training and pruning are the key to the success or failure of a dense-planted loquat orchard, and the most important technical link.

1. Training

Loquat branching has obvious regularity: the terminal bud has strong growth vigor, while the axillary buds are small, inconspicuous, and weak in growth vigor. When buds sprout, the terminal bud and several nearby axillary buds produce shoots, while the lower axillary buds all become latent buds. The terminal bud is the central branch extending upward, while the axillary buds are side branches expanding in all directions. Therefore, the central trunk of loquat is very obvious, and the tree shows obvious layering. To adapt to this characteristic, dense orchards often use the small-canopy trunk layered form (3 by 2 m) and the fan form (2 by 1.5 m). The training methods are as follows:

① Small-canopy trunk layered form: Evolved from the trunk layered form. This tree form has high yield and large load-bearing capacity, and is suitable for dense loquat orchards with a spacing of 3 by 2 m (111 plants per mu). The trunk height is 30-40 cm. The first layer has 4 main branches forming a 60-70 degree angle with the central trunk, the second layer has 3 main branches forming a 45 degree angle with the central trunk, and the third layer has 2 main branches forming a 30 degree angle with the central trunk. Training is completed in 3-4 years, and after formation the tree height is about 2.5 m. Later, as the tree age increases, the top should be lowered and the center opened to reduce the number of main branch layers. The training method is: select 30-40 cm seedlings for planting, do no pruning after planting, wait for the terminal bud and side buds (axillary buds) to sprout, let the terminal bud grow naturally upward, and select and retain 4 axillary bud branches as the first layer of main branches, extending in 4 directions, making a 70 degree angle with the central trunk (can be fixed with bamboo poles). For the remaining shoots, in early to mid-July when shoot growth stops, twist the shoots, ring-bark, and flatten them to promote flower formation. For side branches sprouted the second time from the central trunk, if the distance from the first layer is less than 40 cm, twist the shoot at 30 cm; if the branch distance from the first layer is more than 40 cm, select it as a second-layer main branch, forming a 50-60 degree angle with the central trunk. In the same way, select and retain the third and fourth layers of main branches (forming a 30-45 degree angle with the center). After the fourth layer of main branches is retained, cut off the central trunk. For the remaining branches, except that the terminal buds of the main branches continue their growth, other side branches and water sprouts on the back are all twisted and ring-barked in mid-July to promote flowering.

② Fan form: The fan form has good ventilation and light transmission, high early yield, good productivity, excellent quality, and quick results. It is suitable for dense orchards. Suitable row spacing is 2 m, plant spacing is 1.5 m, and 222 plants are planted per mu. The main training method steps are: in the first year when planting seedlings, plant along a north-south row direction. The first layer of branches is inclined toward the row direction, in southeast and northwest row directions, forming a 45 degree angle with the row direction, and all branches extending toward the plant spacing are pruned off. The second layer of branches is 50-60 cm from the first layer, in the same direction as the first layer, and tree height is controlled at about 2 m.

2. Pruning

For young trees (1-3 years old, during the training period), generally do not prune; let them produce more shoots. Except for letting the main branches grow at the predetermined angle, for the remaining shoots, twist and ring-bark them in July when new shoots stop growing. Flatten non-main branches coming from the central trunk to promote early flower formation. For overly dense branches, appropriately thin them in the second and third years.

Mature trees are mainly pruned twice, in spring and summer. Spring pruning is carried out in February-March together with fruit thinning, mainly removing weak branches, densely growing branches, and water sprouts, increasing the amount of spring shoots, and reducing alternate bearing. Summer pruning is carried out after fruit harvest, mainly removing densely growing branches, slender and weak branches, and diseased and pest-infested branches to improve light, and cutting back the central trunk of overly tall plants to lower the top and open the center. Also cut back some branches that have shifted outward, so that the row spacing is maintained at 0.8-1 m, and plants do not cross too much. Remove fruit stubs or the fruit axes of bearing branches to promote summer shoots and achieve high yields year after year.