The Latest Pistachio Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Pistachios are mainly produced in Syria, Iraq, Iran, the southwestern part of the former Soviet Union and southern Europe. They are also cultivated in Xinjiang, China, where pistachios are suited to normal growth in the region, offer good economic returns, and can also serve as an excellent tree species for soil and water conservation.

Growth habits

Pistachios are light-loving, growing on sunny slopes at an altitude of 600 m to 1,200 m, in deep calcareous soil; they grow quite well in well-drained loose sandy loam, and the plants are not tolerant of damp conditions and are afraid of waterlogging.

Orchard site selection

Although pistachios are tolerant of poor soil, drought and cold and are extremely adaptable, for production it is best to choose plots of loam and sandy loam with deep soil layers and good aeration for planting. Because pistachios are highly susceptible to late frost damage, care should be taken to choose the middle of hillsides, open flat land, valley land and south-facing slopes sheltered from wind and facing the sun for establishing the orchard, and do not establish the orchard on the windward side of the prevailing wind direction.

Seedling planting

For pistachio planting, a row spacing of 3 m × 4 m or 4 m × 5 m is suitable, with 33 to 55 plants per mu. In dense planting orchards, 83 to 111 plants per mu can be planted, and either finished seedlings or bud seedlings can be used for planting. Before planting, dig planting holes 60 cm deep and 60 cm in diameter; when planting, keep the roots level with the ground, firm the soil while planting, and then irrigate thoroughly.

Fertilizer and water management

1. Scientific fertilization: young trees are given base fertilizer once a year, about 20 kg per plant. Bearing trees are fertilized once every 2 to 3 years. Fertilization during the year is generally divided into 3 applications: the first should be in early spring or autumn and winter, mainly with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. The second is during the fruit enlargement stage, mainly with nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. The third is after fruit harvest, mainly with organic fertilizers such as compost and barnyard manure, usually applied together with deep autumn plowing.

2. Timely irrigation: winter irrigation before the onset of winter gives better results.

Training and pruning

Pistachios are light-loving with a strong trunk, so in high-density orchards the free spindle shape is often mainly used, while in low-density orchards the natural open-center shape is mainly used.

1. Free spindle shape: characterized by a central leader, with 10 to 15 main branches staggered at different positions on the central leader, the main branches maintaining 80 to 90 degrees with the trunk, and medium and small fruiting branch groups borne directly on the main branches.

2. Natural open-center shape: the main feature is good ventilation and light penetration, with a trunk height of about 40 to 50 cm, selecting and retaining 3 to 4 main branches on the trunk with a basal angle of 45 to 75 degrees, 2 to 4 side branches, and branch groups arranged on the side branches.

Pistachios have strong branching ability, and the pruning principle is to thin more and cut less. Pistachios mainly bear fruit on short fruiting branches; young trees and trees in the early fruiting stage grow vigorously and have more medium and long fruiting branches, so generally when new shoots grow to about 50 to 60 cm, pinch the tips in time to promote secondary shoots and increase fruiting branches, retain back branches and upright branches, and twist the tips in time; generally the tree shape can be formed by the winter of the second year after planting.

Flower and fruit management

1. Strengthen comprehensive orchard management (that is, soil, fertilizer and water management) to enhance tree vigor, promote flower bud differentiation, and apply more organic fertilizer.

2. Reasonably arrange pollinizer trees. Pistachios are self-unfruitful, so generally every 2 rows of the main cultivar are interplanted with 1 row of a pollinizer cultivar, creating conditions for normal pollination of pistachios and helping to increase the fruit-setting rate.