The Latest Fig Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial

The fig is native to Mediterranean countries and is one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees in the world, having been introduced to our country as early as the Han Dynasty. The fig is a syconium formed by the enlargement of the receptacle, with the small flowers hidden inside the receptacle; people can only see the false fruit formed by the receptacle and cannot see the flowers, hence it is called the “fig”, and it is a perennial deciduous fruit tree. The fig has a relatively long fruiting period, with summer figs and autumn figs. The fig has strong adaptability and is not demanding about soil; it can grow normally in environments where the temperature does not drop below -12 degrees C. In the cold season of northern China, it can also be planted if cold-proof and heat-preservation measures are taken. It is drought-tolerant, shade-tolerant, and salt-alkali-tolerant, and has the advantages of fast growth, early fruiting, and high yield.

Cuttage Propagation Techniques

There are many ways to propagate figs, but cuttage propagation is generally most commonly used; cuttings can be taken in most months of the year, and the survival rate is high.

1. Site selection: choose soil free of salt and alkali. Although it is resistant to salt and alkali, if the salt and alkali content is slightly high, the cuttings are prone to damage and death during the cuttage period, so fertile sandy loam soil and soil with high organic matter content are preferable.

2. Collecting cuttings: collect them in autumn after leaf fall when the sap stops flowing; if collecting cuttings in spring, do so before bud break. Take sprouting branches from the ground level of the mother tree or from the lower part of the mother tree trunk as cuttings. To ensure storage quality, the cuttings should be soaked in clean water for about 3 days before storage; after taking them out, layer one layer of cuttings and one layer of fine sand, and water moderately to keep the soil moist.

3. Cuttage method: use cuttings of suitable thickness, with smooth cut surfaces free of burrs and cracks, and a length of about 20 cm for cuttage. Adapt to local conditions by first breaking up the soil finely and applying fertilizer to make a bed; generally the bed width is 50 cm, the bed height is about 33 cm, or make small ridges 35 cm high with a ridge spacing of about 35 cm. Make the ridges, insert the cuttings, and water as you go, with a cuttage depth of 17—18 cm. The cuttage time should be controlled to about 3 days before the local period when healing and rooting can occur; cuttage at this time can reduce the influence of adverse external climate, and the healing and growth speed is fast.

Management After Cuttage

Although fig cuttings heal and root easily, attention must still be paid to management after cuttage. The main points of management are:

1. During the period when the healing tissue forms, the temperature requirement is relatively high, so the low temperature should be raised in time; at the same time, strengthen the water supply. In the later stage of healing and rooting, the cuttings grow a large number of fibrous roots; at this time the temperature gradually rises, so attention should be paid to increasing soil moisture.

2. After healing and rooting and during the leafing stage, avoid watering with muddy water, and be sure to prevent leaf smothering, especially for low-bed cuttage.

3. Persist in watering according to soil moisture conditions; when the soil is moist, water less or not at all; if the soil is dry, water more, and keeping the soil in a moist state is suitable.

4. Fig seedlings are not cold-tolerant; before the first freeze or late spring cold, do a good job of cold-proofing (freeze-proofing) and heat preservation. The simple method is to bury the soil well or cover well with grass curtains, leaves, rice straw, and other mulching materials.

5. When the seedlings enter the vegetative growth stage, persist in lightly applying a compound fertilizer mainly based on nitrogen fertilizer once a month. The fertilization amount gradually increases as the seedling age grows. And as the seedling root system deepens, deep furrow application gives better results, but be careful to avoid damaging the roots when fertilizing.