How to grow figs: The latest cultivation techniques and methods tutorial

Fig is also known as the milk fig. The fruit is soft and sweet, with a distinctive flavor, rich in fructose and glucose that are easily absorbed by the human body, and the content of carotene and vitamin C is also relatively high. It also contains a variety of digestive enzymes that can help digestion, making it a very good health fruit. At the same time, traditional Chinese medicine holds that the fig fruit is sweet in nature and neutral in property, with multiple effects such as stimulating the appetite, moistening the intestines, reducing inflammation, detoxifying, promoting lactation, stopping diarrhea and treating hemorrhoids. There are many folk remedies, often using the branches, leaves, roots and fruits as medicine. In recent years, experiments on mice have shown that figs also have a certain anti-cancer effect. Ripe figs do not keep well for storage and transport, but they can be processed into various products such as candied fruit, jam, dried fruit and canned fruit in syrup.

Figs are easy to propagate, simple to manage, bear fruit early with few pests and diseases, and have clean branches and leaves. They have a strong ability to absorb and resist toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide, can eliminate pollution and purify the air, and the root system is tolerant of relatively heavy salinity and alkalinity (generally up to 0.3%-0.4%). Therefore, developing fig production in front of and behind homes, around factories and mines, and especially in the vast coastal tidal flat areas, has great prospects.

Main types and varieties

Figs belong to the mulberry family, genus Ficus. Only the common fig is cultivated as a fruit tree. According to whether normal fruiting requires pollination and according to flower type, it can be divided into 4 groups or varieties. Most cultivated varieties belong to the common fig group, in which the syconium contains only female flowers and can set fruit parthenocarpically without pollination. According to the fruit ripening and harvest period, it can also be divided into three types: autumn-fruit-only type, summer-fruit-only type, and summer-autumn dual-purpose type.

The varieties currently planted in China are basically introduced from Europe, America and Japan. Some original names have been forgotten, and different names have been given. Cultivated varieties in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River include Brunswick, Brown Turkey, California Black, Penglai Persimmon, Masui Dauphine, Albania No. 1, Xinyang 88 and Lukang No. 1, among others. In North China, winter temperatures are relatively low and figs are prone to freezing damage, so adaptability of varieties should be considered when introducing them.

Growth and fruiting habits

The fig is a subtropical deciduous shrub or small tree. Under suitable conditions, a long-lived one can also grow into a large tree. The fig root system is well developed, drought-resistant and salt-tolerant, and prefers aerobic conditions while avoiding waterlogging. Branches grow quickly with few branches, and each year only several buds at the branch tips extend upward and outward. On new shoots, except for the basal nodes, most leaf axils can form 2-3 buds, one of which is round and large and is a flower bud. After entering the fruiting stage, except for water sprouts, almost all new shoots in the canopy can become fruiting shoots. Therefore, fruiting can begin 2-3 years after planting, and full fruiting stage can be reached in 7-10 years.

After further differentiation and development, the flower bud becomes the unique syconium fruit. The syconium fruit is fleshy and sac-like, with a small opening at the top that is concealed by surrounding scales. On the inner wall of the syconium are arranged thousands of tiny flowers, forming a hidden inflorescence, so from the outside only the fruit is seen and not the flowers. The tiny flowers can set fruit parthenocarpically without pollination. The edible part is actually a multiple fruit formed by the common enlargement of the syconium and the many small fruits enclosed within it.

The fruit development period is 50-60 days. Fruits in the middle and lower parts of new shoots mature in autumn of the same year in the Yangtze River basin and are called autumn fruits. Fruits in the upper part of new shoots that develop later mostly do not mature in time and shrink and drop when cold weather arrives. Flower buds on the top several nodes of new shoots differentiate in late autumn, are covered by scales, and can overwinter safely in warm winter areas. After the weather warms in the following spring, they continue to differentiate and develop into summer fruits. Normally mature summer fruits generally have better quality. Varieties belong to different types according to their ability to form summer fruits and autumn fruits.

Cultivation technical characteristics

1. Propagation and planting. Fig branches root very easily, and root suckers also readily occur. When propagating nursery stock, methods such as cuttings, layering and division can all be used. In production, cuttings are used for large-scale propagation of nursery stock, and the survival rate is extremely high. In the Yangtze River basin, hardwood cuttings are carried out in mid-to-late March. Any branch with short internodes and a thickness of 1 cm-1.5 cm can be used as a cutting, and each cutting should carry 2-3 buds. For specific operation techniques, refer to grapes. The cutting site should avoid continuous cropping to prevent the spread and damage of nematodes. If plastic greenhouses are used in winter for raising seedlings in nutrient bags, seedlings can be produced earlier.

When establishing an orchard, suitable varieties should be selected according to different requirements and site conditions. For example, yellow varieties should be selected for canning and processing; cold-resistant varieties should be selected in places with low winter temperatures (around minus 15 degrees); salt-resistant varieties should be selected for tidal flat land; and large-fruited varieties should be selected for fresh fruit markets. The orchard site should avoid continuous cropping.

The planting distance is generally 3 m-4 m. In areas with good soil or a warm climate, where the canopy is large, the spacing can be expanded to 5 m-7 m. In the Yangtze River basin, planting can be done in autumn or spring. Autumn planting should be earlier, and spring planting is suitable in mid-to-late March. Coastal tidal flat land is suitable for autumn planting, while the Huaibei area is suitable for spring planting.

2. Training, pruning and fertilizer-water management. Under normal circumstances, the branches in the fig canopy are not dense, so it is suitable to train a central-leader form without layers or a natural open-center form with multiple main branches. A shrub-like canopy formed directly by branching from the ground can also be used. When training, cut the nursery stock back at a height of 40 cm-50 cm to set the trunk, and thereafter retain 4-6 main branches on the whole tree, with or without a central leader. A certain spacing should be maintained between the main branches. Each main branch should be pruned and retained at 40 cm-60 cm each year, and 2-3 secondary main branches should be arranged on it at appropriate intervals to expand the fruiting surface.

After the tree form is completed, each year only remove useless water sprouts, crowded branches, drooping branches and dead branches, and retain as many strong branches as possible for fruiting. For varieties mainly producing autumn fruits, since the fruiting positions are mostly in the middle and lower parts of the current year's new shoots, the branches can be moderately shortened. For summer-fruit varieties, flower buds are mostly borne at the top of the branches, so vigorous branches should not be shortened in winter, so as not to affect yield. For fig trees with few branches or fruiting positions that move outward year by year, heavier renewal pruning can be done in winter to promote new branches. Some branches can be cut back to retain 2-3 leaf buds at the base.

Fig branches have loose tissue and heal slowly at the cut, and after winter pruning, a section of branch below the cut often dries up, affecting the growth of the bud below the cut. Therefore, all large pruning and saw cuts should be coated with grafting wax or other protective agents, while for small branches the cutting position can be appropriately raised.

Base fertilizer for figs should be applied around leaf fall in combination with winter plowing. Topdressing is best applied in stages before rapid new shoot growth and during the period of rapid swelling of the syconium fruit. Figs are not strict about water requirements, but drainage should be noted during the rainy season. In coastal areas during typhoon season, it is best to set up supports among the plants for protection.

3. Winter protection. Figs prefer a warm and slightly dry climate and have low cold resistance. When cultivated in temperate regions, the branches and trunk are often prone to freezing damage, especially young trees under 5 years old. When encountering low temperatures of minus 16 degrees to minus 18 degrees in winter, there is a risk of the whole plant freezing to death. In the Huaibei area, soil should be banked up around the base of the trunk for winter protection, to a height of about 35 cm, and the soil should be removed after thawing in spring. Large branches and trunks can be wrapped with straw for winter protection. As the tree ages, wintering ability gradually increases. Once the plant is frozen, frozen branches should be cut off promptly, and after sprouting, attention should be paid to selecting new branches to replace them. Sometimes even if the aboveground part is completely frozen to death, strong branches can still sprout the following spring from the root crown portion that was covered with soil, forming a new canopy.

Main pests and diseases and their control

Figs have relatively few pests and diseases. Among the common ones that cause relatively great damage are mulberry longhorn beetle, root-knot nematode and fruit anthracnose. For the control of mulberry longhorn beetle, refer to the apple section and use poisoned plugs to block the holes. At present, the main control of root-knot nematode is to avoid continuous cropping in old orchards and to carry out quarantine and disinfection of nursery stock. When conditions permit, soil disinfection can also be carried out. For fruit anthracnose, spray 200 times lime double-strength Bordeaux mixture or 75% chlorothalonil 600-800 times solution early before the disease occurs in summer and autumn. For the latter, the pre-harvest interval (the number of days from the last application to harvest) is 7-14 days.

Harvesting, storage and processing

Figs have a relatively long ripening period, and the fruits gradually mature in summer and autumn, so they should be harvested in batches. Fully ripe fruits have a slightly open small opening at the top and obvious net-like markings on the outer skin, with the best flavor, but they do not keep well for storage and transport. Fruits for fresh market sale should be harvested early. Fig fruits are very juicy, and long-term contact can easily cause skin inflammation, so silicone gloves should be worn when harvesting frequently.

Ripe figs rot and lose flavor very easily, and red varieties also discolor easily. Even for short-term storage, a low temperature of about 0 degrees and a relative humidity of 85%-90% are needed. Generally, they should be processed soon after harvest and not stored for long.

If short-term storage and transport are needed, the fruits can first be dipped in SM fresh-keeping agent, removed and air-dried, and then placed in fruit boxes for transport. If sealed fruit turnover boxes with silicone windows are used, the fresh-keeping effect is even better.

After fully ripe figs are peeled, soaked in concentrated sugar solution for 1-2 days, then removed and dried, candied dried figs can be made, with a special flavor. In addition, fig jam can also be made.