What is the latest profit per mu of a prickly ash tree?

Prickly ash is a deciduous small tree of the genus Zanthoxylum in the family Rutaceae, widely distributed in China, from southern Northeast China in the north, to the northern slopes of the Five Ridges in the south, to the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the southeast, and to southeastern Tibet in the southwest, with extremely high cultivation value; the peel can be used as a seasoning and aromatic oil can be extracted from it, it can also be used as medicine, and the seeds can be eaten or processed into soap. Below let us take a look at how much profit 1 mu of prickly ash trees brings!

How much profit does 1 mu of prickly ash trees bring?

Generally speaking, the profit per mu from planting prickly ash is four to five times the income from planting corn, and an income of around 5000 yuan per mu is no problem. About 70 prickly ash trees are planted per mu; they bear fruit after two years, and after three years each tree can yield more than 1 jin of dried prickly ash, after five years each tree yields an average of 2 jin of dried prickly ash, and after eight years each tree yields an average of about 4 jin of dried prickly ash. According to general market prices, each jin of dried prickly ash is around 36 yuan. After three years the income per mu is at least 2600 yuan, after five years the income per mu is 4000 yuan, and after eight years the income per mu is 5000-6000 yuan.

What advantages are there to planting prickly ash trees?

1. Prickly ash trees are especially drought-tolerant; as long as rainfall exceeds 400 mm they can grow.

2. Prickly ash trees have low requirements for soil quality and can grow on hills and mountainous land with relatively poor soil conditions.

3. Prickly ash trees have relatively few pests and diseases, so they do not require overly meticulous management.

High-yield cultivation techniques for prickly ash trees

1. Seed collection: Select middle-aged trees with robust growth, no pests or diseases, high yield and no alternate-year bearing as mother trees for seed collection, and pick by hand with scissors in August-September after the fruit is fully ripe. Place the harvested seeds in a ventilated, dry place to dry naturally in the shade; never expose them to the sun, to avoid affecting the germination rate. Collect after the peel splits and the seeds fall out on their own.

2. Seedling raising: Before sowing, prickly ash seeds are treated to promote germination, generally by soaking in 1% laundry detergent for 2 days or in concentrated sulfuric acid for a moment, then removing and rubbing clean with clear water before sowing. A breeding nursery with sandy soil or loam that drains well and faces the sun while sheltered from the wind is best. Prickly ash seeds must not be sown deep; generally 2-3 cm is enough. After sowing, cover with decomposed organic fertilizer and water once every 1-2 days to help preserve soil moisture, prevent crusting, and increase the seedling emergence rate.

3. Planting out: Planting out can be done in both spring and autumn, and pits need to be dug for planting, with the size of the pit suitable for spreading out the root system. The soil put into the pit is best weathered by wind and sun, then mixed with fertilizer and filled into the pit. Prickly ash should be planted sparsely rather than densely; in arid and semi-arid areas the density after maturity should be within the range of 100-120 trees per mu, while in areas with deep soil layers, good soil quality and moderate rainfall the mature density is about 60 trees per mu.

4. Fertilizer and water: Prickly ash has a well-developed root system and a strong capacity to conserve soil and water, so in arid areas there should be measures to preserve soil moisture, supplemented with necessary base fertilizer and a small amount of foliar fertilizer to meet the fertilizer and water needs of prickly ash. Generally, after autumn and during spring plowing, apply organic fertilizers such as barnyard manure and compost once each. The amount of fertilizer applied depends on tree age and fruit yield, generally more than 20 kg per tree. Foliar topdressing starts from the flowering period, about once a month, sprayed in the early morning or evening, for a total of 2-3 sprays.

5. Pruning: Prickly ash trees like light and sprout branches quickly; reasonable shaping and pruning can make the tree framework firm, the branches robust, and ensure high and stable yields year after year. Pruning is best done in late autumn, removing excess branches at the base, keeping 3-5 main branches, completing the shaping over 4-5 years, and finally removing the central branch to open up the center. For middle-aged trees, remove diseased, pest-infested, crossing and water-sprout branches within the crown; when pruning aging trees around 25 years old, remove large branches, weak branches and diseased branches.

6. Disease prevention

① Brown spot disease: At the beginning of the disease, pale yellow chlorotic spots appear on the leaf surface, then gradually expand into irregular large brown spots; when the disease is severe it can cause leaves to wither, yellow and fall off. Bordeaux mixture, carbendazim, etc. can be sprayed in the early stage of the disease for control.

② Dry rot: Strengthening fertilizer and water management and pruning reasonably to enhance tree vigor can reduce the occurrence of this disease. After onset, use a sterilized knife to cut the bark down to the xylem, and apply Bordeaux mixture or thiophanate-methyl to effectively prevent the spread of the diseased spots.

③ Aphids: Aphids often gather in large numbers densely on young shoots and leaves to suck sap and cause damage, affecting photosynthesis and causing leaves to yellow and curl; in severe cases they can cause prickly ash to shed leaves early. Phoxim, fenvalerate, etc. can be sprayed for control.

④ Prickly ash swallowtail butterfly: Its larvae feed on buds, leaves and other young tender parts, and in severe cases can strip all the leaves of a whole tree. Removing overwintering pupae by hand in winter and spring can reduce the pest population density the following year. When damage occurs, trichlorfon or dichlorvos can be sprayed for control.

⑤ Longhorn beetles: Adult longhorn beetles have the habit of resting quietly on branches at noon, so they can be shaken off and killed; larvae can also be hooked and killed with wire, or aluminum phosphide (1/8-1/4 of a 0.6 g tablet) can be inserted into the insect hole and then sealed tightly with sticky mud, and dichlorvos or trichlorfon can also be sprayed for control.