The Latest Sea Buckthorn Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Sea buckthorn, also known as vinegar willow, yellow sour thorn, sour thorn willow, etc., is a deciduous shrub plant of the genus Hippophae in the family Elaeagnaceae. Its cultivation value is extremely high. It is drought-tolerant and resistant to wind and sand, and can survive on salinized land. It is widely used for soil and water conservation. In northwestern China, large quantities of sea buckthorn are planted for desert greening. Its fruit has a high vitamin C content and has long enjoyed the reputation of king of vitamin C. Now let us take a look at the planting techniques for sea buckthorn!

Growth Habits of Sea Buckthorn

Sea buckthorn is a sun-loving tree species that prefers light. It is not very strict about soil requirements and is distributed on chestnut cinnamon soil, gray cinnamon soil, brown cinnamon soil, meadow soil, and black loessial soil. It can also grow on gravelly soil, mildly saline-alkali soil, sandy soil, and even in arsenic sandstone and semi-rocky semi-soil areas, but it does not like overly heavy clay soil. It has certain requirements for precipitation, generally requiring an annual precipitation of more than 400 mm, but it does not like waterlogging. It is not very strict about temperature requirements. The extreme minimum temperature can reach -50°C, and the extreme maximum temperature can reach 50°C. The annual sunshine hours are 1500 to 3300 hours.

Propagation Techniques for Sea Buckthorn

1. Sowing: Before spring sowing, soak the seeds until swollen, sow in rows with a row spacing of 10 to 15 cm, and a depth of 3 cm. Seedlings emerge after 1 week. After the first pair of true leaves appears, begin thinning. When the fourth pair of true leaves appears, thin a second time, keeping a plant spacing of 5 cm. Autumn sowing should be carried out in late autumn. After sowing, cover the seedbed surface, water in winter to seal in frost, and seedlings emerge the following year.

2. Cuttings: Select moderately mature growing branches for cuttings. The best cutting period is from mid-June to the end of August. When inserting, the row and plant spacing is (10 to 15) × (5 to 10) cm. Transplant in the second spring, with a row and plant spacing of (30 to 60) × (15 to 17) cm. Use 1- to 2-year-old vegetatively propagated seedlings for afforestation. Dense planting is preferable, with a row and plant spacing of 4 × 2 m.

Planting Techniques for Sea Buckthorn

1. Growth cycle: The growth of sea buckthorn is divided into four stages: seedling stage, fruiting stage, peak fruiting stage, and decline stage. Within two years after planting, underground growth dominates, while aboveground growth is slow. Growth is vigorous from 3 to 4 years, and flowering and fruiting begin. Adult sea buckthorn trees are 2 to 2.5 m tall, with a crown width of 1.5 to 2 m. They enter the peak fruiting stage in the fifth year. Generally, after 15 years of tree age, they enter the decline stage.

2. Planting density: About 220 sea buckthorn trees are planted per mu, with a plant and row spacing of 1.5 × 2 m. Sea buckthorn is dioecious, so pay attention to a reasonable ratio of female to male plants when planting. Generally, 8 female plants are paired with 1 male plant. The size of the planting hole depends on the size of the seedling, generally 35 cm in diameter and 35 cm deep. Two-year-old softwood cutting seedlings are preferable.

3. Shaping and pruning: Diseased branches and dead branches should be promptly cleaned and pruned away from sea buckthorn trees, and diseased bark should be scraped off. Apply wound healing and antiseptic film promptly to cut and pruning wounds to promote wound healing and prevent invasion and infection by pathogens. During the flower bud stage, young fruit stage, and fruit expansion stage, spray Zhuangguodiling to thicken the fruit stalk, prevent flower drop, improve pollination ability, increase fruit set rate, and accelerate expansion speed.

4. Promoting flower differentiation: The alternating bearing of sea buckthorn trees causes an imbalance in the tree's load, which affects both balanced returns and orchard tree health. During the annual flower bud differentiation period, apply Cuhuawang No. 2 once around the trunk, which can greatly promote flower bud differentiation, increase flowering and fruit set rates, suppress excessive shoot growth, and thoroughly balance alternate bearing.

5. Disease control: The main disease of sea buckthorn is shrinkage disease. When planting, disease-resistant varieties should be selected, and field management should be strengthened. Loosen the soil regularly to enhance soil permeability and improve the plant's disease resistance. Chemical control begins in late April. Open holes and irrigate with 500 times dilution of 40% carbendazim suspension concentrate or 800 times dilution of thiophanate-methyl, once a month for 3 to 5 consecutive times.

6. Pest control: Common pests of sea buckthorn include spring cankerworm, apple small leaf roller, sea buckthorn aphid, and the trunk-boring pest willow bat moth. During the occurrence period of spring cankerworm and apple small leaf roller, spray 2500 times dilution of 25% mieshabi or 3000 times dilution of 20% fenvalerate. To control sea buckthorn aphid, spray 2500 to 3000 times dilution of 10% imidacloprid.

7. Timely harvesting: The maturity period of sea buckthorn fruit is marked by its distinctive color and fruit size, and the harvest period is determined accordingly. Because it has many thorns, small fruit, thin skin that breaks easily, and short fruit stalks that do not fall off naturally, harvesting presents many difficulties, so the labor used for harvesting accounts for almost 90% of the labor in cultivating sea buckthorn.

8. Fresh-keeping techniques: The storage conditions for sea buckthorn fruit are very strict. If freshly harvested sea buckthorn fruit cannot be sold temporarily, it must be stored for a short time. Stored fruit must be kept in an environment with low temperature, ventilation, and the ability to remove harmful gases. The storage temperature should preferably be 1 to 5°C, and the relative humidity of the air should be maintained at 90 to 95%.