What are the latest cultivation methods for finger citron seedlings?
Finger citron is a shrub or small tree of the genus Citrus in the family Rutaceae. It is a tropical and subtropical plant that prefers a warm, humid environment with plenty of sunlight. It is cultivated in various places south of the Yangtze River in China, and in the southern provinces and regions it is mostly grown in courtyards or orchards. It is usually used as a traditional Chinese medicine, or as an ornamental plant because of its peculiar fruit shape, and it has extremely high cultivation value. Let us take a look below at how finger citron seedlings are cultivated!
Air layering
Air layering propagation of finger citron is suitable for carrying out from May to July. Select a vigorously growing overly tall branch or a branch that has already set fruit securely, make an upward-slanting cut from below on the underside of the branch, reaching deep to the pith, place the cut branch into a felt tube, tie the lower part tightly, fill the tube firmly with soil, tie the upper part tightly, and set up a support. Water every day. When the temperature is high and there is sufficient moisture, roots can form in 20 to 30 days. If there is a finger citron fruit on the layered branch, you must wait until the fruit ripens and turns yellow, about 90 days, before separating it from the mother plant.
Grafting propagation
1. Approach grafting: carried out in early to mid-August to September. For the rootstock, select a vigorous 4- to 5-year-old plant with a stem diameter of 2 to 3 cm. Cut away the branches below the branching point at the base of the stem, leaving only one branch, then shave off some bark on one side of the position where the branch was cut away. Then select a branch that grew in the previous spring or autumn as the scion, similar in thickness to the rootstock, 5 to 7 cm long, and also shave off part of the bark on the lower side of the scion. Then place the cut surface of the rootstock against the cut surface of the scion so that the two surfaces fit closely together, bind tightly in the middle with plastic film, and they can heal in about one week.
2. Cleft side grafting: in early to mid-March, cut the rootstock flat at 5 to 7 cm above the ground, smooth it with a grafting knife, and choose a smooth part slightly into the wood to make a slanting cut, 1 to 1.5 cm deep. The scion should retain 2 to 3 buds, and its lower end should be cut into a wedge shape 1 to 1.5 cm long. Then align one side of the rootstock cut with the scion bark and insert it tightly into the rootstock cut, bind with plastic film, and generally after half a month it will heal and sprout and grow. At this time, loosen the soil and remove weeds. After 45 to 60 days, it begins to shoot. At this point the binding material must be removed, otherwise the new shoots are prone to bending.
Cuttage propagation
1. Cuttings: before cutting, select a vigorous 7- to 8-year-old mother tree, cut off vigorous, pest- and disease-free old healthy branches, remove the leaves and tender shoot tips, and cut them into cuttings 17 to 20 cm long. The survival rate of the cuttings is over 90%, and the seedlings grow very vigorously. Young tree branches or water sprouts must not be used, because such branches often do not easily bear fruit after planting.
2. Land preparation: for the finger citron cutting seedbed, it is best to choose sandy soil with a relatively thick soil layer, so as to facilitate taking out the seedlings later. After the cutting site is selected, plow deeply and harrow finely, at the same time apply human and animal manure water, and then make raised beds 1.3 m wide, usually with furrow ditches about 30 cm wide and about 20 cm deep.
3. Cutting: cutting can be done in spring from February to March and in autumn from August to September, with autumn cutting being the best. When inserting, open horizontal trenches on the bed, with a trench spacing of 23 to 27 cm, and insert the cuttings into the trenches at a plant spacing of 15 to 17 cm. Never insert them upside down. Usually about 12,000 to 15,000 cuttings are needed per mu. After inserting, cover with soil and press firmly so that one bud at the tip is exposed above the soil surface, and water if the soil is dry.
4. Management: after cutting, finger citron must be watered and irrigated at any time, and a shade shed must be built. When there is a lot of rain, drainage work must be done well. When the seedlings are 7 to 10 cm tall, remove the clustered weak seedlings, leaving only one strong seedling per plant. Remove weeds in time, and apply light human and animal manure water or ammonium sulfate 3 to 4 times as a top dressing. After one year of cultivation, they can be transplanted.