Detailed Explanation of the Key Cultivation Techniques for Tree-form Honeysuckle

Cultivation and Management of Tree-form Honeysuckle:

(1) Site Selection and Land Preparation 

First, use barren hills for contiguous development and planting; second, plant in existing cultivated land; third, plant along the edges of house fronts and backs, beside ditches, and in scattered plots. If using barren hills for contiguous development, it is best to dig terraced pits, keeping the top 1.5-2 m wide to facilitate the growth of the honeysuckle root system.

(2) Planting Seedlings

Carry out before sprouting at the Beginning of Spring or during the autumn and winter dormant period. On the prepared planting site, dig holes at a spacing of 1 or 2 m, 80 cm deep. Apply 5-10 kg of pig or cattle manure or farmyard manure to each hole, mix thoroughly with the soil, then plant one strong seedling per hole, fill with fine soil and press firmly, and water thoroughly to settle the roots.

(3) Intertillage and Weeding

After the strong seedlings survive, carry out intertillage 2-3 times each year: the first time around spring sprouting when new leaves appear, the second time in July-August, and the third time in late autumn and early winter. After intertillage and weeding, earth up around the root zone of the plants to help them overwinter. During intertillage, cultivate shallowly around the root zone of the plants and slightly deeper farther away to avoid damaging the roots. In the first 1-3 years after planting, low-growing crops that yield a return in the same year can be intercropped.

(4) Topdressing

After sprouting in early spring and after flower picking in summer each year, apply topdressing once, mainly with organic fertilizers such as grass manure or compost, along with urea or compound fertilizer. Apply the fertilizer in trenches opened 50 cm away from the plants, then cover with soil to bury the fertilizer. When applying chemical fertilizer alone, open a ring-shaped trench around the plants, apply it, then cover with soil and earth up ±5 cm.

(5) Training and Pruning

After the seedlings are planted and become established, prune and train them into an umbrella-shaped, upright tree base. The specific training and pruning method: within 1-2 years after planting, the main task is to cultivate an upright, thick main trunk, that is, in the first year when the main trunk height is about 40-60 cm, cut off the top shoot to encourage lateral buds to grow into branches; after sprouting in the second spring, select and retain 5-6 thick branches on the upper part of the main trunk as main branches, arranged in two tiers in a ladder pattern. In winter, on the second-order branches growing from the first-order branches, retain 7-9 pairs of buds and cut off the upper part. Only the branches growing from the second-order branches are flowering branches. Through training and pruning, an umbrella-shaped tree base with even distribution, good ventilation and light penetration, and a thick, upright main trunk is formed. Because honeysuckle has the characteristic that newly grown shoots of the current year can develop into flowering branches, the above pruning measures can promote more new shoots and more flower buds, thereby increasing yield. Winter pruning should be carried out before the Beginning of Winter each year, and dead old branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, thin and weak branches, crossing branches, and long branches that disrupt the tree shape should be removed. This concentrates nutrients on producing new shoots and forming flower buds. Apply topdressing once after pruning.

(6) Pest and Disease Control

Powdery mildew: it harms honeysuckle leaves and tender stems. In the early stage of leaf infection, round white downy toxic spots appear, which then continuously expand and merge into patches, causing flower drop, leaf withering, and branch dieback. Control methods: A. Select and breed disease-resistant varieties; B. Plant at a reasonable density, carry out training and pruning, and improve ventilation and light conditions; C. At the seedling stage, spray the plant with triadimefon at 1500 times dilution; D. Before the bud stage, spray thiophanate-methyl or carbendazim for prevention. Anthracnose: drench with dexon technical powder diluted 500-1000 times. Rust: spray with fenaminosulf technical at 200-250 times dilution (add 50 g of washing powder to 50 kg of spray solution as a sticking agent). The main insect pests are aphids, red spiders, and caterpillars. Control them with pesticides such as dichlorvos and pirimicarb according to conventional methods for vegetables and fruits. A decoction of tobacco leaves, lime, and water (5:1:100) can also be sprayed.

Note: During the bud stage (flowering period), highly toxic pesticides are strictly prohibited to prevent poisoning and loss of the product's usable value.

Harvesting and Processing: 1. Harvesting. Generally, flowers are picked in the second year after planting. The flower-picking period is relatively concentrated, about 15 days. Timely picking is the key to increasing the yield and quality of honeysuckle, and it is generally picked in June-July. The harvest period must be in late June; picking too early gives poor quality and low yield, while picking too late means the flowers open and fall on their own, causing losses. When picking, remove from the flower stalk and avoid damaging leaves and branches as much as possible. 2. Processing. After picking, honeysuckle must be processed promptly to prevent pile fermentation, rotting, and discoloration. The methods are sulfur fumigation, sun-drying, or oven-drying. A. Sulfur fumigation: (100 jin of fresh flowers with 1.5-2 jin of sulfur is suitable). Spread the freshly picked flowers in a fumigation cage, place the sulfur in a bowl or basin, set it at the bottom of the fumigation cage and light it, then seal and fumigate for 1-2 hours. Once the sulfur has burned out and the honeysuckle has changed color and been killed-green, it is ready. Sulfur-fumigated flowers can be dried directly in a drying machine; machine drying gives better quality and a higher price than sun-drying.

After sun-drying or oven-drying, remove branches, leaves, and impurities. High-quality products are dry, golden yellow in color, have many flower buds, and have a fresh, fragrant aroma, and can then be sold on the market.