Goji berry cultivation techniques videos and pictures collection
Goji berry is a perennial deciduous shrub of the genus Lycium in the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Its leaves, fruit, root and bark all have extensive medicinal value. It has strong stress resistance and tolerance to fertilizer and water; it is suitable for planting in arid, sandy wasteland and saline-alkali land, and is also an excellent tree species for courtyard economy; its fruiting period is long, and it can bear fruit from the year of planting up to 50 years, entering full fruiting period in 3 to 4 years, with a...
Goji berry variety selection: Goji berry can be propagated by seed, division, layering and cutting. There are many goji berry varieties; in ** alone there are nearly 10 species. To achieve high quality and high yield, good seed selection work should be done. In the first and middle ten days of the month, from plants of the Maye or Damaye variety that have green leaves, short and thick fruit-bearing branch internodes, few thorns, robust growth and no pest or disease damage, select and pick mature fruits that are large, bright red and high in sugar content to keep as seed. Pick the fruits, knead and crush them, add clean water and wash, skim off the peel and flesh, filter off the juice, then wash the seeds clean and dry them in a dry, ventilated place for later use. You can also, from plants of this variety, select branches with short internodes, correct color, robust growth, plump buds and no pests or diseases, and cut them into 20 cm lengths for cutting propagation. You can also directly dig up root-sucker plants around the base of superior variety trees and plant them out.
Goji berry cutting propagation method 1. Prepare the nursery bed well: after deep plowing the nursery bed, apply 1500 to 2000 kg of base fertilizer or 100 kg of chemical fertilizer per mu, level it and make beds. 2. Collect cuttings: before the goji berry branches sprout in spring, in conjunction with pruning the large goji berry seedlings, collect cuttings and cut them into 10 to 15 cm long cuttings. 3. Cutting: soak the cuttings in rooting powder solution for 24 hours. Open furrows in the seedbed at a row spacing of 30 cm, and insert the cuttings at a plant spacing of 5 cm, with the cuttings inserted 5 to 10 cm deep into the soil.
Goji berry transplanting method:
From late March to early April, adopt the ridge planting with furrow irrigation on both sides transplanting method, with a plant and row spacing of 1.5 m x 2 m, planting about 3300 plants per hectare. Dig pits 40 cm x 40 cm x 40 cm, apply 2 to 3 cm of decomposed farmyard manure mixed with mature soil into the pit, cover the manure with 10 cm of fine mature soil, then transplant upright, robust goji berry seedlings with 3 to 5 fibrous roots into the pit, cover with soil, firm it down, and irrigate promptly to increase the survival rate.
Goji berry management methods
Goji berry weeding: Carry out spring plowing and autumn plowing in April and September each year respectively, to a depth of 20 cm. From May to July, carry out 4 to 6 times of intertillage and weeding, to a depth of 6 to 8 cm. This helps eliminate pests, diseases and weeds, loosen the soil, and ensure the normal growth and development of goji berry. In the orchard, except for the year of planting when melons, sugar beet or short-stalked crops can be intercropped, intercropping with other crops is strictly prohibited afterward.
Fertilizer and water management: Goji berry fruiting is divided into summer fruit and autumn fruit, so fertilizer and water have a great impact on goji berry yield and quality and should be given attention. For goji berry more than three years old (full fruiting period), the annual fertilizer application per hectare (8 to 9 times) must ensure 350 kg of urea; 3000 kg of diammonium phosphate or triple superphosphate; and more than 37,000 kg of high-quality barnyard manure.
Apply as topdressing according to sprouting, flowering and fruit enlargement stages respectively, and apply 1 base fertilizer in autumn. According to tree age, dig pits or ring-shaped trenches 20 to 60 cm from the trunk, 20 to 30 cm deep, apply the fertilizer into the pits or trenches, cover with soil after application, and irrigate promptly.
In addition to deep soil fertilization, foliar spraying also has a clear effect on increasing the thousand-grain weight of the fruit. Spray 4 times during the first fruiting period in June to July, and 2 times during the second fruiting period in August to September. Each time use 750 to 1500 g of monopotassium phosphate per hectare, plus 750 g of urea, mixed with 750 kg of water; at the bud stage spray 15 sticks (5 ml) of Yemianbao per hectare plus 750 kg of water. In addition to timely irrigation after topdressing and irrigation required after each fruit picking, generally irrigate once about every 12 days, and once every 7 days during the picking period, with each irrigation amount of about 600 to 900 m3, achieving thorough summer irrigation and good winter irrigation.
Goji berry pruning method: Shaping, pruning and pinching of goji berry play a great role in regulating reproductive growth and vegetative growth. Current-year and two-year-old fruit-bearing branches have the strongest fruiting ability, and perennial and two-year-old spring branches are the best. Pruning principles: pruning includes two parts, shaping and branch cutting. Adopting reasonable pruning can effectively improve the ventilation and light conditions inside the canopy, and plays an important role in accelerating canopy formation and expansion and balancing tree vigor. It makes the tree grow robustly, enhances resistance, increases fruit-bearing branches, promotes vigorous new shoot growth, prevents excessive growth and premature aging, regulates the relationship between growth and fruiting, and promotes flower bud differentiation. Thus it enables young trees to bear fruit early and yield abundantly early, enables mature trees to yield high and steadily, prolongs the full fruiting period, and improves fruit quality. The tree forms of goji berry after shaping can mainly be divided into the sparse stratified form, the natural open-center form, and the natural clump form. For different tree forms and for the same tree form at different growth years, pruning requirements also differ. But no matter what, in the year after planting, reasonable shaping should be carried out according to the tree form, so that the trunk, main branches, side branches and small branches are clearly layered. A goji berry plant can roughly be divided into 3 to 5 layers, with 25 cm between each layer, the tree body semi-circular, tree height about 1.6 m, and canopy about 1.5 m. It is required to cultivate more fruit-bearing branches and cut off non-productive branches, mastering the three-remove three-keep branch cutting principle, namely remove old and keep new, remove diseased and keep healthy, remove weak and keep strong, so that fruit-bearing branches are evenly distributed within the canopy. Operation process: in the year after planting, carry out reasonable shaping according to the growth of the seedlings.
Three tree form training methods:
Sparse stratified form: set the trunk height at about 50 cm, with a central trunk, and remove all buds or branches sprouting below the top 20 cm. At the top 20 cm, select and keep 3 main branches, each about 10 cm apart, as the first layer; keep 2 to 3 side branches on each main branch; in the following year, select and keep 2 to 3 more main branches upward on the trunk as the second layer, likewise keeping 2 to 3 side branches on each branch, and so on, keeping 3 to 5 layers. The topmost layer of main branches and side branches may be reduced by one. The tree height reaches about 1.6 m, and the crown diameter is about 1.5 m. This tree form takes shape early, is thick and strong, and carries a large fruit load.
Natural open-center form: set the trunk height at 20 cm, with no obvious central trunk; select and keep 3 main branches at the base of the trunk, each about 15 cm apart, with an angle of about 30 degrees; keep 2 to 3 alternately distributed side branches on each main branch, each about 30 cm apart. Select and keep several slanting small branches on the main and side branches; the tree form can be formed in 2 to 3 years. This tree form has good ventilation and light penetration, bears fruit early, yields high and has good quality. This shaping method is easy, requires little branch cutting, and is convenient to manage.
Natural clump form: no central trunk; 3 to 4 main branches grow directly from the ground, each main branch alternately paired with 3 to 4 side branches; except for the first side branch, which is 40 to 50 cm from the base of the main branch, the other side branches are each about 30 cm apart; select and keep small fruit-bearing branches on the main and side branches. This tree form has good ventilation and light penetration and helps make full use of space to achieve three-dimensional fruiting. Branch cutting and shaping cannot be separated. Branch cutting is again divided into autumn cutting, spring cutting and summer cutting. The branch cutting requirements for one-year-old, two-year-old and more than three-year-old goji berry are different and should be strictly grasped.
Autumn branch cutting: The time is from mid-October to mid-November. According to the three-remove three-keep requirement, cut off non-productive branches and renew fruit-bearing branches. This can increase the plant's nutrient reserves and raise the next year's fruit yield.
Spring branch cutting: The time is from late March to early April, mainly to make up for insufficient autumn branch cutting the previous year, cutting off winter-dried and thorny branches; dense branches should be thinned, to further improve the light conditions inside the canopy. For two-year-old goji berry, when spring cutting one-year-old branches, keep main branches 30 to 40 cm long and side branches about 20 cm long; small branches in gaps on the main and side branches are kept 8 to 10 cm long; the key to the fruiting rate of branches in larger gaps is mainly to select and keep two-year-old branches. Main and side branches are kept 40 to 50 cm long, and small branches 20 to 30 cm long. Keep a small branch about every 15 cm on the side branches to cultivate fruit-bearing branch groups. Through pruning, the canopy of the plant has taken shape.
Summer branch cutting: The time is from June to August, mainly to cut off sprouts, root suckers and excessive-growth branches below the cut and saw wounds and on the main branches, trunk and roots, to reduce nutrient consumption. But note that auxiliary fruit-bearing branches used to fill space should be kept as main branches. When newly planted goji berry sends out secondary branches, or when old goji berry's newly sent-out branches grow to 40 to 60 cm, or when branches growing in canopy gaps grow to 20 to 30 cm, pinch and cut the tips promptly; for extra branches growing around, remove buds and sprouts in advance, so that nutrients are concentrated, promoting flowering and three-dimensional fruiting inside and outside the canopy. It also prompts these branches to send out more new branches from the middle and lower parts, cultivating more fruit-bearing branch groups, which has an obvious effect on increasing the current year's goji berry yield. It has a very good effect on prolonging the goji berry fruiting years.
Goji berry pest and disease control:
Goji berry black fruit disease Occurs from May to August, harming green fruit, flower buds and flowers. After onset, brown lesions appear on the fruit. Control measures: open furrows for drainage and remove diseased fruit. During the fruiting period, spray with 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture, and immediately after rain spray 50% Tuzet wettable powder 600 times liquid.
Root rot Onset in late June, more serious in July to August. In the early stage the roots turn black, gradually rot, and then the aboveground part withers and the whole plant dies. Control measures: drench the roots with 50% thiophanate-methyl 1000-1500 times liquid or 50% carbendazim 1000-1500 times liquid.
Goji berry fruit fly Mainly harms young fruit, 2-3 generations a year, and its pupae overwinter in the soil. Control measures: use 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate 1000 times liquid or 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate 1500 times liquid, spraying once every 7-10 days, 3-4 times in succession; you can also use poisonous soil to kill newly emerged adults in the soil or manually remove maggot-infested fruit.
Goji berry aphid Harms young buds, leaves and young fruit. Multiple generations occur a year. Most serious damage from late May to mid-July. Control measures: 40% dimethoate emulsion 2000 times liquid, spraying once every 7-10 days, 3 times in succession.
Goji berry gall disease Multiple generations a year. In mid-to-late April adults begin to lay eggs, then larvae invade tissues, causing tissue deformation into blue-black mole-like galls. The following year new shoots are harmed. Control measures: in the early stage of occurrence, spray with 40% dimethoate emulsion 1500-2000 times liquid.
Goji berry blue leaf beetle Adults and larvae harm young leaves, and in severe cases can completely consume the leaves. 3 generations occur a year, with the most serious damage in June to July. Control measures: in July to August use 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate 1500-2000 times liquid or 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate 1500 times liquid, spraying once every 7-10 days, 3-5 times in succession.
Goji berry mold spot disease Mainly harms leaves; chlorotic yellow spots appear on the upper leaf surface with blurred edges, and corresponding dark mold spots appear on the lower leaf surface, also with unclear edges; several lesions can merge into patches, or when mold spots are densely covered, most of the lower leaf surface is covered by mold, eventually causing the leaves to turn yellow or dry up and become inedible. Control methods: (1) Regularly spray foliar nutrients to make the plants grow early and quickly, which helps reduce disease occurrence. (2) Spray continuously to control the disease in the early stage of onset; you can spray 40% triadimefon carbendazim wettable powder 800 to 1000 times liquid, or 50% procymidone wettable powder 1000 to 1500 times liquid, or 30% copper oxychloride + 70% mancozeb (1:1) 1000 times liquid, or 40% sulfur carbendazim suspension concentrate 600 times liquid, or 75% chlorothalonil + 70% thiophanate-methyl (1:1) 1000 to 1500 times liquid, 3 to 4 times, once every 7 to 10 days. Spray alternately, densely first and sparsely later.
Goji berry harvesting method:
Harvesting should be done by picking as soon as ripe, picking and placing gently, touching the branches as little as possible, and avoiding fruit falling to the ground. Goji berry picking baskets can only hold 20 to 30 cm thick, must not be squeezed, and should be promptly soaked and washed with a 3% to 4% sodium carbonate aqueous solution. Spread the soaked goji berries promptly onto a pre-made bamboo curtain 1.2 m wide and 2 m long, in a thickness of 1.5 to 2 cm. Note that at this time do not turn them; when it rains, cover with plastic sheeting to prevent rain from falling on the goji berries, until sun-dried, to increase commercial value. After the goji berries are sun-dried, remove impurities, then grade and package.
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