Plum seedling prices and a detailed guide to planting methods
The plum is a deciduous tree of the genus Prunus in the rose family, also known as Jiaqing plum, Yuhuang plum, mountain plum, etc. It grows in mountain thickets, sparse valley forests, and by water, at the bottom of gullies, and along roadsides. It is cultivated in every province and region of China. The fruit ripens between July and August, plump and round, delicate and translucent, beautiful in form, sweet in taste and rich in nutrients. Let us now take a look at plum seedling prices and planting methods!
How much does a plum seedling cost?
The price of plum seedlings is generally about 1 to 3 yuan each, but the price varies greatly among different varieties and specifications. There are many varieties of plum. China's traditional fine varieties include Furen plum, Jiaqing plum, Xieli plum, Hongxiang plum, Yuhuang plum, Mi plum, Wuyue plum, etc. Introduced foreign plum varieties mainly include Oishi Wase, Japanese Plum King, Methley plum, Rose Queen, Black Jewel, American Large plum, Changle Niuxin plum, Xianfeng plum, etc.
Planting conditions for plum seedlings
The plum has strong adaptability to climate. As long as the soil layer is relatively deep and has a certain fertility, it can be planted in any type of soil. It has relatively high requirements for air and soil moisture and is extremely intolerant of waterlogging. Poor drainage in the orchard often causes root rot, poor growth, or susceptibility to various diseases. Therefore, in production it is advisable to choose a site with loose soil, good soil aeration and drainage, a deep soil layer and a low groundwater table for establishing the orchard.
Propagation methods for plum seedlings
1. Grafting: The scions for grafting are collected from high-quality, high-yielding mother trees. Bud grafting or cut grafting can be used. Bud grafting is carried out from June to August, and cut grafting from January to February.
2. Cutting: One-year-old plum branches root very easily and form seedlings when used for cuttings. In winter, root segments 7 to 8 mm in diameter can be dug out for cuttings and also root easily.
3. Division: Piling soil around the root zone promotes the formation of adventitious buds on horizontal roots. After the buds sprout and shoots emerge, the following year the root-sucker seedlings are separated from the mother plant and transplanted as independent small seedlings.
Planting methods for plum seedlings
1. Seedling selection: There are many varieties of plum trees, but plum seedlings with pure variety, complete root systems, vigour, plump buds, no quarantine objects and no pests or diseases should be selected for planting.
2. Timely field planting: Plum trees should be planted before the buds sprout. They show self-incompatibility, so a single cultivar should not be planted alone; different cultivars with the same flowering period should be planted as pollinizers.
3. Reasonable fertilisation:
① The base fertiliser for plum trees is generally mainly slow-release farmyard manure, such as compost, stable manure, crop straw, green manure, fallen leaves, etc. Autumn application is preferable. Each mature plum tree is given 50 to 100 kg of farmyard manure.
② Pre-flowering topdressing can be carried out 10 days before the plum tree sprouts (early April), applying 0.5 to 1 kg of quick-acting nitrogen fertiliser per tree, or 25 kg of decomposed human excrement and urine.
③ Post-flowering topdressing for plum trees should promptly apply quick-acting nitrogen and potassium fertiliser to reduce physiological fruit drop. From late May to mid-June, apply 0.5 kg per tree.
④ After physiological fruit drop and before the fruit enters the rapid expansion stage (late June to mid-August), apply a quick-acting nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertiliser, 0.5 to 1 kg per tree.
⑤ Topdress between the beginning of fruit colouring and harvest. This time, phosphorus and potassium fertilisers are the main ones. Quick-acting nitrogen fertiliser is best applied as a foliar spray at a concentration of 0.2 to 0.3%, combined with pesticide spraying.
4. Drainage and irrigation: Plum trees need a certain amount of water at each phenological stage throughout the year. Irrigation should be carried out before sprouting, during the young fruit expansion stage and during the new shoot growth stage, and one winter irrigation before the onset of winter is needed. In addition, plum trees are afraid of waterlogging, so a drainage system should be built in the plum orchard to avoid waterlogging damage.
5. Pest and disease control: The main diseases harming plum trees are plum red spot disease and plum gummosis, and the main pests are the plum fruit moth, aphids, red spider mites, etc.
① Red spot disease: Spray 1:2:200 Bordeaux mixture before the plum tree flowers and when the leaf buds unfold. At the same time, clear away diseased leaves and diseased fruits in the plum orchard and destroy them in a centralised manner.
② Gummosis: Strengthen orchard drainage, increase the application of organic fertiliser, improve the tree's disease resistance, promptly control pests and diseases of branches and trunks, reduce pest and disease wounds, scrape off the gummosis sites, then apply 5 degrees Baumé lime-sulfur mixture, and finally apply a white lead oil protective agent.
③ Plum fruit moth: In autumn or spring, turn over the soil around the tree base to destroy the larvae's overwintering sites and reduce the overwintering population. During the peak hatching period of the plum fruit moth larvae, spray with 5% Fenvalerate EC at 2000 to 4000 times dilution or 40% triazophos EC at 1000 times dilution.
④ Aphids: In spring, before the damaged leaves curl, spray 2.5% Kung Fu EC at 4000 times dilution or 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution. During the growing season, mix 7 parts of 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate stock solution with 3 parts water, use a brush to apply the solution in a ring about 6 cm wide around the trunk, and wrap it with a paper strip.