Planting Methods and Key Technical Points for Camellia oleifera

Camellia oleifera is mainly grown to produce tea oil, and tea oil has a fairly wide range of uses. The Camellia oleifera tree has a very long lifespan, which means it offers even more value for us to make use of. In recent years, the cultivation of Camellia oleifera has become quite popular, and many people have become wealthy by growing it. So today Qinnong Web brings you the method for making a fortune —— the planting methods for Camellia oleifera.

1. Select improved varieties

The purpose of planting Camellia oleifera is to make money, and making money means the yield must be high and the quality must be good. So we need to choose high-quality seedlings. First, we need to select seeds according to the local climate and soil conditions. Second, the selected Camellia oleifera trees should have the same flowering cycle. Finally, choose improved varieties certified by the relevant national authorities, with large fruit but thin skin, a high oil yield and strong resistance. In addition, Camellia oleifera cultivation generally uses seedlings grown from cuttings or grafting, so when selecting seedlings we should choose fairly sturdy ones free of disease, so that the survival rate and the later yield will be high.

2. Site selection and land preparation

The soil for planting Camellia oleifera is best slightly acidic, as this gives a higher survival rate. Second, the soil should be fairly fertile, preferably red soil or sandy soil. Finally, Camellia oleifera is fairly shade-loving in its early growth stage, but later it needs sufficient sunlight, so we should preferably choose a semi-sunny slope with fairly abundant sunlight, or a sunny slope will also do. Land preparation should be carried out according to the specific situation. On flat land we need to plow the whole area, while on sloping land we can choose to plow only the small area to be planted, which both reduces the amount of labor and prevents damage to the vegetation.

3. Rational planting

Camellia oleifera is generally planted in October or February each year; planted at this time, the survival rate will be much higher than usual. Second, the planting density is best kept at around one hundred trees per mu, that is, about 2 m between plants and about 3 m between rows. You can use seed sowing or seedling cuttings or grafting, but growing from seed takes a relatively long cycle, though it basically bears fruit in about two and a half to three years.

4. Scientific fertilization

Fertilization should be divided into three stages. The first is fertilization at the seedling stage, mainly nitrogen fertilizer, which is what we commonly call urea, mainly to promote the growth of Camellia oleifera. The second stage is for Camellia oleifera trees that have reached three years old and begun to bear fruit; at this time the trees are in their prime, so we need to fertilize in three steps: first apply a growth fertilizer in spring, then a flower-promoting fertilizer at flowering, and finally a fruit-strengthening fertilizer when the fruit sets. The third stage is when the Camellia oleifera trees have reached a certain age; on the basis of the second stage we need to add one maintenance fertilizer, that is, after the Camellia harvest. The growth fertilizer is mainly nitrogen fertilizer, the flower fertilizer is mainly potassium and phosphorus fertilizer, and the fruit fertilizer is mainly boron fertilizer.

5. Field management

Field management includes routine cultivating and weeding, pest and disease control, branch and leaf pruning, and clearing the orchard. Let us go through them one by one. Camellia oleifera needs about three rounds of cultivating and weeding a year, which can improve its resistance and also speed up its growth to a certain extent. Camellia oleifera has strong resistance, so pests and diseases rarely appear; even so, we still carry out prevention, that is, regularly spraying the trees with some Bordeaux mixture or carbendazim, and spraying some trichlorfon solution when there are pests. Pruning of branches and leaves is a fairly important step, because Camellia oleifera needs sufficient sunlight in the middle and later stages, so we should cut away some of the branches and leaves in the places that grow too densely, and also cut away the weaker branches and leaves at the bottom as well as dead and diseased branches, which can increase the yield of Camellia oleifera. Finally there is clearing the orchard, which is generally done immediately after the Camellia harvest is finished; we should clear out the debris and dead branches from the field and then spread a layer of lime to disinfect.