What are the precautions for growing cape gooseberry?
Cape gooseberry, also called Chinese lantern, is a fruit that mostly grows in the mountainous areas of northeast China. It is wrapped in a layer of lantern-shaped "papery skin", so people mistakenly think it is the ground cherry, but it actually is not. Cape gooseberry has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, and reducing internal heat and swelling. It is said to have a certain degree of medicinal value, and the current market price has reached more than ten yuan per jin. So now many people are growing it on a large scale. So what should be noted when growing cape gooseberry? Let's take a look below!
1. Land selection
Cape gooseberry has very strong vitality, so wild cape gooseberry can be seen everywhere in the countryside. Cape gooseberry does not have very strict requirements for soil, and it has strong adaptability and stress resistance. However, when cultivating it artificially, it is best to choose fertile, loose, and well-drained sandy soil as the most suitable. Also, when planting, apply more farmyard manure, which can be applied directly into the old furrows, but if the fertilizer quality is poor and the amount is insufficient, it will directly affect the later yield of cape gooseberry. So we still need to choose different land preparation methods according to the condition of the land. Although the methods are different, the soil still needs to be finely worked, and enough base fertilizer should be applied, preferably mainly farmyard manure.
2. Propagation
After planting, the future propagation issue must be considered. Cape gooseberry is generally cultivated artificially by vegetative propagation using rhizomes. This is because the rhizome propagation method has a series of advantages such as fast propagation, being easy to understand, and being easy to keep seedlings. The rhizomes of cape gooseberry have many adventitious buds. Generally, around Qingming Festival, choose rhizomes free of diseases and pests as "planting stock", cut them into 10 cm small sections, and each small section should retain about 2-3 adventitious buds. Sow them in furrows in rows to prevent wind penetration, and rake the soil evenly. In this way, they can grow continuously for 4-5 years.
3. Seedling stage management
Every crop must be thinned during the growing process, and cape gooseberry is no exception. The principle for thinning cape gooseberry is "sparse on fertile land, dense on poor land". Pay attention to intertillage and weeding. Seedlings can begin to emerge about half a month after planting. After emergence, remove the weeds around the garden. When the seedlings grow to about 10 cm tall, carry out the second thinning, and complete the third in July. During the rainy season, pay attention to drainage, apply more agricultural machinery fertilizer, appropriately irrigate and drain the orchard, keep the soil moist, and improve the final yield. After the seedlings recover, water and topdress appropriately according to soil fertility and growth conditions to promote root development.
4. Harvesting
There is also technique in the harvesting time of cape gooseberry. Cape gooseberry will fall off automatically after ripening, and at this time it can be harvested by manual picking, which is when the quality of cape gooseberry is the best. After ripening, the persistent calyx outside the fruit becomes withered and yellow, and the fruit also shows a light yellow color with a very rich fragrance. But if the fruit is not ripe enough, the taste is poor. At this time, it should be ripened in time. The fruit can be sprayed with ethephon and then piled up until it is fully decomposed. Fruits that need to be transported or stored should retain the calyx.
The above are the things to pay attention to when growing cape gooseberry. When planting, everyone mainly needs to pay attention to the prevention and control of diseases and pests. The main diseases and pests of cape gooseberry are powdery mildew and clearwing moth. Everyone should inspect the orchard regularly and on schedule, check the growth of the orchard plants and whether there are any abnormalities. If there are any, handle them in time, check the specific problems, and then treat them according to the symptoms. This article is for reference only, and I hope it is helpful to everyone.