Detailed Explanation of Hawthorn Tree Planting Techniques and Cultivation Management Key Points
Hawthorn, also known as red fruit, sour plum, etc. The fruit is used as medicine and has the functions of promoting digestion and resolving food stagnation, dispersing blood stasis and relieving pain. It mainly treats meat food stagnation, indigestion, infantile malnutrition, bacillary dysentery, enteritis, postpartum abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, coronary heart disease, tapeworm disease, etc. Modern pharmacological studies show that hawthorn has anti-aging and anti-cancer effects. The main producing areas include Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces and regions.
Morphological Characteristics
It is a deciduous shrub of the Rosaceae family, about 1-1.5 m tall; branches often have thorns 5-8 mm long, young branches are pubescent, old branches are glabrous. Leaves are alternate, with stipules, leaf blades papery and slightly leathery, broadly obovate or oblong-obovate, 3-7 shallowly lobed, initially sparsely pubescent beneath, later becoming glabrous; petioles are winged, 4-15 mm long. Flowers open in summer, white, about 1.5 cm in diameter, arranged in terminal corymbs, the common peduncle and pedicels are pubescent; petals are nearly round or slightly flattened round; pistils are multiple, filaments are united at the base. Pome is spherical or oblate, 1.5-2 cm in diameter, red or yellow, with reflexed persistent calyx lobes at the top, containing 4-5 smooth small pits.
Growth Habits
Hawthorn prefers a cool and humid environment. It is cold-resistant and can endure low temperatures of -36°C. It is heat-resistant and can endure high temperatures of 43°C. It has no strict requirements for soil, but deep, loose, fertile neutral or slightly acidic soil is best. Low-lying land, saline-alkali land, and heavy clay are not suitable for planting.
Land Preparation and Fertilization
Choose a field with high terrain and good drainage, and cultivate it intensively. In combination with land preparation, apply sufficient base fertilizer: apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphate and potassium fertilizer per mu. And make wide raised beds of 1.3, waiting for planting.
Hawthorn Planting
Hawthorn is propagated by seeds, and in production, grafted seedlings are mostly used for cultivation. To increase yield. Sowing periods include spring sowing and autumn sowing.
1. Sowing: Before sowing, treat the seeds first; that is, after exposing hawthorn seeds to the sun for 3-4 days, soak them in a 10% sodium carbonate solution for 24 hours, remove and wash them, then expose them to the sun for another 2-3 days, then soak them in fresh human urine for 3-4 days, take them out and wash them with clean water, then dry them for another 3-5 hours. When most of the seed coats have cracked, evenly scatter the seeds on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 30 cm. The sowing rate is 100 kg per mu. After hawthorn seedlings emerge uniformly, strengthen field management, and grafting can be carried out after autumn.
2. Grafting: In the autumn of the same year or before germination in the spring of the following year, use budding and scion grafting methods to graft the hawthorn seedlings. After the grafting survives, cultivate for one year, and then transplanting can be carried out.
3. Transplanting: From after leaf fall in winter to before germination in early spring, plant the well-cultivated grafted seedlings on the prepared bed surface at a row and plant spacing of 4×3 m (55 plants/mu), water to preserve soil moisture, so as to facilitate survival.
Field Management
After hawthorn seedlings emerge uniformly or after transplanting survives, attention should be paid to cultivating and weeding. Water immediately in dry weather. Pay attention to drainage in rainy weather. Apply topdressing once every spring, each time applying 10 kg of urea and 5 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate. Spread a layer of farmyard manure every winter. Before and after flowering, and during the full fruit stage, spray a 50 ppm gibberellin solution to prevent flower and fruit drop. In addition, in order to achieve high yield, the hawthorn tree must also be pruned: change the tree shape into an open-center layered high-yield tree shape.
Pest and Disease Control
The main disease of hawthorn is powdery mildew, which can be controlled with triadimefon in the early stage of the disease. For damping-off, comprehensive control measures can be adopted: 1. During land preparation, apply 2.5-4 kg of 70% quintozene per mu into the soil for soil disinfection treatment. 2. In the early stage of the disease, spray with 1000-fold dilution of 70% dexon for control. The main pest is longhorn beetle larvae. Use phoxim combined with pyrethroid pesticides and pour into the tree holes to kill them.
Harvesting and Processing
Hawthorn is generally harvested after autumn when the fruit turns red and ripens. Dry or bake the harvested hawthorn fruits, and they can be sold as medicine. Hawthorn generally bears fruit in 3-4 years, enters the full fruit stage around 10 years, and a 50-70 year old tree can produce up to 100 kg, with large trees yielding as much as 300 kg.
Key Points of Pear Tree Planting Techniques
Pear trees are a common main type of fruit tree cultivation for us, so how do we plant pear trees on a large scale? Below, the editor will introduce the key points of pear tree planting techniques for everyone.
1. Growth and Fruiting Habits
Pear trees have a long lifespan, capable of reaching more than 100 years. The root system is well developed, with vertical roots reaching more than 2-3 m deep, and horizontal roots distributed widely, about twice the crown width. Pear trees have strong trunk dominance and relatively obvious layer structure. They bear fruit early and have a long fruiting period. Some varieties begin to bear fruit in 2-3 years, and the full fruit stage can be maintained for more than 50 years. Most pear varieties bloom first and then unfold leaves, while a few varieties bloom and unfold leaves at the same time or unfold leaves first and then bloom. After pear pollen fertilization, the fruit begins to develop, the receptacle develops into flesh, the ovary develops into the fruit core, and the ovules develop into seeds. During fruit growth and development, the early stage is mainly cell division and tissue differentiation, while the later stage is cell expansion and flesh maturation. The fruit volume growth curve is S-shaped. Pear root growth has two growth peaks each year: the first growth peak appears when new shoots stop growing; the second peak appears in September-October. Under suitable conditions, pear roots can grow throughout the year, with no dormancy period.
2. Phenological Period
Because pear trees are widely distributed, their phenological periods vary greatly. As far as the flowering period is concerned, in Huili, Sichuan, pear trees generally bloom in early to mid-February, while in Yanbian, Jilin, they bloom in mid-May; Yali pears bloom in early March in Changsha, Hunan, and in early May in Beizhen, Liaoning, with flowering periods in different places differing by nearly two months. Pear trees cultivated in the same region also differ in phenological period due to different types and varieties. From bud break to flowering, varieties of Pyrus ussuriensis are the earliest, white pear varieties are slightly later, sand pear varieties are later than white pear varieties, and European pear varieties are the latest, with a variation range of about 10 days.
3. Requirements for Environmental Conditions
① Temperature Pear trees prefer warmth, require relatively high temperatures for growth, and need a certain amount of low temperature during dormancy. The suitable annual average temperature for pear trees is about 4-12°C for Pyrus ussuriensis, about 7-15°C for white pear and European pear, and about 13-21°C for sand pear. When the soil temperature reaches above 0.5°C, the root system begins activity, and at 6-7°C it grows new roots; when it exceeds 30°C or falls below 0°C, growth stops. When the air temperature reaches above 5°C, pear buds begin to sprout; when the air temperature reaches above 10°C, they can bloom; above 14°C, flowering accelerates. The cold resistance of pears also differs. Pyrus ussuriensis, native to northeastern China, is extremely cold-resistant; wild species can withstand -52°C low temperatures, and cultivated species -30 to -35°C; white pear types can withstand -23 to -25°C; sand pear and European pear types can withstand about -20°C. In Laiyang, Shandong, the critical freezing temperatures for Chli pear flower organs are -5°C at the bud stage, -3.5°C at the inflorescence separation stage, -1.5 to -2°C 1-2 days during the flowering stage, and -1.5°C on the day of flowering.
② Light Pear trees are light-loving fruit trees, requiring 1600-1700 hours of sunshine per year. The light compensation point of pear leaves is about 1100 lux (lx), and the light saturation point is about 54000 lux (lx).
③ Water Pear trees require a relatively large amount of water for growth. The transpiration coefficient is 284-401, and each square meter of leaf area transpires about 40 g of water; when it is lower than 10 g, damage can be caused. Pyrus ussuriensis, white pear, and European pear have poor moisture tolerance, while sand pear has strong moisture tolerance. In sandy loam, a soil moisture content of 15-20% is more suitable for root growth, and when it drops to 12%, root growth is inhibited.
④ Soil Pear trees have strong adaptability to soil, and sandy loam with deep soil layers, loose texture, good water permeability and water retention, and a low groundwater table is most suitable. Pear trees have wide adaptability to soil acidity and alkalinity, and can grow normally within a pH range of 5-8.5, with pH 5.8-7 being most suitable; pear trees are also relatively salt-alkali resistant. They grow normally when the soil salt content is below 0.2%, but when it reaches above 0.3%, root growth is damaged and growth is obviously poor.
Generally, Pyrus betulifolia requires slightly alkaline soil, while sand pear and Pyrus calleryana require slightly acidic soil. Grafting propagation is generally used. There are many types of rootstocks used for grafting, and commonly used ones include Pyrus betulifolia, Pyrus ussuriensis, Pyrus calleryana, and sand pear. Moderate close planting is advocated. Generally, the row spacing in a pear orchard is not less than 4-5 m, and the plant spacing is not less than 2-3 m. Pear trees need fertilization every year to ensure healthy tree growth, flower formation, and fruiting. For young trees that have not yet borne fruit, nitrogen fertilizer is the main application; after fruiting, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other fertilizers need to be applied in combination. The first application is before germination, mainly fertilizer. The second is during the slow growth period of new shoots, mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. For plants bearing more fruit, another topdressing can be applied, mainly nitrogen and potassium, to promote fruit enlargement and flower bud differentiation. During the growing period, according to changes in leaf color, spray fertilizer on the leaves several times, applying nitrogen fertilizer in the early stage, and combining nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the later stage. After fruit harvest, spraying fertilizer 1-2 more times can also strengthen the accumulation of photosynthetic products in the later stage. Pears require relatively high amounts of water, and are generally irrigated 3-4 times throughout the year.
The main diseases include pear scab, pear rust, ring rot, black spot, etc. Control methods mainly involve clearing fallen leaves and pruning diseased branches, diseased leaves, and diseased fruits. The main pests include the lesser peach fruit moth, peach fruit moth, pear fruit borer, pear star caterpillar, hawthorn spider mite, pear two-tailed aphid, etc.
Hawthorn Storage and Fresh-Keeping Techniques and Methods
Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge), also known as mountain fruit, mountain red, is in the genus Crataegus of the Rosaceae family, a deciduous tree, up to 6 m tall. It is distributed in Shandong, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei and other places.
A drupe-type fruit, with a hard stone, thin flesh, and a slightly sour and astringent taste. The fruit can be eaten raw or made into preserved fruit or fruit cake, and after drying it can be used as medicine. It is a tree species unique to China that serves as both medicine and fruit, with effects such as lowering blood lipids and blood pressure, strengthening the heart, and resisting arrhythmia. It is also a good medicine for strengthening the spleen and opening the appetite, promoting digestion and resolving stagnation, and activating blood and resolving phlegm, with good therapeutic effects on chest and diaphragm distension, hernia, blood stasis, amenorrhea, etc. The flavonoid compound vitexin in hawthorn is a drug with relatively strong anti-cancer effects, and its extract has a certain effect on inhibiting the growth, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells in the body.
Hawthorn has relatively good storability, but during storage, there are still two problems that urgently need to be solved: first, the fruit is very prone to water loss and wilting; second, it is susceptible to mold infection, leading to large-scale rot. Therefore, the following issues should be noted in hawthorn storage.(1) Variety and Cultivation Requirements
1. Variety There are many hawthorn varieties and strains, and the cultivation areas are relatively wide. Storage-resistant varieties cultivated on a large scale should be selected.
2. Influence of Region and Climate Hawthorn is extremely widely distributed in China. Generally, hawthorn produced in higher-latitude and colder northern regions tends to be more storage-resistant than hawthorn varieties from lower-latitude and warmer southern regions. For example, many varieties produced in Liaoning, Beijing, Shandong and other places are more storage-resistant than hawthorn varieties produced in Henan, Hubei and other places, while hawthorn produced in Yunnan is the least storage-resistant.
3. Influence of Picking Period (Maturity) The determination of the hawthorn picking period often needs to take into account market demand, use, and storage resistance. Generally, for hawthorn used for long-term storage, the harvest period can be appropriately advanced, while for hawthorn used for fresh sales and processing, it should be harvested appropriately later, and its flavor and yield will both increase accordingly. However, for hawthorn used for storage, if picked too late, a large amount of fruit drop occurs, mechanical damage increases, and the fruit rapidly ages, softens, and rots more after harvest, reducing storage resistance. If harvested too early, it leads to insufficient inherent flavor such as fruit color, aroma, and taste, affecting yield and quality. At the same time, after harvest, the fruit loses water severely and wilts in large amounts, reducing storage resistance.
Generally, when the peel turns red and fruit powder or wax appears on the fruit surface, picking can begin. Picking in the morning is preferable, and mechanical damage should be minimized as much as possible. After harvest, place them in a cool place in loose piles or other ways for 1-2 days to dissipate field heat, or directly store them in a 0°C cold storage.
(2) Storage Conditions
1. Temperature requirement -1°C-0°C; 2. Humidity requirement 85%-95%; 3. Controlled atmosphere indicators oxygen 3%-5%, carbon dioxide 3%-5%; 4. Storage period 3-7 months.
(3) Storage and Fresh-Keeping Techniques and Management Measures
There are many storage methods for hawthorn. Creating suitable temperature, humidity, and gas conditions in the hawthorn storage environment is the technical key to extending storage life. Based on the principles of "low temperature, heat prevention, moisture retention, and ventilation," various places have accumulated a lot of valuable experience and effective storage methods.
1. Simple Storage
(1) Trench storage: This method is mostly used in Shandong, Hebei and other places. First, choose a place with flat and dry terrain, sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, not prone to water accumulation, and convenient transportation to dig a storage trench. The direction of the trench should preferably be north-south. Generally, the upper width of the trench is 100 cm-120 cm, the depth is 50 cm-60 cm, the lower width is 70 cm-80 cm, and the length depends on storage volume and terrain. The bottom of the trench should be level. Spread fine wet sand 10 cm-15 cm thick, flatten and compact it. Then pile the selected hawthorn on top of it, each layer 40 cm-50 cm thick, with the top of the pile shaped like a roof ridge, later gradually sinking into a flat-top shape. Before storage, cover with straw curtains or reed mats during the day and uncover them at night to release heat. In the later stage, the main task is to prevent freezing. When the local frozen soil is more than two fingers deep, add dry grass, leaves, etc. on top for cold protection, and later gradually add soil as the temperature drops, 30 cm-40 cm thick. A small drainage ditch should be dug on both sides of the trench. This method is simple, low-cost, and can store until around Qingming of the following year.
In some areas, hawthorn is stored in trenches with sand, with the same specifications as above. The only difference is the method and effect: place one layer of fruit, cover with one layer of wet fine sand, until the top. Leaves are placed on all four walls and the top of the trench to separate the fruit from the soil. All other methods are the same as above. In the Funing mountainous area of Hebei, hawthorn is stored by this method until Qingming of the following year or even Guyu.
(2) Burial method: also called pit storage method. Choose a shady place and dig a pit about 100 cm deep and 70 cm in diameter. Spread a layer of fine sand 15 cm-20 cm at the bottom of the pit, then pile the selected fruit into the pit, piling it 50 cm-60 cm high, cover with fine sand 15 cm-20 cm, and finally cover with a mound of soil. Burial begins in mid-to-late October each year. This method requires no management, can be dug and used as needed, and can store until the following spring.
(3) Cellar storage method: This is the most commonly used method in northern China. Choose a place with high and dry terrain, a relatively low groundwater table, good air circulation, and solid soil to dig a cellar. The specifications of the cellar vary. It is best to enter the cellar in mid-to-late November when the weather turns cold. The packaging containers can be baskets, crates, or boxes. When stacking, place padding at the bottom of the stack and between layers, and pay attention to leaving certain pores to facilitate ventilation. It can be stored until April of the following year, and with careful management, the storage period can be extended further.
(4) Jar storage method: This method is used for small-scale storage in households. First, thoroughly scrub the jar clean, place it in a cool room, put a tile basin at the bottom of the jar, stand 4-5 sorghum stalks in the basin for ventilation and air exchange, then put the selected hawthorn fruit into the jar until it is 15 cm from the jar rim, then place a layer of straw, leaves, or vegetable leaves on top. When the weather turns cold (about November), seal the jar mouth tightly with kraft paper or pasted mud.
2. Ventilated Storage and Cold Storage
When storing hawthorn in large quantities, ventilated storage and cold storage are generally used. The technical key is to make full use of natural cold sources or use mechanical refrigeration to create suitable storage conditions. Among them, ventilated storage warehouses should pay attention to lowering the temperature as quickly as possible in the early stage; cold storage should maintain a stable and suitable storage temperature and reduce temperature fluctuations. At the same time, ventilation management should be strengthened and the humidity of the storage environment should be increased.
3. Controlled Atmosphere Storage
Hawthorn controlled atmosphere storage generally uses polyethylene film bags. This not only partially controls the gas composition, reduces hawthorn metabolism and water loss, but also delays fruit aging and maintains hawthorn quality. It is a simple and easy method. Under cold storage conditions, applying film packaging gives better storage results. The methods are as follows:
(1) Small film bag packaging method: Choose polyethylene film bags 0.04 mm-0.07 mm thick, each bag holding 20 kg-25 kg. Or use silicone window controlled atmosphere fresh-keeping bags, each bag holding 20 kg-25 kg, packed in boxes or baskets. If stored in a ventilated warehouse, the film bags can be folded at the mouth (silicone window bags tied at the mouth) to avoid excessive accumulation of carbon dioxide in the bags (tie the mouth in the middle and later stages). You can also use the method of punching holes in the bag (3-5 pinholes) and tying the mouth directly. Those directly entering 0°C cold storage can be tied directly at the mouth. Using silicone window controlled atmosphere fresh-keeping bags for storage is simple, low-cost, and also very effective.
(2) Large tent controlled atmosphere method: Using a large tent (polyethylene film, 0.1 mm-0.2 mm thick, 500 kg-2500 kg per tent) to store hawthorn is also relatively effective. The methods include: large tent natural oxygen reduction method, carbon molecular sieve controlled atmosphere machine and other artificial oxygen reduction methods, and silicone window controlled atmosphere large tent method. Stacking, box packing, and basket packing can all be used.
(4) Main Problems and Prevention Methods
1. Wilting During hawthorn storage, if the humidity is too low, the fruit will lose a large amount of water due to excessive transpiration. Therefore, hawthorn storage must maintain suitable humidity. For example, under lower temperature conditions, the relative humidity should be 90%-95%; under higher temperature conditions (such as 2°C-4°C), the suitable relative humidity should be appropriately lower, about 85%-90%. In addition, using methods such as silicone window controlled atmosphere small film bags and large controlled atmosphere tents are also effective measures.
2. Rot Storing the fruit under suitable temperature (-2°C-0°C), humidity, and controlled atmosphere indicator conditions is an effective way to reduce rot and extend storage life. In addition, it is generally believed that in the early stage of hawthorn storage, it can tolerate higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and lower concentrations of oxygen (in October-November, oxygen can be controlled at 7%-10%, carbon dioxide 7%-10%), while in the later stage (February-March of the following year, oxygen 15%, carbon dioxide 1%-3%), higher concentrations of oxygen and lower concentrations of carbon dioxide are needed, otherwise the fruit will deteriorate and rot.