How to Achieve Early Flowering and Early Fruiting in Ginkgo Trees
1. Branch bending: Starting from the young tree stage of ginkgo, for plants with small branch angles, open up the angle by bending branches to moderate the tree vigor and the growth vigor of branches, thereby promoting flower formation. In early May, tie convenience bags filled with soil to the tips of upright branches. The weight of the soil bags is determined by the branch growth vigor and the branch-bending requirements. The more upright the branch...
1. Branch bending: Starting from the young tree stage of ginkgo, for plants with small branch angles, open up the angle by bending branches to moderate the tree vigor and the growth vigor of branches, thereby promoting flower formation. In early May, tie convenience bags filled with soil to the tips of upright branches. The weight of the soil bags is determined by the branch growth vigor and the branch-bending requirements. The more upright the branch and the thicker the branch, the heavier the soil bag required; for larger opening angles, a heavier soil bag is also required. Generally, main branches are bent to a 45-50 degree angle, lateral branches to a 55-60 degree angle, and non-skeletal branches are bent flat.
2. Notching: Use a knife to make a horizontal cut above or below a short branch, deep enough to reach the xylem. The purpose is to promote the accumulation of a large amount of nutrients in the short branch and accelerate flower formation. In winter, notch above the short branch to block the upward transport of nutrients from below, causing nutrients to accumulate at the short branch; in summer, notch below the short branch to block the downward transport of nutrients from above, causing nutrients to accumulate at the short branch and promoting flower bud formation.
3. Girdling and ring-barking with inverted bark: On a smooth area at the base of a main branch or lateral branch, use a sharp blade to remove a ring of bark, prompting the nutrients produced by the branches and leaves above the girdling wound to accumulate toward the short branches, which can rapidly form flower buds. The keys to this technique are: first, girdling should be done before flower bud differentiation, that is, from late May to early to mid-June; second, the girdling width should be 1/10 of the diameter at the girdled part of the branch, and even for very thick branches the girdling width should not exceed 1.5 cm; third, the cut depth should reach the xylem but must not damage the xylem; fourth, the girdling wound should be flat, straight, smooth, and clean, and must not be contaminated. After girdling, wrap it tightly with plastic film to prevent pests and diseases from infecting the wound and to promote rapid healing of the wound. If girdled in the first year, results can be seen the next year. It must be noted that improper use or lax operation will cause the girdled branch to die. Therefore, first-time users can reverse the removed bark (turn the upper and lower ends around) and stick it back on; this is called ring-barking with inverted bark. The operating essentials are the same as for girdling, and it can also achieve the same effect as girdling.
4. Ring cutting: Use a sharp blade to make horizontal ring cuts reaching the xylem on the trunk or at the base of main and lateral branches. At the same location, 3-4 consecutive rings can be cut, with a distance of 0.5 cm between rings. The disadvantage of ring cutting is that it must be carried out year after year (in the second year, the location for ring cutting must also be changed) until the effect is stable. For ginkgo, growth-control and flower-promotion treatments must be carried out only after grafted seedlings have been planted for 4 years or after seedling rootstocks have been grafted for 3 years, when the long shoots produced by the plant are thick and strong and can form short branches, and the annual growth of the main branch extension leader reaches more than 50 cm.