Detailed Explanation of Soft-Seed Pomegranate Cultivation Techniques and Management Points
Pomegranate is currently a fruit with excellent market prospects. It is rich in nutrients and has beauty and skincare benefits, and is widely used in skincare products and cosmetics, so in recent years market demand has been extremely high. Among pomegranates there is a soft-seed pomegranate variety, which has higher yield and better economic returns than ordinary pomegranates, and its most notable feature is that its seeds are soft and edible, changing the shortcoming of hard kernels being difficult to swallow; it is suitable for the elderly and children to eat, and also aids digestion. So how should soft-seed pomegranates be planted? Let's take a look together.
1. Site Selection and Orchard Establishment
Orchard establishment requires areas with convenient transportation, flat and open terrain, loose and fertile soil, shelter from wind and facing the sun, and complete irrigation and drainage facilities. Before planting, prepare the land and apply fertilizer, applying 5000 kg of decomposed compost per mu, and raking it together with the soil until broken up and level. Then dig planting holes according to a plant-to-row spacing of 2×3 m or 2.5×3 m; the length, width and depth of the holes are all required to be 0.8 m. In this way the orchard site is ready, and a small area in the orchard can also be reserved as a nursery plot for raising seedlings.
2. Propagation Methods
Soft-seed pomegranate has extremely strong asexual reproductive capacity, so when planting on a large scale, cuttings are used for propagation and seedling raising. Select November to March to collect cuttings; cut from the mother plant one-year-old root suckers or robust water sprouts growing inside the canopy to use as cuttings. Cuttings should not be selected from branches damaged by pests or diseases, with mechanical injury, or with abnormal growth. The length of the cuttings should be between 15-20 cm, and they should have 1-2 plump buds to ensure smooth sprouting. The cutting time is generally in spring from February to March, when the temperature is favorable for rooting. Cutting can be done with professional tools, which is convenient and quick. After cutting, cover with soil and firm it down and water. Also pay attention to the cutting density, with a plant-to-row spacing of 20×50 cm being appropriate.
3. Seedling Raising
After cutting, seedling-stage management should be strengthened. In the early stage after cutting, the main tasks are loosening the soil, weeding, preserving soil moisture and increasing temperature; this period generally lasts 40 days. After that, the cuttings have already rooted and become seedlings, and at this time it is necessary to promote the growth and development of the young seedlings, so fertilizer and water management should be strengthened, with 1-2 topdressings, each time applying 5-7 kg of urea per mu, and spraying the leaves with potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution 1-2 times to increase the trace elements needed for young seedling growth. Also pay attention to underground pests to avoid damage to the root system.
4. Planting
When the young seedlings shed their leaves, they can be removed from the nursery. When lifting the seedlings from the nursery, open a ditch 30 cm deep on one side of the young seedling, then on the other side cut vertically downward about 20-30 cm from the seedling, and dig the young seedling out with soil. When digging, mainly do not damage the root system and trunk. After digging out, prune the diseased and pest-damaged branches of the young seedlings, then carry out graded transplanting. When transplanting, hold the young seedling upright and place it into the planting hole, spread the root system out, then cover with soil and firm it down, and water once to help the seedlings recover and improve the survival rate.
The above are soft-seed pomegranate cultivation techniques. I hope they can help you. To learn more about pomegranate cultivation knowledge, please follow us.