What is the correct method for artificial pollination of persimmons?
The persimmon is a parthenocarpic fruit tree, so it does not need artificial pollination by itself. However, because of inconsistent cultivation management, or in order to increase the fruit set rate, many fruit growers use artificial supplementary pollination to raise the fruit set rate and achieve a high yield. So how should persimmons be hand-pollinated? Let's take a look.
1. Collecting pollen
For artificial pollination, the first step is to collect pollen. Once the male flowers of the persimmon open, they begin shedding pollen at noon that day and shed it very quickly, so the best time to collect pollen is when the buds have already matured and the pollen quantity is at its highest; when the petals turn yellow and are about to open, collecting pollen before noon is most suitable. Pick the male flowers, remove the petals, take out the anthers, lay them on smooth paper, and place them in a well-lit environment. After a day of drying, the pollen can be obtained. Freshly collected pollen has high viability, and its germination rate decreases over time, so pollen that will not be used for the time being should be stored refrigerated in the refrigerator.
2. Pollination time and method
The female flowers of the persimmon have the ability to be fertilized 3-4 days after opening, and pollination is best done within 1-2 days of the first flowering, with the optimal time being 7-10 a.m. Dip a brush or cotton swab in pollen and apply it to the stigma of the female flower to complete pollination, but this is rather time-consuming and labor-intensive, so to save labor, the spray method is generally used: pollen is combined with boric acid, brown sugar, pollen suspension, and clean water in a certain ratio to make a solution, which is then sprayed onto the female flowers with a sprayer. This method is suitable in many areas and the effect is excellent.
3. Reasonable pairing with pollinator trees
Most persimmons do not need artificial pollination, as they are parthenocarpic, but the flowers of excellent persimmon varieties are solely female flowers and their parthenocarpic fruit-setting ability is relatively weak, so in addition to artificial pollination, reasonably pairing pollinator trees can also have an obvious effect on increasing yield and quality. Taking sweet persimmon as an example, it is suitable to pair it with varieties such as Zheng Yue, which have a large amount of pollen, a longer flowering period, and strong compatibility with the main cultivated variety, as pollinator trees. Generally, one pollinator plant is paired with 6-8 trees, and the optimal pollination distance is within 30 m.
4. Releasing bees
The persimmon is an insect-pollinated plant. Releasing bees in the orchard during the pollination period can increase the fruit set rate by 15%-20%. At present, the best pollinating insects are the Japanese orchard mason bee, the concave-lipped mason bee, and the bean small bee. Generally, before flowering, place one beehive every 30-40 mu in the orchard, and the bee species should preferably be the Chinese honeybee, which is tolerant to low temperatures and strongly resistant to stress.
The above is an introduction to how persimmons are hand-pollinated. I hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.