Introduction and Cultivation Techniques of Thornless Large-Grain Sichuan Pepper in Linqu

Sichuan pepper is a high-quality seasoning and also has health benefits. However, for many years the local thorny Sichuan pepper planted here has had small fruits, low yield, and required much labor for harvesting. It also frequently pricked people's fingers, which affected its development. For this reason, in the spring of 2004 we introduced it from Japan. 1. Introduction process: On April 17, 2004, Japanese experts came to our county to give lectures and brought some thornless Sichuan pepper scions and seeds. The county foreign affairs office arranged for a trial in Guoquan Village, Sitou Town. The town government arranged for Comrade He Changfu of that village to carry out the specific work. The first time, 2 plants were top-grafted onto local three-year-old Sichuan pepper trees, with a total of 58 buds top-grafted, and 36 survived. The second time, grafting was done onto local one-year-old seedling Sichuan pepper plants, with a total of 2,200 plants grafted and 2,015 surviving. The top-grafted trees flowered and bore a small amount of fruit in the same year. The trees grafted onto one-year-old seedling plants flowered in 2005 and bore fruit in 2006. In 2006, the top-grafted trees had already borne fruit in large quantities, and the seedling plants raised from the introduced seeds and the trees grafted onto one-year-old seedling plants had all borne fruit. 2. Grafting time and methods: The grafting method taught by the Japanese experts was cleft grafting, with tape binding after grafting, and the survival rate was very low, less than 10%. Through experiments by Comrade He Changfu using methods such as patch budding, plug grafting, cleft grafting, and wood-attached budding, wood-attached budding had the highest survival rate, reaching more than 85%. The best grafting time was the bud-break stage. The survival rate of summer grafting was also very high, but the plants easily froze to death in winter. For autumn grafting of semi-finished plants, after surviving through one winter, the freeze-death rate of semi-finished seedlings reached more than 70%, so it was also not suitable. 3. Comparison of phenological periods: According to observations over three years, compared with local thorny Sichuan pepper, thornless Sichuan pepper sprouts and flowers about one week earlier. In our area, thornless Sichuan pepper buds in the latter half of late March, and the flowering period is from the end of mid-April to the beginning of late April. Thorny Sichuan pepper buds in early April, around Qingming; its flowering period is late April, before May 1. As for fruit ripening time, thornless Sichuan pepper ripens in mid-September, while thorny Sichuan pepper ripens in mid-to-late August. The ripening period of thornless Sichuan pepper is about 25 days earlier than that of thorny Sichuan pepper. 4. Comparison of fruit traits and yield: Thornless Sichuan pepper fruits are large, so the Japanese call it "thornless large-grain Sichuan pepper." According to measurement, the 1,000-grain weight of thornless Sichuan pepper is 100 g, while the 1,000-grain weight of thorny Sichuan pepper is 50 g, exactly a 1-fold difference. The fruit grains of thornless Sichuan pepper taste better than those of thorny Sichuan pepper. The degree of numbing and spiciness of the two is basically similar, but thornless Sichuan pepper has a stronger aroma. Under the same management conditions, compared with thorny Sichuan pepper in the same plot, the 2004 top-grafted trees had a 1-fold increase in per-plant yield in 2006. The yield of Sichuan pepper peel increased by 1.2-fold. This is because thornless Sichuan pepper fruits are large and the peel is thick. 5. Comparison of branches and leaves: Through observation, compared with thorny Sichuan pepper, thornless Sichuan pepper has slightly lighter leaf color, thicker veins, and slightly narrower and longer leaves, with shorter internodes. The branches are thick and short, with short-branch-type traits of fruit trees. Seedlings have thorns, but the thorns are thinner and shorter than those of thorny Sichuan pepper. 6. Comparison of picking efficiency: Through experiments, each person could pick about 10 kg of Sichuan pepper fruits per day from local thorny Sichuan pepper, and fingers were often pricked, while each person could pick 30 kg of Sichuan pepper fruits per day from thornless Sichuan pepper, increasing work efficiency by 2-fold, and fingers were not pricked. 7. Summary: Thornless Sichuan pepper has large fruits, thick peel, high yield, easy harvesting, and high harvesting efficiency. Its adaptability to soil, climate, and other conditions is no different from that of local thorny Sichuan pepper, and it is worth vigorous promotion.