What are the characteristics of the famous Shanxi jujube, Junzao? Junzao variety introduction
Botanical characteristics: The crown is mostly round-headed, the tree posture is semi-spreading, the trunk dominance is relatively strong, the tree vigor is robust, and the tree is tall. The main trunk is grayish brown, with longitudinal bark cracks that are shallow and easy to peel. The jujube head branches are brownish red, with annual growth of 34-81 cm. The internodes are slightly curved, and the lenticels are raised, medium to large and numerous, grayish white. The jujube spurs are fat, dark gray, and long conical. Usually 3-5 bearing shoots are produced, the shoots are 12-21 cm long, and the sections with more fruit set are nodes 6-10. The flower quantity is moderately dense, with 1-7 single flowers per inflorescence. The bearing shoots have 9--14 leaves; the leaves are medium to large and thick, ovate, 4.2-6.5 cm long and 2.1-3.2 cm wide, with a sharply pointed tip, blunt serrate margins, a rounded base, dark green color, and a petiole 0.2-0.6 cm long.
Biological characteristics: A 30-year-old plant has a trunk height of 0.9 m, trunk circumference of 0.75 m, tree height of 8-9 m, and branch spread of 6-7.5 m. The jujube heads have strong sprouting ability and strong fruiting ability in the same year. It enters the fruiting stage early; generally, 2-3 years after planting it produces fruit heavily, with high and stable yields, and a long lifespan in the full fruiting period. A 30-year-old single plant produces 45-70 kg of fresh jujubes. At the Jiaocheng production site, it sprouts in mid-April, flowers in late May, reaches full bloom in mid-June, the fruit ripens in mid-to-late September, and leaves fall in mid-October.
Economic traits: The fruit is large, cylindrical or obovate, with the saying "eight make one chi, ten make one jin." The longitudinal diameter is 4.2-5 cm, the transverse diameter is 3.1-3.6 cm, and the size is uneven. The average single fruit weight is 22 g, and the largest single fruit weight is 31.5 g. The fruit surface is smooth, the skin is thin, dark red, and the fruit dots are large and conspicuous. The stalk cavity is shallow and wide, and the fruit apex is slightly concave. The flesh is thick, greenish white, dense and crisp in texture, sweet, and juicy. Fresh jujubes contain 28.7% sugar, 0.45% acid, and 430.2 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of flesh. Dried jujubes contain 71.6% sugar and 1.58% acid. The stone is medium to large, spindle-shaped, 2.3-3.5 cm in longitudinal diameter and 0.57-1.2 cm in transverse diameter, with an average weight of 0.75 g; the edible portion accounts for 96.5% of the fruit weight. The stone surface is rough, with deep grooves, the apex is medium-long and tapering, the base is long and slightly blunt, most have no seed kernel, and small fruits are seedless. The drying rate is 40%-60%. The fruit quality is excellent, and it is one of the four famous jujubes of Shanxi. Disadvantage: the fruit tends to crack when it rains during the ripening period.
Cultivation points: This variety has strong tree vigor, a tall tree body, fast growth, early fruiting, and strong resistance to drought, cold, salinity-alkalinity, and pests and diseases. It is suitable for cultivation on flat land, dry land, marginal hills, and riverbank mountainous areas.