Detailed Explanation of High-Yield and High-Quality Cultivation Techniques for Kernel Apricots
In recent years, apricot kernels have been selling very well on domestic and international markets. Apricot kernels contain various nutrients and are a highly nutritious health food; they can also be used as medicine, having functions such as clearing heat and detoxifying, and preventing cancer. Therefore, the cultivation area has been continuously increasing, with broad prospects. Because kernel apricots bloom relatively early and are prone to damage from late frost, combined with extensive management, they cannot achieve their proper yield level and economic benefits. To increase apricot kernel yield and quality and boost benefits, the key points of high-yield and high-quality cultivation techniques for kernel apricots are introduced as follows:
1. Variety selection: For kernel apricot varieties, high-quality and high-yielding varieties such as Dabian, Baiyubian, Yiwofeng, Longwangmao, Chaoren, and Fengren can be selected. For pollinizer trees, Sh anxing (wild apricot) and Chuanzhihong are suitable choices.
2. Orchard site selection: Kernel apricots are cold-resistant, drought-resistant, tolerant of poor soil, and highly adaptable. The main problem affecting production is late frost damage during the flowering and young fruit stages. Therefore, when selecting an orchard site, attention must be paid to microclimate conditions, choosing slopes and terraced fields that are sheltered from wind and face the sun, with high and dry terrain and open topography; avoiding wind gaps, windward slopes, and low-lying areas; and preventing spring cold waves and cold air accumulation from causing flower and fruit freezing damage.
3. Seedling planting: Use 2-year-old vigorous seedlings for planting. Spring planting before bud break is preferable. Plant at appropriate density, with spacing generally 2-3 m x 3-4 m; when planting, dig planting trenches 0.8-1 m deep and 1.2 m wide, applying 20 kg of high-quality farmyard manure and 1.5 kg of superphosphate per sq m; before planting, soak the seedling roots in water for 24 hours, water after planting, and cover with plastic film to preserve warmth and moisture and improve survival rate. Set the trunk height at 60-70 cm. Be sure to plant pollinizer varieties, generally choosing 2-3 pollinizer varieties.
4. Soil, fertilizer, and water management:
1. Soil management: After planting kernel apricots, underground management should be strengthened to keep the soil loose and fertile, thereby improving the ability to supply nutrients. During cultivation, frequent intertillage should be carried out, especially strengthening intertillage and weeding after planting. This reduces nutrient consumption and concentrates nutrients for the growth needs of kernel apricot seedlings; in autumn, promptly dig around the tree basin to keep the soil loose, facilitating root growth and improving the plant's ability to absorb nutrients.
2. Fertilizer management: Depending on management level, apply topdressing once each before flowering, after flowering, during flower bud differentiation, and after fruit harvest, to improve fruit set rate and promote fruit enlargement. Topdressing should mainly use quick-acting chemical fertilizers. Generally, before spring flowering and during the fruit enlargement period, apply 0.3-0.5 kg of urea or compound fertilizer per tree. In the mid-period (June-July), combined application of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is beneficial for flower bud differentiation; in the mid-period, apply 0.2-0.3 kg of urea, 0.5 kg of superphosphate, and 2 kg of plant ash per tree. In the later period, nitrogen fertilizer is mainly used, which is beneficial for flower bud differentiation, strengthening tree vigor, filling out branches, and improving overwintering ability; in the later period, apply about 0.1-0.2 kg of urea per tree. Base fertilizer should mainly be organic fertilizer, generally applied in September-October when new shoots stop growing, at about 50-120 kg per tree, with an appropriate amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer added, depending on tree size.
3. Water management: Apricot trees have relatively strong drought resistance, and irrigation should be determined according to soil moisture conditions and phenological periods. Generally, irrigate three times: before flowering, before harvest, and before freezing. Pre-flowering irrigation can delay flowering and avoid spring frost damage; from the pit-hardening stage to before harvest, sufficient and stable soil moisture should be maintained to promote the second fruit enlargement and increase yield; in autumn, irrigate once as overwintering water as appropriate, which can improve flower cold resistance. During the rainy season, pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging.
5. Flower and fruit preservation: Kernel apricot flowers show obvious abortion, and kernel apricots are also prone to frost damage, resulting in few fruits and low yield. In production, the following measures are commonly used to preserve flowers and fruits.
1. Delay the flowering period and avoid late frost. Spraying 50-100 mg/L gibberellin in mid-October can delay the flowering period by 4-8 days the following spring; or spraying 500-2000 mg/L maleic hydrazide in the early stage of flower bud swelling in spring can delay the flowering period by 4-6 days; at the same time, combined with early spring irrigation, trunk whitewashing, smoking, and other comprehensive measures, the frost prevention effect is better.
2. Artificial supplementary pollination. During full bloom, mix collected pollen into sugar-urea solution to make sugar-urea pollen liquid, and spray it with a sprayer. The formula for sugar-urea pollen liquid is 5 kg water + 10 g pollen + 15 g urea + 5 g boric acid + 100 g white sugar + a little adhesive, mixed together.
3. Spraying fertilizer solution during flowering. Spraying water during full bloom, or 0.3%-0.5% urea, or 0.3% boric acid, or 0.3% monopotassium phosphate, or a mixed spray can all improve fruit set rate.
6. Training and pruning: The suitable tree shape for kernel apricots is the multi-main-branch natural open-center form, with trunk height 40-50 cm, maintaining 5-8 main branches on the whole tree, arranged alternately. In the young tree stage, moderately cut back the extended leaders of scaffold branches each year to facilitate shoot growth and canopy expansion. In the full bearing stage, prevent top-heavy and bottom-weak conditions and the outward movement of bearing positions; in pruning, adopt methods of suppressing the top and promoting the bottom, and suppressing the strong and supporting the weak, to ensure vigorous tree growth and improve fruiting ability; at the same time, pay attention to cultivating new fruiting branch groups and rejuvenating existing fruiting branch groups, so that new and old branch groups continuously alternate in bearing. For perennial weak, elongated branch groups with too wide an extension angle, timely heavy renewal pruning should be carried out to prevent bareness in the inner canopy and stimulate new bearing positions. During the growing season of kernel apricots, summer pruning measures mainly including twisting or pinching new shoots of young trees, and removing water sprouts and overly dense branches, can improve light conditions, promote flower bud formation, and also help branches become firm and robust, with plump flower buds and improved cold resistance.
7. Strengthen pest and disease control: The main pests and diseases of kernel apricots include apricot decline disease, gummosis, weevils, globular scale insects, aphids, red spiders, and tent caterpillars. Control methods: before spring bud break, control scale insects by spraying 5 degrees Baume lime-sulfur mixture; after flowering, spray 600x carbendazim and 500x trichlorfon-tetradifon solution; in mid-May, spray a mixture of 500x carbendazim, 2500x 20% clofentezine, and 1200-1500x 12% high-permeability miexhaijing; in July-August, spray a mixture of Guoshukang and 1200x 40% isocarbophos; in addition, spray Taoxiaoling 2-3 times according to pest conditions, and burn diseased leaves in winter. By controlling pests and diseases according to the above methods, the occurrence and development of pests and diseases can basically be controlled.
8. Timely harvest and post-harvest handling: Kernel apricot fruits must reach full maturity before harvest, generally harvesting half a month after the summer solstice. Stop early harvesting; if harvested too early, the kernel is not plump, the kernel yield is low, and yield and quality decline. After harvest, promptly remove the flesh and dry the apricot pits. At the same time, process and utilize the apricot flesh to produce preserved apricots, apricot plums, fruit leather, and so on. When extracting kernels, minimize broken kernels as much as possible, and do a good job in the @#@136@#@ and deep processing of apricot kernels to achieve value-added processing.