Success in Raising Chinese Honeylocust Seedlings: Experience and Methods Worth Learning From

Recently, the reporter learned from the Forestry Bureau of Qingcheng County, Gansu, that forestry technicians in the county have successfully cultivated seedlings of the locally rare tree species, the Chinese honeylocust (Gleditsia sinensis), exploring a new path for local farmers to develop distinctive planting industries in the future.

It is understood that the Chinese honeylocust is one of the tree species unique to China in the genus Gleditsia of the family Fabaceae (Caesalpiniaceae), with high medicinal and economic value. The county's forestry technology workstation began implementing a Chinese honeylocust seedling trial project last year. Throughout the project, technicians kept detailed records of seed treatment, sprouting, sowing, fertilizing and land preparation, watering, and overwintering protection measures. The seedlings came up uniformly and vigorously, free of pests and diseases, and grew well. The trial project completed 4 mu of seedling cultivation, with 0.4 million first-grade seedlings per mu, a 70% emergence rate for 2-year-old seedlings, and 80% reaching first-grade quality. The implementation of the project provides technical support for future Chinese honeylocust seedling cultivation and large-scale planting in the county. (Reporter Li Xiaoguang, Correspondent Li Jin)