What is the secret to a bumper Sichuan peppercorn harvest year after year? Li Junjun shares his experience

“Of the Sichuan peppercorn trees I grow, very few get sick or die. In the Shiwan Sichuan peppercorn orchard there is one tree that is over ten years old, 30 cm thick, with a canopy covering one fen of land, and it can yield 300 jin of fresh Sichuan peppercorns in a single year. I now have more than 1,000 Sichuan peppercorn trees planted. In 2015 I harvested 1,500 kg of dried Sichuan peppercorns and earned more than 70,000 yuan. This year I can harvest 2,000 kg of dried Sichuan peppercorns, and my income can reach 100,000 yuan.”

Li Junjun is a major Sichuan peppercorn grower in Lijiawan Village, Longfeng Township, Wudu District, Longnan City. The Sichuan peppercorns he grows rarely get sick, and when it comes to preventing and controlling Sichuan peppercorn pests and diseases, Li Junjun has his own set of methods. “In winter, lime-sulfur mixture can be used for whitewashing, mixed with carbendazim and Xinjun'an. The sterilization mechanism of Xinjun'an is that it can ionize in aqueous solution; its hydrophilic group contains a strong positive charge, which adsorbs various bacteria and viruses that are usually negatively charged, thereby inhibiting their reproduction, coagulating the proteins of pathogens, denaturing the enzyme systems of pathogens, and, together with the film formed by the polymer, blocking the ion channels of these microorganisms, causing them to suffocate and die immediately, thus achieving the best sterilization effect. To increase the sterilization effect, some dichlorvos can be added.”

From the first month to the third month, the larvae in the Sichuan peppercorn orchard are about to break out of their eggs, so you can apply a coating to the trunks once and spray the trees with pesticide once. From the sixth month to the ninth month, pests are rampant and begin to reproduce; at this time, applying pesticide once has a very big effect.

In recent years, the prevention and control of Sichuan peppercorn pests and diseases in Wudu District, Longnan City, has become increasingly difficult. Many Sichuan peppercorn trees die from root nodule bacteria, root rot, and longhorn beetle damage just as they enter the full fruiting stage. Li Junjun's techniques, explored through his grasp of chemicals and timing, are worth promoting for everyone.