A Detailed Guide to the Propagation Methods and Seedling Techniques of the Euphrates Poplar
The Euphrates poplar is also known as Huyang, Hutong, hero tree, heterophyllous poplar, heterophyllous aspen, water tung, three-leaf tree, etc. It is a medium-sized natural arbor of the genus Populus in the family Salicaceae. Its lifespan can reach 200 years, its trunk is straight, its diameter can reach 1.5 m, and its height is 10-15 m. It is a precious forest resource unique to desert regions and has very high cultivation value. Let us take a look at the cultivation techniques of the Euphrates poplar below!
Growth Habits of the Euphrates Poplar
The Euphrates poplar cultivation technique concerns a tree species suited to arid continental climate conditions. It is light-loving, heat-resistant, resistant to atmospheric drought, resistant to saline-alkali conditions, and resistant to wind and sand, and it grows poorly under hot and humid climate conditions and on heavy clay soil. The Euphrates poplar requires sandy soil. Wherever desert rivers flow, the Euphrates poplar follows, and because desert rivers change course quite frequently, the Euphrates poplar has left traces throughout the desert of places where it once stood. Relying on the support of its root system, the Euphrates poplar can live quite comfortably when the groundwater level is no lower than 4 m, but once the groundwater level drops to 6-9 m it appears listless, and if the groundwater level drops further it will die.
Propagation Methods of the Euphrates Poplar
The Euphrates poplar is mainly propagated by seed, and cuttings are difficult to keep alive. Euphrates poplar seeds lose water very easily and lose their germination capacity, so in July-August, after the fruit spikes turn from green to yellow and the capsules split at the tip to reveal white fluff, excellent mother trees should be selected in good time to collect the fruit spikes, which are then dried in the shade to remove the seeds. Choose moist, fertile, well-drained fine sandy soil or sandy loam to build flat beds, ridge beds, or low beds, and sow the seeds mixed with fine sand in drills or by broadcasting. Seedlings 2-4 years old can be used for afforestation. Either direct sowing afforestation or seedling planting afforestation can be used.
Seedling Techniques of the Euphrates Poplar
1. Nursery site selection: The Euphrates poplar nursery site should be chosen in a place with good ventilation and convenient irrigation and drainage, and the soil should be fertile, loose sandy loam or lightly saline-alkali land.
2. Irrigation and loosening the soil: For 2-year-old seedlings, irrigation should be controlled; irrigating twice a year is already enough to meet physiological needs. Loosen the soil and weed 4 times, especially loosening the soil promptly after irrigation or rain. Apply topdressing 1-2 times, thin the seedlings 2 times, and maintain a reasonable density. Appropriately remove some of the leaves on the lower part of the seedlings. This helps light penetration and ventilation, lowers the surface temperature, and gives rust fungi no opportunity to become active.
3. Rust disease control: The key to sowing and raising Euphrates poplar seedlings is controlling rust disease damage during the seedling stage. Once rust disease occurs, 15% triadimefon can be used. One-year-old Euphrates poplar seedlings do not develop the disease or develop it only mildly. Two-year-old seedlings are most prone to the disease; the seedling leaves turn yellow, wither, and die. The disease occurs at the end of May, is severe in July and August, and basically stops in early September. Seedlings are infected from the bottom upward, and parts at a height above 1.3 m are not infected or only slightly infected. In addition, excessive irrigation, poor drainage, and heavy summer rainfall can all promote the occurrence and spread of rust disease.