Key Points for Summer Chestnut Planting and Clever Fertilization Methods Explained

Autumn is a good season for eating chestnuts, as they are rich in both nutritional and medicinal value. In China, people call chestnuts “the king of dried fruits,” while abroad, chestnuts are called “ginseng fruit.” Chestnuts are generally planted in spring or autumn, and of course, they can also be planted in summer, though there are a few more management points to consider. So what are the key points for summer chestnut planting? How do you fertilize cleverly?

I. What are the key points for summer chestnut planting?

1. Site selection: A chestnut orchard should be established on sandy loam soil with a low groundwater table and good drainage. Avoid planting in saline-alkaline soil, low-lying waterlogged areas, or windy locations. When opening up a chestnut orchard on hilly terrain, choose gentle slopes near mountains with thicker soil layers, and later gradually expand to areas with poorer conditions.

2. Variety selection: The main varieties planted should be superior local varieties, such as Paoche No. 2 and Chenguo No. 1, with appropriate introduction of varieties such as Shifeng, Jinfeng, Haifeng, Qingmao Ruanci, and Chushu Hong. According to different consumption requirements, the main focus should be on roasted chestnut varieties, with appropriate development of superior culinary chestnut varieties, taking into account both foreign trade export and domestic market demand. At the same time, achieve a reasonable combination of early, mid-season, and late varieties.

3. Pollinator tree arrangement: Chestnut trees mainly rely on wind to spread pollen, but because chestnut trees exhibit dichogamy of male and female flowers and self-pollination, a single variety often produces empty burs due to poor pollination. Therefore, newly established chestnut orchards must include 10% pollinator trees.

4. Reasonable close planting: Reasonable close planting is a basic measure for increasing yield per unit area. For plain chestnut orchards, 30-40 trees per mu is suitable, and for mountainous chestnut orchards, 40-60 trees per mu is suitable. For planned close-planting chestnut orchards, 60-111 trees per mu can be planted, with gradual thinning by alternate rows and alternate trees later.

II. How do you fertilize chestnuts cleverly in summer?

Summer is a vigorous period for chestnut flowering, fruiting, and shoot growth, and it is also the first peak of chestnut tree root growth. Nutrient consumption within the tree is high at this time. If sufficient nutrients are not supplied, especially the needed boron fertilizer, it will affect the normal growth of chestnut trees, leading to an increase in empty burs, low yield, and poor quality in the current year.

For chestnut orchards with thin soil and severe fertilizer deficiency, the soil fertilization method works well. The method is: dig a circular ring trench within the drip line of the chestnut tree canopy, with a trench width of 25 cm and a depth of 20 cm, and apply 1 kg of superphosphate, 0.3 kg of urea, and 0.25-0.5 kg of borax per tree. When applying, first dissolve the urea and borax in water before applying to the trench, water while fertilizing, and use a hoe to mix the fertilizer evenly with the soil so that the fertilizer solution penetrates to the roots as quickly as possible for absorption and use by the root system. After fertilizing, promptly backfill the trench with soil to prevent nutrient volatilization. If an appropriate amount of farmyard manure is added during fertilization to enrich the soil, it will have a very good effect on producing more chestnuts the following year and reducing the rate of empty burs.

On the basis of doing soil fertilization well, timely foliar fertilization should also be carried out. This can enable a high yield of chestnuts in the current year and also a bumper harvest the following year.

Method for summer foliar spraying of chestnuts: Mix 0.3%-0.4% urea solution, 0.3%-0.5% monopotassium phosphate solution, and 0.3%-0.4% borax solution, then spray the tree canopy at 9 a.m. on a sunny day or in the evening, once every 10 days, for 2 consecutive sprays. If heavy rain occurs within 10 hours after spraying, spray once more to ensure the fertilization effect.