【Cultivation Techniques】
I. Orchard Establishment
1. Deep Plowing and Land Preparation
When planting loquats, it is necessary to have wide planting beds, large planting holes, sufficient topsoil, large root circles, tall trellises, and appropriate planting density. The planting bed should be at least 1.1 meters wide, with an inward slope of 5 to 8 degrees and an inner wall slope of over 70 degrees. The planting bed and inner wall should be smooth and neat, and a small ridge of 20 cm × 30 cm should be built at the outer edge of the planting bed. The planting distance should be 3 meters × 4 meters, with a hole width of 60 cm and a bottom width and depth of 40 cm each. The topsoil should be fertile and abundant, facilitating backfilling and root pruning. The root circle should be 20 cm high and have a diameter of over 70 cm. The trellis height is 2.2 meters on the windward side and 2.5 meters on the leeward side.
2. Staking and Trellis Construction
Common types:
① Single wall trellis: a single or double wire is stretched on a row of upright pillars, with a pillar height of about 2 meters and a pillar spacing of 6 meters. Two plants can be planted between the pillars;
② T-shaped trellis: similar to the single wall trellis, but with a horizontal arm placed at the top of each pillar and two wires stretched between the ends of the arms.
Supporting materials:
Mainly cement piles, wire or aluminum wire, and can also use wooden sticks or bamboo poles.
Spacing and quantity of support structures:
The spacing between cement piles is 4 meters, according to the growth direction of loquat plants, with a requirement of 56 piles per acre. The cement piles are 220 cm long, with a planting depth of 40-50 cm, a height above ground of 180 cm, and double layers of lead wire or iron wire, with the first layer at a height of 100 cm.
II. Planting of Seedlings
Both bare-root seedlings and bagged seedlings can be used. Bare-root seedlings are convenient to transport and have low cost, but low survival rate; bagged seedlings recover growth quickly after planting, suitable for drought resistance planting, but higher cost.
During breeding, soak the seeds in water for 2 to 3 days, rub off the outer gel layer of the seeds by hand, mix 10 to 15 grams of carbendazim or methylthiophanate per kilogram of seeds, and sow the seeds after mixing for 20 to 30 hours. The nursery should maintain a shade of 40% to 50%. Water the seeds every 3 days after sowing, open the shade for ventilation for 1 day, and remove the straw and plastic film enclosures after 7 to 10 days when the seeds germinate and some emerge.
1. Planting Period
Loquats can be planted in spring, summer, and autumn, with spring and autumn being the preferred seasons.
2. Planting Method
The main planting method is the upright trellis, and the garden cultivation can use the pergola style.
3. Planting Density
The row spacing for large-scale planting is 3 meters × 2 meters. There are 111 plants per acre.
4. Precautions
When planting seedlings, trim the old leaves appropriately, remove the nutrient bags without burying them in the soil. When planting, mix a suitable amount of well-rotted organic fertilizer with loam soil, and use it as planting soil or covering soil. When planting, straighten the root system, layer the soil, and tamp it down firmly. Water the roots in a timely manner after planting. The newly dug planting hole should have the root neck slightly higher than the ground surface by 8-10 cm. After planting, tidy up the tree disc and cover it with a small piece of film measuring 50 cm × 50 cm.
III. Maintenance and Management
Reasonable intercropping of dwarf legumes, strawberries, potatoes, white taro, vegetables, and other crops between fruit trees can fully utilize land and solar resources, increase unit area yield, and improve comprehensive benefits.
