How can pepper be cultivated with high yield

Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. Alias: pepper, Sichuan pepper or mountain pepper. For rutaceae, prickly ash belongs to deciduous shrubs or small trees, can be planted alone can also be used as a protective thorn hedge. Its pericarp can be used as seasoning, and can extract aromatic oil, but also medicine, seeds can be eaten, but also can be processed to make soap. The economic value of prickly ash is quite good, so how to cultivate prickly ash to obtain high yield?

seed collection

middle-aged trees with strong tree vigor, no diseases and insect pests, high yield and no alternate year fruiting phenomenon are selected as seed collecting mother trees, and the fruits are picked manually by scissors after being fully ripe in August and September. Harvested seeds should be placed in a ventilated and dry place to dry naturally. Avoid exposure to the sun to avoid affecting germination rate. Collect after pericarp dehiscence and seed self-shedding.

seedling

Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed coat hard, rich in oil, is not conducive to water germination, need to be in the germination treatment before sowing. Generally soak in 1% washing powder for 2 days, or soak in concentrated sulfuric acid for a while, remove and wash with water to sow. The best breeding nursery is sandy soil or loam with good drainage and sunny leeward. Pepper seeds are small, not deep sowing, generally 2~3cm can be. After sowing, cover with decomposed organic fertilizer and irrigate once every 1~2 days to protect soil moisture and prevent hardening and improve seedling emergence rate.

colonization

Spring and autumn can be planted. It is necessary to dig holes for planting, and the size of the pit is appropriate for root expansion. The soil entering the pit had better be aged by weather and sun, and then mixed with fertilizer to fill the pit.

fertilizer and water management

Zanthoxylum bungeanum has developed roots and strong ability to maintain water and soil. Therefore, soil moisture preservation measures should be taken in arid areas, supplemented with necessary base fertilizer and a small amount of foliar fertilizer to meet the fertilizer and water needs of Zanthoxylum bungeanum. Generally, after autumn and spring ploughing, organic fertilizers such as manure and compost are applied once each. Fertilization amount depends on the age and the number of seeds, generally more than 20kg per plant. Topdressing is applied once a month from flowering stage, spraying in the morning or evening, spraying 2~3 times in total.

training and pruning

Pepper tree likes light, hair branches fast. Therefore, reasonable pruning can make the tree skeleton firm, strong branches, high and stable yield year after year. Pruning is best done in late autumn. When pruning, the redundant branches at the base can be removed, leaving 3 to 5 main branches, which can be completed in 4 to 5 years. Finally, remove the central branch and open it. Middle-aged trees should be carefully pruned to remove diseased branches, cross branches and excessive branches in the crown, so that ventilation and light transmission in the crown can stabilize the tree potential. When pruning aged trees of about 25 years old, large branches, weak branches and diseased branches should be removed, and the skeleton of the tree should be renewed alternately by using excessive branches to ensure a certain yield.

pest control

Brown spot mainly damages the leaves of prickly ash. At the beginning of the disease, yellowish chlorotic spots appeared on the leaves, and then gradually expanded into irregular brown spots. The edge of the spots was darker in color, and small black spots could be seen above. When the disease is serious, it can lead to yellow leaves falling off. The disease can be prevented and treated by spraying Bordeaux mixture and carbendazim at the early stage of the disease.

Dry rot harm pepper branches, branches. At the beginning of the disease, it was reddish brown patch, then the disease expanded up and down, sunken and oozed glue, which could cause large area of bark rot, leaf yellowing and branch death. The occurrence of this disease can be reduced by strengthening fertilizer and water management and pruning reasonably to strengthen tree vigor. After the disease, cutting bark to xylem with sterilizing knife and smearing bordeaux mixture or thiophanate-methyl can effectively prevent the spread of disease spots.

Aphids often gather in large numbers on young shoots and leaves to suck sap and harm, affecting photosynthesis. Make leaf yellowing curly, serious can cause pepper early deciduous. Phoxim and fenvalerate can be sprayed for control.

Papilio pepper larvae to feed buds, leaves and other tender parts, serious when the whole plant leaves eat up. Artificial removal of overwintering pupae in winter and spring can reduce the population density in the coming year. When harm occurs, trichlorfon and dichlorvos can be sprayed for prevention and control.

The longicorn beetle overwinters as larva in the wormway inside the trunk. In the spring of the following year, the tree bark was bored under the xylem, and a large number of reddish-brown feces and debris were discharged to the outside of the bore hole, resulting in hollow trunk, easy to wind break, rot, and even death of the whole plant. The adults of longicorn have the habit of resting on branches at noon, and can be killed by shaking; they can also be killed by iron wire hooks, or aluminum phosphide (1/8~1/4 of 0.6g tablets) can be stuffed into insect holes, and sealed with sticky mud; they can also be controlled by dichlorvos and trichlorfon spray.

Pay special attention to freezing prevention:

Zanthoxylum bungeanum L. has shallow root system distribution, and is susceptible to freezing injury in winter and "late spring cold" in early spring. The following measures can be taken to protect: ① overwintering can be protected by plastic film and other coverings, or quicklime, sulfur, salt and water can be mixed in the ratio of 10:1:4:40 and smeared on the trunk;② before the arrival of cold spring, spray antifreeze for fruit trees; also on the night of the arrival of cold spring, stack withered grass and wheat bran in the watch garden, ignite smoke to form smoke screen to improve the microclimate in the watch garden to prevent flower buds from being frozen.