Cultivation techniques of Taiwan carambola

In recent years, excellent varieties of carambola have been bred in Taiwan due to the variation of carambola trees. With the improvement of cultivation techniques, the cultivated area of carambola has increased year by year and become a new fruit tree.

Carambola has a long harvest time, can be harvested about 3 times a year, and the yield is high. Because of its rich nutrition, the emerging carambola sells well in Taiwan, and processing and utilization of cans, jams, preserves and wine are also common. Carambola has great potential for development.

The yield, quality and flavor of carambola are not only related to varieties, but also influenced by cultivation and management techniques. The main management and cultivation techniques are as follows:

1. Pruning general young branches after planting, it is appropriate to prune from the trunk 50 cm to 60 cm from the ground, in order to promote natural branches, and then leave 3-5 branches as main branches to form a tree shape. Adult trees are cut three times a year. For the first time from late February to early March, after the fruit was harvested, the over-dense branches, withered branches, overgrown branches or aging branches were cut off to promote the emergence of new branches and good fruit. The second time is from late May to early June. The third time was about 20 days before Cold Dew. Light pruning was done for the second and third time to keep the tree shape neat, sufficient sunshine, good ventilation and reduce the occurrence of diseases and insect pests.

There are three methods of pruning carambola:

1. Natural round head type: prune the branches of carambola according to the natural shape of the tree.

two。 Inverted cone type: this method is widely used in the producing area at present, but according to the different opinions of the operators, there are two kinds of scaffolding type: 45-degree scaffolding type and less than 45-degree scaffolding type, of which an inclination of 45-60 degrees is the best. The fruit less than 45 degrees is easy to bruise and the economic value is low.

3. Simple inverted cone type: this method is a method to remedy the shortcomings of the natural round head adult tree and change it from the natural round head type to the inverted cone type. After measuring the height of the horizontal scaffolding, cut off the branches 30cm below the top position of the scaffolding, retain the surrounding small and medium branches, and then build the scaffolding. Finally, the small and medium-sized branches retained around them are pulled onto the scaffolding to make the carambola grow.

Second, when carambola is first planted in mid-ploughing, weeds are easy to grow because of the large space, so artificial weeding can be used. If using herbicide, do not go near the tree trunk or spray to the leaves. Do not use permeable agents to avoid harming the roots of carambola. If the carambola has been planted for more than 2 years, the soil becomes hard. In order to make the soil well ventilated and the fibrous root to grow vigorously, in order for the plant to absorb water and nutrients easily, it is appropriate to plough once or twice a year, but not too close to the trunk. Usually after the fruit is harvested in early spring and before the first pruning, it is carried out with the application of manure compost. The suitable depth is 6cm and 7cm.

Third, pay attention to the supplement of organic matter fertilizer in winter. Chemical fertilizer can be used as topdressing before flowering or after fruiting. The three essential elements are mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, followed by nitrogen fertilizer. The amount of fertilizer application depends on the color of plant leaves and the fertility of soil. In general, the proportion of 11 ∶ 9 ∶ 18 was adopted, and the annual application rate per plant was as follows: 1 year-old-0.6kg-2-year-old-1.8kg-3-year-old-3.0kg-4-year-old-3.5kg from February to November each year. Young trees are fertilized with rings or strips. Big trees are fertilized with strips, dots, or sprinkles. In the meantime, in order to increase soil organic matter and increase fruit grains, slow-acting fertilizers can be applied together. Each tree weighs 20 to 50 kilograms per year, depending on the age of the tree.