How to grow egg yolk fruit in a pot

Potting method

Variety selection

The varieties generally used for bonsai cultivation are required to have beautiful fruit shape and leaves, compact tree shape, medium and short tree vigor, shallow root system, early fruiting, easy fruit setting, preferably fruits that mature during the holidays, and fewer diseases and pests.

The main purpose of egg yolk fruit potted plants is to be viewed, and the beauty of the fruit, leaves, and tree shape are the primary considerations in variety selection, followed by fruit size, taste, edible rate, disease and pest resistance, etc. At the same time, the variety's adaptability to the local area must also be considered. From a practical point of view, spherical and spindle-shaped types are suitable for bonsai cultivation, followed by large peach-shaped and small peach-shaped types which have higher cultivation requirements.

Seedling cultivation

You can buy egg yolk fruit seedlings directly from the market, and choose 2-3 year old, 1.5-3.0 cm thick branches that grow obliquely or horizontally facing the sun from mature trees with vigorous tree vigor and excellent fruit quality. At a distance of 15 cm from the branch, make two ring cuts on the smooth and straight side of the epidermis, with a distance of about 3-6 cm between the cuts and a depth of up to the wood. Peel off the cortex between the two cuts, grind the cambium attached to the wood with hemp fiber, and leave it exposed for about 7 days to allow the remaining cambium cells to dry up and die. After 60 days, cut off the tender branches and excessive leaves, retain 1 to 2 branches with better growth and cut off the leaves attached, carefully unwrap the film, keep the root ball intact, and put it in a nutrient bag for rooting promotion and transplanting.

Basin

The period suitable for planting egg yolk fruit in pots is relatively long. In areas where there is no frost damage in winter or where the plant can overwinter indoors, it can be potted in autumn and will grow vigorously in the following spring. In areas with cold winters, it is safer to pot the plants before branches sprout in spring. In areas with heavy rain in summer, the plants can be potted after the spring shoots stop growing and before the summer shoots sprout.

After potting, water it on sunny days. 7 to 10 days after potting, apply 5% decomposed cake fertilizer or other dilute liquid fertilizer when the newly potted seedlings start to grow new roots. Potted plants should be placed in a well-ventilated and sunny place. The density of placement should be appropriately wide to facilitate management, and the placement distance should be adjusted as the plants grow.

Maintenance

Fertilization

One month after transplanting, apply fertilizer once a month according to the principle of frequent and thin application, and apply urea and potassium dihydrogen phosphate each time. From September to February of the following year, apply fertilizer once a month, and apply urea and potassium dihydrogen phosphate each time.

Apply flower-promoting fertilizer before the first flowering and at the end of March, with decomposed manure water applied to each pot. After 7 days, apply potassium sulfate, superphosphate, and boric acid in the ratio of 100:50:5, and the application concentration is 0.1%.

Water supply

For potted egg yolk fruit, water supply is very important. Watering time is generally before 10:00 am or after 16:00 pm; in winter or early spring, it should be done in the afternoon when the temperature is higher to avoid drastic changes in potting soil temperature and affect the growth and development of the plant. In the hot summer, potted trees lose more water due to rapid transpiration, so the potting soil must be kept moist. To this end, the pot should have enough rim, and the amount of watering should be enough to make the entire area from the surface to the bottom of the pot wet, to avoid watering halfway.

Preserve flowers and fruits

Bagging to protect fruit: Bagging is done after physiological fruit drop. Spray pesticides to prevent diseases and pests before bagging. Spray pesticides and bag the fruit on the same day to prevent the fruit from being infected again. The bagging materials can be kraft paper or old newspapers. It is best to treat them with insecticides and fungicides before use. When bagging, cover the fruit or the entire bunch of fruit and tie the bag tightly. In order to facilitate the coloring of the peel, the bag should be removed 20 days before maturity.

Plastic pruning

The egg yolk fruit has strong germination ability, so attention should be paid to shaping and pruning the young trees, reasonably distributing the branches, and cultivating a good crown. After harvesting the fruits, dense branches, diseased and insect-infested branches, shaded branches, and overgrown branches should be cut off in time to maintain a good tree structure.

Pest control

Egg yolk fruit has less diseases and pests. For a small number of scale insects, you can spray 5% mineral oil emulsion or 5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture when the branches sprout, and use 40% Suposha diluted 100-500 times during the growing period. For sooty mold, spray 400 times of Fulgendan or 0.1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture to prevent and control the disease. If there is termite damage, 48% Lorsban diluted 1000-1500 times can be used for spraying.