PROTECTED CULTIVATION OF PLUM IN SOUTH CENTRAL LIAONING: PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Inspired by the protected vegetable production methods in south central Liaoning, which was the cradle of Chinese greenhouse vegetable production in, protected fruit production began to flourish approximately twenty years ago. Protected fruit culture first occurred in Liaoning and then it extended to north central China, mainly to advance the time of ripening to meet the demand of off-season fruit consumption. The main fruits that were grown were the perishable fruit types such as stone fruits and berry fruits, including peach, cherry, apricot, plum and table grape. Table grape and peach were relatively easy to cultivate in protected conditions since the growth of grapevines or peach trees is easy to control and fruit set readily occurs, while plum, apricot and cherry tree are more difficult to work with. The purpose of this paper is to describe the growing technology of the protected plum cultivation system including the greenhouse structure, cultivar selection, the methods of forcing dormancy, heating the greenhouse etc. The present status and future perspectives of this system are also discussed.