Everything about planting and harvesting pistachios
Pistachio planting method:
There are two ways you can get a pistachio tree crop or plant pistachio seedlings and get it sooner, or plant pistachio seeds and keep it until it grows and bears fruit.
Planting pistachio seedlings:
In order to reach the pistachio tree crop, plant male and female pistachio seedlings together, that is, plant 1 male tree for every 15 female trees. It is very difficult to distinguish between male and female seedlings before the age of 7, so you should plant several seedlings that you think are male among the female seedlings to make sure that there is a male seedling.
Sowing seeds:
To plant pistachio seeds, buy the raw seeds from reputable seed shops and then follow these steps:
Place the seeds in a towel or wet towel and occasionally set aside to allow air to flow through the seeds.
Keep a damp towel at room temperature.
Wait a week for the seeds to germinate.
After the seeds germinate, transfer them to a small cup or pot. Make sure the bottom of the pot has a hole for water to escape.
After the seeds have taken root, transfer them to larger pots, keep them in a large pot until the seeds reach the size of seedlings and do not plant them outside.
Seedlings are best to live in pots until they are 3 or 4 years old, and then plant them in the garden in the fall or spring. During this time you should pay attention to the nutrients of the soil and strengthen the soil.
To plant pistachio seedlings, dig a hole twice the height of the roots that is twice the diameter of the root ball so that the roots of the seedlings have room to grow.
Place the plant in the pit and hold it upright and fill it with soil around the roots.
After planting the seedlings, be sure to water to fill the empty pores with water to prevent the roots from rotting.
Care and maintenance of pistachio seedlings
Need sunlight
Place the pistachio seedlings in a well-ventilated area.
Soil suitable for growing pistachios
Pistachios need a nutritious soil and a pH between 7 and 7.5, which means that the soil acidity level should be neutral, so before planting, check the soil for acidity and the amount of nutrients.
Distance of pistachio trees
When planting pistachio seedlings, pay attention to the distance between them. The distance between pistachio trees should be 4 to 5 meters and there should be a distance of 5 to 6 meters between their rows because pistachios should grow up to 10 meters.
Irrigation of pistachio tree
Pistachio trees do not need daily or even weekly watering. The soil at the planting site should be dried between waterings. The best watering for a pistachio tree is a week in between. You do not need to irrigate your tree during the rainy months, but you should water the tree during the rainy months.
In the case of monthly irrigation, the irrigation should be deep enough to have a good reserve to continue. Excessive moisture and water may cause the leaves to turn yellow. In winter, your tree is dormant and does not need watering. After January, you can not water the tree until spring.
Fertilize pistachios
Spring is the best time to fertilize a pistachio tree. Fertilizing the pistachio tree in the spring will help your tree to grow and grow faster and faster. 10-10-10 fertilizer contains minerals and organics such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium. Pour half a cup of fertilizer for every 2 inches of trees in diameter. Never fertilize trees more than 5 cups.
Fertilize twice a year and place the fertilizer at a distance of 30 cm from the tree and under the soil and irrigate after fertilizing to make it easier for the tree to use.
Suitable place for planting pistachios
Areas with cold winters and hot summers with some rain are suitable for growing pistachios.
Semi-arid desert places are also suitable for growing pistachios.
Highlands are not a good place to grow pistachios because they often have low temperatures.
Wet areas are not suitable for growing pistachios.
The ideal temperature for growing pistachios should be more than 37 degrees Celsius and pistachios do not survive in temperatures below 9 degrees below zero.
Pistachio harvest
Pistachio trees are biennial trees, meaning that one year yields a lot and one year yields less.
When the pistachios ripen, the color of the shells changes from green and yellow to red and the shell cracks. So when you see these signs, harvest your crop because pests may attack the pistachio.
The average yield of young pistachio trees is between 1 to 2 kg. After the pistachio tree grows, the yield increases and the tree produces 6 to 10 kg of dried nuts between the ages of 7 to 10.