It’s fall harvest season in the Southwest, and many researchers New Mexico State University are gathering their crops at NMSU’s agricultural science centers across the state, while sharing their findings with local growers who have started planting similar crops in their own backyard.



Jujubes, a nutritious fruit also known as the Chinese date, continues to gain popularity in the U.S., especially for consumption.



Shengrui Yao, professor and extension fruit specialist in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, is reaping the benefits of another successful crop of jujube fruits from cultivar trials that took place at Leyendecker Plant Science Center and the sustainable Agricultural Science Centers at Alcalde and Los Lunas.



She said the jujube trees this year performed very well. Actually, 95% of trees produced fruit during planting year in 2017 at Leyendecker. “We expected those trees to flourish from the beginning,” Yao said. “They have never disappointed us each year. Now, some heavy producing cultivars yield 90 to 100 pounds per tree in 2022 and 2023, with an average yield of 40 pounds per tree in 2022.”



Through these cultivar trials, Yao and her research team can collect yield data and some fruit quality parameters. The yield and fruit quality data shows which cultivars are more productive and taste better.



"This data will guide growers and home gardeners in their cultivar selections,” Yao explained. “During the harvesting process, we also roughly know their maturation date and maturation order, which is also important for growers. As trees are growing larger and larger, we have collected a lot of this data over the past 7 to 9 years. This year could be our last year for yield data collection.”  



Yao explained that jujubes have different cultivars for different purposes: fresh eating, drying, multi-purpose and ornamental. People can eat them fresh or dried – or use them in cooking.  



“Large fruit cultivars can be used for pies – pure jujube pie or half and half with apples. Dry jujube slices can be used in baking to replace raisins or dates. Dry fruit can also be used in stew, tea, and other recipes,” Yao shared. “In China, there are hundreds of ways to use jujube in cooking – however we are still exploring different ways to use jujubes in the U.S.”



For consumers interested in growing jujubes at home, Yao said maintaining the trees is fairly easy with enough attention and care. “They have very limited pest and disease problems, and trees are drought tolerant. But if you want high quality fruit, people do need to water them regularly.”  



Since 2017, the jujube trees have been successfully loaded with fruit at Leyendecker, Los Lunas, and Alcalde cultivar trials, including some community jujube trees. However, Yao explained this may not always look the same for growers in northern New Mexico due to its shorter growing season.  



“Each year, the fruit industry is challenged by severe late frosts in northern and central New Mexico, and growers are not sure if they will have a crop until mid-May,” she said. “Jujubes initiate flowers, bloom, and mature with one growing season. They also bloom 4 to 6 weeks later than most temperate fruit species. They can avoid late frosts in most years, and if they confront late frosts and the early growth gets killed, they can still regenerate themselves, bloom, set fruit and mature.”  



As the research continues, Yao mentioned that her jujube extension program has reached more consumers and has led more people to start planting jujube trees in their backyard or commercially. “Those 30+ cultivars I imported have enriched the jujube germplasm in the U.S. and provided more choices for growers and consumers.”  



She said they’re not only easy to grow, but the fruit itself is very nutritious.  



“It is a sweet fruit, high in vitamin C, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), triterpenes, and phenols,” she said. “The vitamin C content is 4 to 12 times higher than citrus depending on cultivars. Jujube fruits have been widely used as a medicinal herb for its fruit and seeds for thousands of years in China.” 


 
For more information about the jujube program at NMSU or to visit one of the cultivar trials, visit https://jujube.nmsu.edu / or contact Yao at yaos@nmsu.edu .

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-researchers-share-how-to-have-successful-jujube-harvest-for-local-growers/s/ef0ec6f1-607d-42f0-a686-b58174f07ae3