Jujube Cultivar Trials Influence Growers Nationwide

Late frosts challenge fruit production each year in central and northern New Mexico. An NMSU researcher is evaluating alternative fruit crops that can produce a reliable crop annually. Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.), also called Chinese date, originated in China and has been cultivated for over 4000 years. There are scattered trees from Espanola to Albuquerque to Las Cruces in New Mexico and they all grow and produce well. But there are only 5-6 cultivars commercially available with ‘Li’ being the dominant one. Growers and consumers all demand more diversity in jujube cultivars for different purposes. The Sustainable Agricultural Science Center at Alcalde imported 30+ cultivars from China and collected cultivars across the country with a total of 60 cultivars. Researchers set up jujube cultivar trials at NMSU Alcalde (2015), Los Lunas (2015) and Leyendecker (2017) Centers. After planting, they collected tree growth and yield data each year. Researchers hosted jujube growing habits and pruning, and flowering and fruiting habits and fruit tasting workshops annually from 2010-2019. This has published three peer-reviewed cultivar performance publications (ornamental cultivars, fresh-eating cultivars, and drying and multipurpose cultivars) and three jujube extension publications. The peer-reviewed publications recommended 8-10 different kinds of cultivars pertinent for each region in New Mexico and influence jujube growers nationwide.