Blood-amaranth planting technique: propagated by cuttings and planted every spring and autumn, ready for harvest in 50 days
Blood-amaranth is a vegetable that can be planted in all four seasons. When planting, we first need to choose soil that is pollution-free, with pure water quality and strong fertilizer and water retention, then carry out land preparation and fertilization, mainly applying well-rotted farmyard manure together with compound fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer and urea during deep ploughing, and then make the beds and it is ready for planting. When planting, the planting density also needs to be arranged reasonably; after transplanting, spray an appropriate amount of carbendazim solution, and in the later stage fertilize, water, weed and control pests regularly, and so on.
1. Choosing the planting site
Blood-amaranth has the characteristics of being easy to survive, easy to manage, strongly disease-resistant and tolerant of poor soil. It can be planted in all four seasons. The soil for planting requires pure water quality, no pollution, a natural ecological environment and strong fertilizer and water retention, which helps improve the quality and yield of blood-amaranth. Then carry out land preparation and apply sufficient base fertilizer; the base fertilizer is mainly well-rotted farmyard manure, applied together with urea, compound fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer during deep ploughing, and once the beds are made it can be planted.
2. Planting density
After blood-amaranth has survived, thinning, singling and gap-filling of seedlings are needed, which ensures uniform seedlings in the field. About 25 days after planting, blood-amaranth can be transplanted for field establishment, with a spacing of about 40 cm between plants and about 45 cm between rows in the field, and about 2500 plants can be planted per mu. After transplanting, an appropriate amount of carbendazim solution also needs to be sprayed, which helps blood-amaranth take root and establish.
3. Propagation methods
There are two propagation methods for blood-amaranth. The first is seed propagation, which is the most practical and also the most traditional propagation method. The second is propagation by cuttings, which is currently the most commonly used; planting blood-amaranth this way gives a shorter growth cycle and can also increase the survival rate and quality. Spring and autumn each year are the best times for planting by cuttings, and generally new roots grow about a week after cutting.
4. Later management
To promote new root growth, blood-amaranth needs to be watered once after transplanting so that it quickly enters the seedling-recovery stage. During the growth of blood-amaranth we need to water regularly to keep the soil moist. About half a month after blood-amaranth is transplanted, topdressing is carried out, applied in holes together with intertillage, mainly with compound fertilizer, and then the weeds in the field are cleared. In the later growth of blood-amaranth, we need to spray foliar fertilizer regularly to ensure the quality of blood-amaranth.
5. Pest control
Aphids are somewhat harmful to blood-amaranth, and dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate can generally be used for control. It is recommended not to spray pesticide in the half month before harvest, for fear of affecting the quality of blood-amaranth.
6. Harvest
Because blood-amaranth has a short growth cycle and can be harvested in about 50 days, we need to harvest it in good time; after harvesting, topdressing can be carried out, which helps the growth of blood-amaranth and thus increases its yield.