Water Chestnut Cultivation Methods, Sowing Time and Seed Storage Tips

Water chestnut is very common in daily life, and it is loved by many people because of its rich nutritional value. Moreover, water chestnut contains a large amount of starch and can be eaten as a staple food. At present, it is cultivated in many places in southern China. So what exactly are the cultivation methods of water chestnut? You might as well follow the editor to learn more about it in detail.

How to cultivate water chestnut (sowing time)

1. Planting time: In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, water chestnut is generally sown from late March to early April. Early-maturing varieties begin to be harvested in early to mid-July, and harvesting generally ends from late September to early October.

2. Seedbed selection: For the seedling bed, choose a field that is sheltered from the wind and sunny, with fertile soil, a water depth of 10-50 cm, and convenient irrigation and drainage. Before raising seedlings, duckweed, spirogyra and other matter on the water surface of the seedling field should be removed completely. For greenhouse seedling raising and planting, the greenhouse should be covered with film in advance.

3. Sowing method: In the Yangtze River basin, from the Spring Equinox to Qingming, choose a pond that is sheltered from the wind, has relatively shallow water, fertile soil, and convenient irrigation and drainage as the seedling pond. Sow by dibbling for seedling raising at a row spacing of 1 m square, using 65-90 kg of seed per mu, which can supply 8-10 mu of water chestnut pond.

4. Transplanting and setting: Lift seedlings and plant them on the same day. Generally, for shallow-water water chestnut, the row spacing is 1.5-2 m and the hole spacing is 1.5-2 m, with one bundle of about 2-3 water chestnut seedlings planted per hole. For deep-water water chestnut, the row spacing is 2.5-3 m and the hole spacing is 2-2.5 m, with one bundle of about 8-10 water chestnut seedlings planted per hole.

5. Rational fertilization: Water chestnut has a relatively concentrated demand for fertilizer. Before planting, 2000 kg of pig manure or decomposed mud manure can be applied per mu. After germination, 5 kg of urea per mu can be applied as a quick-acting fertilizer. After flowering, in 2-3 applications combined with disease and pest control, 2-3 packs of strong yield enhancer or 2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate can be sprayed on the leaves.

6. Timely weeding: There are many kinds of aquatic weeds in water chestnut ponds, such as banping grass, centipede grass, moss grass, etc., which must be removed manually in time, otherwise it will affect the photosynthesis of water chestnut. Generally, weeds are removed once every 10 days after transplanting until the water chestnut covers the water surface.

7. Timely harvesting: Water chestnut matures 20-30 days after flowering. For use as a vegetable or for eating raw, harvest when the sepals have fallen off and the fruit skin has not yet fully hardened. For cooking, processing or seed retention, harvest when fully mature. Early-maturing varieties are harvested once every 5 days, and late-maturing varieties once every 7 days.

How to store water chestnut seeds

1. Selection and retention: Select those with the inherent characteristics of this variety, regular and neat shape, deep skin color, no pests or diseases, thin shell and thick flesh, plump and fully mature. Place them in water to remove floating fruits and keep the sunken fruits as seeds.

2. Storage for overwintering: During storage, about 30% is generally lost. In order to meet the seed quantity needed for a certain sowing area, the loss should be taken into account and enough water chestnut seeds should be retained. Water chestnut seeds are not tolerant of dryness and should be stored in water. Put them in woven bags, secure them with rope, and place them in a field with warm spring water and sink them into the water to overwinter. Keep the field water flowing so that the water chestnut seeds do not freeze. Wait until the next spring, then scoop them out, wash them clean and sow.

Where water chestnut grows

1. Water chestnut is generally planted in wet muddy areas with a temperate climate, such as ponds and swamps. The climate should not be too cold, with the optimum at 25°C to 36°C. The water depth should be 60 cm.

2. Water chestnut is native to the warm regions of Europe and Asia. But only China and India have domesticated and cultivated it. In southern China, it is especially cultivated in the Taihu Lake area in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River Delta, with the most in Honghu, Hubei. It is also artificially cultivated in southern Shaanxi in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and in the plains of Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi, as well as Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan, China and other provinces. It is also cultivated in Russia, Japan, Vietnam, Laos and others.

Prospects for water chestnut cultivation

The prospects for water chestnut cultivation should first be considered from the national perspective. It is a poverty alleviation project currently supported by the state, so the cost is very low. Although the profit may not be much, at least it can be guaranteed that you will not make a loss. Otherwise, how could it be poverty alleviation? Secondly, water chestnut still has many potential effects that have not been developed, so there is still great market development potential in the future. Finally, although the current price of water chestnut is not high, demand is large enough, so it is still possible to seize a wave of the market and then wait for subsequent development.

That is all for the introduction to water chestnut cultivation methods. Do you feel it is still relatively easy? Moreover, the cultivation cost of water chestnut is also relatively low, and there is also national support. Overall, cultivating water chestnut is still a relatively promising project.