A Detailed Guide to Phyllanthus emblica Cultivation Methods, Precautions and Processing Methods

Many people know about Phyllanthus emblica, but do you know its origin? There is a little story that goes like this: more than two thousand years ago, an Indian monk and a Chinese merchant encountered a storm while crossing the desert and lost their way, with no water or food left. The monk was carrying a bag of small fruits, and the two of them ate them to stave off hunger. When the two were about to leave the desert, quicksand came. The monk struggled to rescue the merchant and gave that bag of small fruits to the Chinese merchant, but he himself fell dead in the vast desert. The merchant finally made it out of the desert. After returning home, the merchant planted that bag of small fruits in his hometown. This fruit spread and was cultivated in southern China from then on. This small fruit is Phyllanthus emblica.

Cultivation Methods and Precautions for Phyllanthus emblica

1. Cultivation Methods

1. Planting: the planting holes should be dug according to general technical procedures, and the depth, length and width of the holes must all reach a certain width.

2. Watering: after the seedlings are planted, they must be watered immediately. For saplings with a root ball, while watering, the soil around the tree hole should also be stirred with an iron rod or wooden stick, so that the action of the water can fill the soil around the tree hole. For the growth hormone, naphthalene acetic acid is generally used; first dissolve the powdered naphthalene acetic acid in a small amount of alcohol, then mix it into clean water to prepare an irrigation solution with a concentration of 200PPm, and use it as the first root-setting water for irrigation. Whether planting camphor trees on cloudy or sunny days, a thorough watering of root-setting water should be given in time. In dry, sun-exposed weather, irrigate thoroughly about every 7 days. 3 to 4 consecutive times is enough.

4. Special technical treatment: during transplanting, in order to maintain the humidity of the trunk and reduce water transpired from the bark, the trunk should be wrapped with soaked straw rope up to the top of the main trunk; if the branches are relatively large, they should also be wrapped.

5. Management and care: usually, pay attention to watering, and watering should follow the principle of “do not water if not dry, water thoroughly when watering”; also frequently spray clean water on the ground and leaves to increase air humidity and reduce the transpiration of the plant.

2. Precautions

1. Phyllanthus emblica is drought-tolerant and barren-tolerant, with strong adaptability. It can grow normally in sandy loam and on mountaintops or hillsides with shallow, thin, poor soil, but it grows better in deep acidic lateritic red soil.

2. Phyllanthus emblica likes light and warmth, and is relatively shade-tolerant in the young stage, so it grows well in open forests. It is very sensitive to low temperatures, and when frost occurs it easily drops flowers and leaves, and even freezes tender branches and buds. It requires an annual average temperature of 18 to 20°C to grow and develop normally, and below 5°C it often suffers frost damage. The annual precipitation requirement is about 1000 mm, and the altitude requirement is below 1700 m.

3. Observations show that Phyllanthus emblica bears poorly when the annual average temperature is below 20°C, grows fastest at 20°C to 25°C, adult trees can withstand high temperatures of 40°C, and the average temperature in January must not be lower than 5°C, so it is only suitable for cultivation in areas south of the Yangtze River in China. Its propagation methods can use seed seedling raising and grafting propagation (the rootstock can use seedlings of Bischofia polycarpa or Sapium sebiferum of the same family), and seed seedlings can be released from the nursery for planting after 2 years. Generally, it begins to bear fruit 3 years after field planting, and during the peak production period the yield per mu can reach 1500 to 2000 kg. It is produced in Hekou Town, Luhe County, Shanwei City, Guangdong, Puning City and other places (among which Puning City's is famous).

Processing Methods for Phyllanthus emblica

1. After washing the emblica clean, put it in a pot and boil it. After the water boils, you can smell a sour odor, like sour plum soup, and also like rotten apples.

2. After taking them out, remove the seeds. One fruit can be broken into two large pieces or 6 small pieces along the lines. If you want the honey to penetrate the flavor better, you can break them all into small pieces.

3. After removing the seeds, put them aside to dry, prepare a glass bottle, honey and rock sugar; the honey just needs to submerge the dried fruit, and next it is time to soak them in the refrigerator. Generally it needs to soak for 2 weeks. CR said that since I broke them into small pieces, soaking for about one week is enough.

Water Management Techniques

1. During the spring budding and flowering period, the tree body needs more water. After the winter drought and accumulation of strength, the processes of budding, shoot growth, leaf expansion and flowering must be completed in 1 month, requiring a large amount of water to meet the needs of the tree body's growth and development. Therefore, every year the budding water should be irrigated thoroughly.

2. After flowering, after the female flowers are fertilized, the fruit enters a rapid growth period, all requiring large amounts of water and nutrients, and this is the key period of water demand throughout the year. During drought, irrigate thoroughly with post-flowering water.

3. During the flower bud differentiation period, the growth and development of the tree body is relatively slow, but the development of Phyllanthus emblica has just begun, and all require sufficient nutrients and water supplied to the tree body.

4. Freezing water: from late October to November, before leaf fall, combine autumn base fertilizer application with irrigating enough freezing water, to store nutrients for the tree body's growth and development after overwintering.

Fertilization Techniques for Phyllanthus emblica

1. Base fertilizer is the basic fertilizer supplied for the growth of Phyllanthus emblica trees, and it can generally be applied in both spring and autumn.

2. Topdressing before budding is carried out before the fruit buds. During this period, topdressing is mainly nitrogen fertilizer, and a compound fertilizer with high nitrogen content should be applied, and urea can be added for application. Depending on soil moisture, water can be applied once.

3. Topdressing before flowering: the periods of flower bud differentiation, flowering and fruit setting overlap, so topdressing before flowering is very important. This topdressing should be mainly phosphate fertilizer, followed by potassium fertilizer, supplemented with an appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer; potassium sulfate compound fertilizer can be applied, 3 jin per plant, and where conditions permit, water can be applied once.

4. Topdressing during the fruit expansion period: the fruit expansion period is the main period of fertilizer demand for winter trees throughout the year. During this period, topdressing should be mainly potassium fertilizer, followed by phosphate fertilizer, with appropriate supplementation of nitrogen fertilizer.

Phyllanthus emblica is a tropical wild fruit. It tastes sour and astringent at first, but has a sweet aftertaste. Compendium of Materia Medica records: Phyllanthus emblica “tonifies and strengthens qi, resolves metal and stone poisons, treats wind deficiency and hot qi, and when taken for a long time lightens the body and prolongs life.” Because it has certain medicinal value, in the hands of industrious people it has become one delicious dish after another. Today the editor will introduce several common ways to eat Phyllanthus emblica. I wonder if everyone has learned them.