Cultivation Techniques and Per-Mu Yield of Chicken-Claw Polygonatum
As people pay more and more attention to health preservation, not only are many health foods very popular, but quite a few Chinese medicinal herbs with extremely high health-preserving benefits are also especially sought after, and chicken-claw Polygonatum is one of them. So, is the per-mu yield of cultivated chicken-claw Polygonatum high? Let's find out together with the editor below!
Cultivation Techniques for Chicken-Claw Polygonatum
1. Rhizome propagation: In late autumn or around the latter part of March in early spring, dig up the underground rhizomes, select the young tender parts at the tips, cut them into several sections, each with 3 or 4 nodes, let the wounds dry slightly, and plant them in prepared beds at a row spacing of 22-26 cm, a plant spacing of 10-16 cm, and a depth of 5 cm. After planting, cover with 3-5 cm of soil, press down lightly, and water. Thereafter, water once every 3-5 days to keep the soil moist. For those planted in late autumn, after the ground freezes, cover with some livestock manure or barnyard manure to help keep warm and survive the winter; after the ground thaws the following year, break up the manure clods, rake level, and keep the soil moist before seedlings emerge.
2. Seed propagation: After the seeds mature in August, immediately carry out sand storage treatment: mix 1 part seeds with 3 parts sandy soil evenly, and store in a shaded pit 30 cm deep, keeping it moist. Wait until the latter part of March the following year, sieve out the seeds, and evenly broadcast them in shallow furrows on the bed surface at a row spacing of 12-15 cm, cover with about 1.5 cm of soil, press lightly, water, and cover with a layer of grass. Remove the covering grass before seedlings emerge. When the seedlings are 6-9 cm tall, thin them appropriately where too dense, and transplant after 1 year. To satisfy the shade-loving growth habit of Polygonatum, corn can be planted on the bed ridges.
How Much Is the Per-Mu Yield of Chicken-Claw Polygonatum
Polygonatum grown using the under-forest wild-simulated cultivation model yields one harvest every four years, with a per-mu yield of up to 3 tons and a per-mu benefit of about 50,000 yuan. Because Polygonatum combines medicinal, edible, ornamental, and cosmetic uses in one, market demand is increasing day by day, and it has good economic benefits. At the same time, as market demand increases day by day, wild Polygonatum is being dug up more and more, so artificial cultivation of Polygonatum is a good choice. The prospects for comprehensive and multi-level development and utilization of this plant are very broad.
Prevention and Control of Pests and Diseases
1. Diseases: Black spot is the main disease of Polygonatum and harms the leaves. In the early stage of the disease, irregular yellow-brown spots appear on the leaves from the leaf tips, with a purplish-red edge at the boundary between diseased and healthy parts; afterward the spots spread downward, and it is more serious in the rainy season, with diseased leaves turning yellow and withered. Control methods: clean the garden at harvest time and eliminate diseased remnants; before the disease occurs and in the early stage, spray 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture or 50% Tuzet 1000-fold solution, once every 7-10 days, for several consecutive times.
2. Insect pests: Grub larvae cause damage. They bite off seedlings or gnaw on seedling roots, causing broken seedlings or hollow roots, and the damage is serious. Cutworms harm seedlings and rhizomes. Control methods: seed treatment with 75% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 0.1% of seed weight; during field occurrence, drench with 90% trichlorfon 1000-fold solution; use black light lamps or poisonous bait to trap and kill adults; apply manure only after full decomposition, preferably high-temperature compost.
Utilization Value of Chicken-Claw Polygonatum
1. Edible value
Polygonatum is sweet in nature and taste and pleasant to eat. Its fleshy rhizome is thick and contains a large amount of starch, sugar, fat, protein, carotene, vitamins, and various other nutrients. Eaten raw or stewed, it can both satisfy hunger and serve to build health, and it can make people's strength multiply, muscles full, and bone marrow strong, being very beneficial to the body. The rhizome of Polygonatum is shaped like a taro, and people in mountainous areas often eat it as a vegetable.
2. Economic value
China is rich in germplasm resources of wild Polygonatum plants, and the reserves are huge. Because it combines medicinal, edible, ornamental, and cosmetic uses in one, market demand is increasing day by day, and it has good economic benefits. Therefore, the prospects for comprehensive and multi-level development and utilization of this genus are very broad.
3. Ornamental value
Polygonatum has well-developed rhizomes that store nutrients and is easy to view under forests and in pots. In early spring, the plants break through the soil and put forth fresh green; in late spring and early summer, the yellow-green flowers, shaped like strings of wind chimes, hang in the leaf axils and sway in the wind, looking very beautiful; its flowering period can last up to 20 d, and after the flowers fade the fruits appear, gradually turning from green to black, white, purple, or red, until mid-autumn, a scene full of beauty and charm. From flower viewing to fruit viewing lasts as long as half a year, making it a rare fine ornamental plant. Planting it as a groundcover in open forest grassland, beside streams under forests, and in green spaces, flower borders, flower platforms, and around lawns on the shady side of buildings to beautify the environment is suitable in every way.
In fact, many Chinese medicinal herbs have relatively broad cultivation prospects, because their utilization value is very extensive and high, just like chicken-claw Polygonatum, which not only has extremely high medicinal value with very good effects in treating some diseases, but can also be used in stews or dishes, and eating it is very helpful to human health.