Abstract Planting time: spring sowing is around March-April, autumn sowing is around September, winter sowing is from late November to early December, and intercropping sowing is in mid-April. Planting method: select fennel varieties with strong branching ability, high yield and lodging resistance. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 cm, start thinning. Full stand is reached 30 days after sowing. Cultivation and weeding are needed. Water timely in the middle and late stages. During the growing period, phosphate fertilizer may be applied appropriately, with less nitrogen fertilizer. No topdressing is needed in the middle and late stages. Top promptly and actively prevent and control pests and diseases.
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<p class="cintro"><span>Abstract</span>Planting time: spring sowing is around March-April, autumn sowing is around September, winter sowing is from late November to early December, and intercropping sowing is in mid-April. Planting method: select fennel varieties with strong branching ability, high yield and lodging resistance. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 cm, start thinning. Full stand is reached 30 days after sowing. Cultivation and weeding are needed. Water timely in the middle and late stages. During the growing period, phosphate fertilizer may be applied appropriately, with less nitrogen fertilizer. No topdressing is needed in the middle and late stages. Top promptly and actively prevent and control pests and diseases.</p>
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<p>As a traditional material, fennel has long followed relatively traditional techniques and methods in cultivation. Although science and technology continue to develop and have had a certain impact on fennel cultivation, growers still need to keep exploring if fennel cultivation is to become more high-quality and efficient.</p><p></p><p><strong>I. Fennel Cultivation Techniques</strong></p><p>1. Sowing methods</p><p>(1) Main sowing includes winter sowing (seed-ball sowing) and spring and autumn sowing.</p><p>(2) Winter sowing: before winter of the previous year, sow the seeds into frozen farmland that has been salted and has suitable soil moisture (in the Kashgar reclamation area, November 25 to December 5, or using a 3 cm soil temperature below 5°C as the indicator), and harvest in the second year.</p><p>(3) Spring sowing: sow, manage and harvest in the spring of the same year (the degree to which spring sowing is advanced has a non-linear positive correlation with harvested fennel yield).</p><p>(4) Autumn sowing: carry out autumn sowing around September.</p><p>(5) Intercropping sowing: taking advantage of fennel's short growth period, after sowing wide-and-narrow-row crops under plastic film in spring, intercrop fennel in the wide rows. Intercropping sowing is suitable before April 12 or when the 5 cm soil temperature is no higher than 15°C.</p><p></p><p>2. Variety selection</p><p>It is advisable to choose Shache small fennel with strong branching ability, high yield, lodging resistance, and plump seeds that have been purified, rejuvenated and screened.</p><p>3. Sowing requirements</p><p>(1) Main sowing of fennel includes hole sowing and drill sowing.</p><p>(2) Winter sowing is mainly hole sowing (row spacing 20-30 cm, hole spacing 9-12 cm), spring sowing is mainly drill sowing (30 cm equal row spacing, plant spacing 5-8 cm), and intercropping sowing uses hole sowing, with sowing depth 1.5-2.5 cm, pressed down after sowing, and seeding rate 22.5-30 kg per hectare (1000-grain weight 1.3-1.8 g).</p><p>(3) Hole sowing: 300,000-500,000 holes per hectare, with 1.4-2 million seedlings retained; drill sowing: 1.5-1.8 million seedlings retained.</p><p></p><p><strong>II. Field Management of Fennel</strong></p><p>1. Thinning and final singling</p><p>When the seedlings grow to 5-6 cm, start thinning. Follow the principle of “thin early and single timely”, keeping the superior and removing the inferior. Remove excess small, weak and diseased seedlings promptly. Generally thin 2—3 times, with final plant spacing 40—50 cm, retaining 2500—3000 plants per mu.</p><p>2. Cultivation and weeding</p><p>About 30 days after sowing fennel, a full stand is reached. Because the seedling stage is long and the seedlings are small and weak, they are very susceptible to weed damage, or the soil may crust after rain, so cultivate early and frequently, and break up crusts promptly after rain. Weeds in the seedling rows should be pulled out by hand as early as possible to promote seedling growth.</p><p></p><p>3. Irrigation and fertilization</p><p>(1) Fennel has a shallow root system at the seedling stage, weak water absorption capacity, relatively wide plant and row spacing, poor shading, and large soil moisture evaporation, making drought likely, so irrigate early. Generally, the first irrigation is around May 15.</p><p>(2) Irrigation in the middle and late stages follows the principle of “watching the sky, watching the soil, watching the growth”, handled flexibly, with 2—3 irrigations throughout the growth period.</p><p>(3) From mid-August, strictly control water and fertilizer to prevent excessive vegetative growth and late maturity. Seed-production fennel prefers phosphate fertilizer and should not be given too much nitrogen fertilizer. Generally, 7—8 kg of diammonium phosphate per mu is applied as topdressing together with the first irrigation. To control vegetative growth, no topdressing is generally applied in the middle and late stages.</p><p></p><p>4. Topping</p><p>(1) Fennel's main branch has strong growth dominance. If allowed to develop naturally, excessive vegetative growth becomes serious. Especially in the later stage, rainy weather can cause a large number of new flowers, resulting in many flowers but a low spike-setting rate, wasting nutrients and severely reducing yield. Therefore, top promptly to control plant growth, reasonably adjust population density, and adjust nutrient distribution in the plant.</p><p>(2) Generally top before flowering to remove apical dominance, promote seed setting, make flowering uniform, and improve yield and quality.</p><p>5. Harvest</p><p>Seed-production fennel seeds do not mature uniformly, some early and some late. In order to reduce seed loss and increase yield, staged and batch harvesting may be adopted. First harvest the early-maturing seeds in time, and then harvest all at once around October 10.</p><p></p><p><strong>III. Precautions for Fennel Cultivation</strong></p><p>1. To make emergence fast and uniform, it is best to soak and sprout the seeds before sowing. The method is to soak the seeds for 24 hours, then rub the seeds with your hands and wash them several times until the water is clear. Spread the wet seeds on burlap or a straw mat, place them in a cool place to dry slightly, then put them in a clay pot, cover with a wet cloth, and sprout at 16-23°C.</p><p>2. Fennel is mostly sown by the wet sowing method, that is, reserve soil for covering when making the bed, water the base before sowing, then scatter evenly and cover with soil. Fennel has a small leaf area and is very suitable for dense planting, with a seeding rate of 3-5 kg per mu.</p><p>3. If sowing dry seeds, pay attention to frequent small waterings after sowing to keep the bed surface moist and facilitate seedling emergence. After seedlings emerge, pay attention to timely weeding. Do not water excessively at the seedling stage; keep the bed surface alternating between dry and moist. For one-time harvest, thinning is generally not carried out. If multiple harvests are planned, thinning may be combined with weeding, with seedling spacing 5-6 cm. When the plants are about 10 cm tall, water frequently and apply quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer together with watering. When the plants are about 30 cm tall, they can be harvested.</p><p></p><p><strong>IV. Harvesting and Processing of Fennel</strong></p><p>1. Harvesting requirements</p><p>When the plants grow to about 30 cm, they can be harvested. Spring-sown fennel is harvested twice in the same year, while autumn-sown fennel is harvested only once in the same year. In areas where it overwinters in the open field, after harvesting begins in the following spring, it can be harvested again after more than 40 days, with 4-5 harvests throughout the year.</p><p>2. Storage characteristics and storage and transport methods</p><p>Fennel is a fresh vegetable and is mainly sold fresh. It is mostly produced locally and sold locally. If market demand requires, according to its storage characteristics of preferring low temperature and high humidity, it can be stored short-term or transported under suitable conditions (temperature, 0°C; relative humidity, about 95%).</p><p></p><p>At present, there are already many summaries of the traditional techniques of fennel cultivation, but to follow the trend of the times, achieve large-scale cultivation, and realize mechanized agricultural production still presents certain difficulties. Therefore, from this perspective, fennel cultivation still requires substantial input of talent and technology.</p>
SummaryPlanting time: spring sowing around March to April, autumn sowing around September, winter sowing from late November to early December, and intercropping sowing in mid-April. Planting method: choose fennel varieties with strong branching ability, high yield and lodging resistance. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 cm, start thinning. Full stand is reached about 30 days after sowing. Cultivation and weeding are needed, and timely irrigation is required in the middle and late stages. During the growing period, phosphate fertilizer may be applied appropriately and nitrogen fertilizer should be applied sparingly. No additional fertilizer is needed in the middle and late stages. Top the plants in time and actively prevent and control pests and diseases.
As a traditional material, fennel has long been cultivated with fairly traditional techniques and methods. Although science and technology are constantly developing and have had a certain impact on fennel cultivation, growers still need to keep exploring if fennel cultivation is to become more high-quality and efficient.
I. Fennel cultivation techniques
1. Sowing methods
(1) Main-crop sowing includes winter sowing (baodan) and spring and autumn sowing.
(2) Winter sowing: before winter of the previous year, sow the seeds into frozen farmland that has been salted and has suitable soil moisture (in the Kashgar reclamation area, November 25 to December 5; a 3 cm soil temperature below 5°C may also be used as the indicator), and harvest in the second year.
(3) Spring sowing: sow, manage and harvest in the spring of the same year (the degree to which spring sowing is advanced has a non-linear positive correlation with harvested fennel yield).
(4) Autumn sowing: carry out autumn sowing around September.
(5) Intercropping sowing takes advantage of fennel's short growth period. After sowing of the wide-and-narrow-row crop under plastic film in spring is completed, intercrop fennel in the wide rows. For intercropping sowing, it is best to do so before April 12 or when the 5 cm soil temperature is not higher than 15°C.
2. Variety selection
It is advisable to choose Shache small fennel with strong branching ability, high yield, lodging resistance, and plump seeds that have been purified, rejuvenated and screened.
3. Sowing requirements
(1) Main-crop fennel has two methods: hole sowing and drill sowing.
(2) Winter sowing is mainly hole sowing (row spacing 20-30 cm, hole spacing 9-12 cm), spring sowing is mainly drill sowing (30 cm equal row spacing, plant spacing 5-8 cm), and intercropping sowing uses hole sowing, with sowing depth 1.5-2.5 cm, and compaction after sowing. The seeding rate is 22.5-30 kg per hectare (1000-grain weight 1.3-1.8 g).
(3) For hole sowing, 300,000-500,000 holes per hectare, with 1.4-2 million plants retained; for drill sowing, 1.5-1.8 million plants retained.
II. Field management of fennel
1. Thinning and final singling
When the seedlings grow to 5-6 cm, start thinning. Follow the principle of “thin early, single seedlings at the right time”, keeping the strong and removing the weak. Remove excess small, weak and diseased seedlings promptly. Generally thin 2-3 times, with final plant spacing 40-50 cm and 2500-3000 plants retained per mu.
2. Cultivation and weeding
Fennel reaches full stand about 30 days after sowing. Because the seedling stage is long and the seedlings are small and weak, they are easily harmed by weeds or may encounter soil crusting after rain, so cultivate early and frequently, and break up crusting promptly after rain. Pull weeds in the seedling rows by hand as early as possible to promote seedling growth.
3. Irrigation and fertilization
(1) During the fennel seedling stage, the root system is shallow, water absorption capacity is weak, and the row and plant spacing is relatively wide, so shading is poor, soil moisture evaporation is high, and drought is likely. Therefore, irrigate early; generally apply the first irrigation around May 15.
(2) Irrigation in the middle and late stages follows the principle of “watching the sky, watching the soil, watching the growth” and should be handled flexibly. Irrigate 2-3 times during the whole growth period.
(3) From mid-August, strictly control water and fertilizer to prevent excessive vegetative growth and late maturity. Seed-production fennel prefers phosphate fertilizer and should not be given too much nitrogen fertilizer. Generally, when applying the first irrigation, topdress 7-8 kg of diammonium per mu. To control vegetative growth, generally no topdressing is applied in the middle and late stages.
4. Topping
(1) Fennel has a relatively strong main-branch growth advantage. If allowed to develop naturally, excessive vegetative growth becomes serious. Especially if rainy weather occurs in the later stage, it will bloom heavily again, resulting in many flowers but a low seed-setting rate, wasting nutrients and severely reducing yield. Therefore, top in time to control plant growth, reasonably adjust population density, and regulate nutrient distribution in the plants.
(2) Generally top before flowering to remove apical dominance, promote seed setting, and make flowering uniform, improving yield and quality.
5. Harvest
Seed-production fennel seeds do not mature uniformly; some mature early and some late. To reduce seed loss and increase yield, staged and batch harvesting may be adopted. First harvest the seeds that matured earlier in a timely manner, then around October 10 harvest all of them at once.
III. Precautions for fennel cultivation
1. To make emergence fast and uniform, it is best to soak and sprout the seeds before sowing. The method is to soak the seeds for 24 hours, then rub the seeds with your hands and wash them several times until the water is clear. Spread the wet seeds on burlap or a straw mat, place them in a cool place to dry slightly, then put them in an earthenware basin, cover with a wet cloth, and sprout them at 16-23°C.
2. Fennel is mostly sown by the wet sowing method, that is, leave covering soil when making the beds, water the base soil before sowing, then scatter the seeds evenly and cover with soil. Fennel has a small leaf area and is very suitable for dense planting, with a sowing rate of 3-5 kg per mu.
3. If sowing dry seeds, pay attention to frequent light watering after sowing to keep the bed surface moist and facilitate seedling emergence. After the seedlings emerge, pay attention to timely weeding. During the seedling stage, do not water too much; keep the bed surface alternating between dry and moist. For a single harvest, generally no thinning is done. If multiple harvests are planned, thinning may be combined with weeding, with plant spacing 5-6 cm. When the plants reach about 10 cm tall, water frequently and combine watering with topdressing of quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. When the plants reach about 30 cm tall, they can be harvested.
IV. Harvesting and processing of fennel
1. Harvesting requirements
When the plants grow to about 30 cm, they can be harvested. Spring-sown fennel is harvested twice in the same year, while autumn-sown fennel is harvested only once in the same year. In areas where it overwinters in the open field, after harvesting begins the following spring, it can be harvested again after more than 40 days, and it can be harvested 4-5 times in the whole year.
2. Storage characteristics and storage and transport methods
Fennel is a fresh vegetable and is mainly sold fresh. It is mostly produced locally and sold locally. If market demand requires, according to its storage characteristics of preferring low temperature and high humidity, it can be stored short-term or transported under suitable conditions (temperature, 0°C; relative humidity, about 95%).
At present, there are already many summaries of the traditional techniques of fennel cultivation, but to follow the trend of the times, achieve large-scale cultivation, and realize mechanized agricultural production still presents certain difficulties. Therefore, from this perspective, fennel cultivation still requires substantial investment in talent and technology.