Detailed Explanation of the Key Technical Points for Soilless Cultivation of Chinese Toon Sprouts
Chinese toon is an early spring delicacy. It gives off a distinctive fragrance of its own, and many people like to eat it precisely because of this advantage. In the past, Chinese toon was all wild and people picked it themselves. Now large-scale cultivation bases have appeared, with certain cultivation models, and soilless cultivation is a relatively novel cultivation technique in recent years. Chinese toon can also be cultivated using this technique.
Techniques for Soilless Cultivation of Chinese Toon Sprouts
1. Site selection. Protected facilities such as greenhouses, plastic tunnels, idle workshops or single-storey houses can be chosen for cultivation. The indoor area can be determined according to the scale of production.
2. Spraying equipment: During the production of Chinese toon sprouts, no watering is needed; atomized water supply is required, meaning the water supply must neither batter the seedlings nor allow water to accumulate in the trays. Generally, an agricultural knapsack sprayer is sufficient, or an automated micro-spray device and timer can be installed for timed automatic spraying.
3. Seed storage. In the cultivation of Chinese toon sprouts, new seeds of the current year with high germination rate, purity and cleanliness, and plump grains should be selected. If year-round sprout production is carried out, the seeds are best stored at a temperature of 1-5°C to maintain a high germination rate.
4. Seed treatment before sowing. High-temperature scalding: scald the seeds with hot water at 55-70°C. Sowing after germination promotion can advance harvest by 5-7 days compared with direct sowing, and the sprouts grow stronger, are easier to manage, and have noticeably fewer diseases.
5. Sowing. Sow when the sprouted buds have grown to 0.2-0.5 cm. If the buds are too long, they are easily damaged during sowing; if the buds are too short, seeds that cannot sprout are easily mixed in and sown together, causing seed and bud rot after sowing, affecting the growth of the whole tray of sprouts, while also prolonging the sprout growth period and raising production costs.
6. Tray stacking. Stack the sown cultivation trays together, about 15-20 trays per stack. When stacking, they should be staggered with a certain gap between each tray to facilitate ventilation and ensure normal respiration of the sprouts.
Growing Conditions for Soilless Cultivation of Chinese Toon Sprouts
Chinese toon is a temperate plant. The suitable temperature for seed germination is 20-25°C. The suitable temperature during the seedling growth period is 15°C-25°C during the day and 10-15°C at night. Normal growth in protected facilities requires 20-24°C, and normal growth can occur at temperatures of 8-20°C. Seedlings are highly tolerant of low temperatures; robustly growing seedlings can still overwinter safely in the open field under short-term low temperatures of -20°C in winter. After mid-October, when the temperature drops below 10°C, the seedlings begin to shed leaves and generally enter dormancy for about 4 months, but in a solar greenhouse the dormancy period is only 30-60 days, though the difference among varieties is relatively large.
Management After Soilless Cultivation of Chinese Toon Sprouts
1. Humidity regulation. Seedlings planted in a warm shed have poor root water absorption capacity, so a relatively high soil moisture and air humidity should be maintained in the early stage. After planting, water thoroughly, and thereafter water lightly as conditions require. The relative air humidity should be kept above 85%, and on sunny days water should also be sprayed on the seedlings to prevent dehydration and drying out. After sprouting, the relative air humidity should preferably be 70%. If humidity is too high, not only will sprouting be delayed, but the fragrance will also be greatly reduced, so ventilation should be provided in time to remove moisture.
2. Water and fertilizer management. Chinese toon is a fast-growing woody vegetable with modest water requirements, and its fertilizer demand is relatively high for potassium fertilizer. For every 300 sq m of warm shed, the base fertilizer requires about 2500 kg of fully decomposed high-quality farmyard manure, 75-150 kg of plant ash or 3-6 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, and 3-6 kg of diammonium carbonate. After each harvest, apply an appropriate amount of topdressing and watering according to soil fertility, the growth of the Chinese toon and leaf color.
Pest Control After Soilless Cultivation of Chinese Toon Sprouts
1. Chinese toon powdery mildew. Control methods: promptly remove diseased branches and leaves and burn them. Strengthen tending and management, fertilize reasonably, and enhance the tree's growth vigor and disease resistance. Before Chinese toon sprouts, spray 1 time with 5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture; during the growing season, spray 2-3 times with 0.3-0.5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture. You can also spray the branches and leaves with 2.5% triadimefon 1500-2000 times dilution, or 25% sulfur suspension concentrate 200 times dilution, 70% thiophanate-methyl, or 50% carbendazim 600-800 times dilution. Spray 2-3 times with Baume lime sulfur mixture. You can also spray the branches and leaves with 2.5% triadimefon 1500-2000 times dilution, or 25% sulfur suspension concentrate 200 times dilution, 70% thiophanate-methyl, or 50% carbendazim 600-800 times dilution.
2. Chinese toon dieback disease. Control methods: promptly remove infected branches and trunks and burn them to reduce sources of infection. Whitewash the trunks in winter and spring. Chemical control: make small holes in the initially diseased spots deep into the xylem, then spray with 70% thiophanate 200 times dilution for control. Prune reasonably and apply Bordeaux mixture or lime sulfur mixture to the wounds. Strengthen fertilizer, water and tending management, enhance tree vigor, improve disease resistance, and prevent infection.
When carrying out soilless cultivation of Chinese toon sprouts, we need to do a series of work well, including site selection, seed selection and machine adjustment. Chinese toon sprouts like to grow in warm places, so indoor temperature regulation is very important. Pest control must be done well in the later stage of cultivation, as Chinese toon sprouts are also very susceptible to pest infestation.