What are the key points of water hyacinth stocking management techniques?
When it comes to water hyacinth, everyone is quite familiar with it. We can often see things floating on the surface of ponds or beside rivers that look like gourds, called water hyacinth. Water hyacinth reproduces very quickly, is very easy to keep alive, and has fairly tenacious vitality.
What is water hyacinth
Water Hyacinth, also known as water hyacinth, water lettuce, pocket lotus, and anchored water hyacinth. It belongs to the family Pontederiaceae and the genus Eichhornia. Native to South America, it was introduced to China in 1901 to solve a shortage of feed for raising pigs. Water hyacinth reproduces extremely quickly, multiplying at a rate of doubling every week. It grows widely in the waters of southern China and has become one of the typical representatives of invasive alien species.
Morphological characteristics of water hyacinth
Water hyacinth has a rhizome that is thick and short, densely bearing many slender fibrous roots; the leaves are basal, arranged in a rosette, with leaf blades ovate, obovate to kidney-shaped, varying in size, about 4-12 cm wide, smooth, and the base of the petiole is purplish red and swollen into a gourd-shaped air bladder.
It has bright purple flowers. The uppermost petal has a blue fan-shaped patch, with a bright peach-shaped yellow spot dotted in the center; the green leaves are cup-shaped, and the base of the leaf stem is swollen, enabling the plant to float on the water surface; the flower stem is solitary, with a sheath-like bract in the middle, and the spike has 6-12 flowers; the perianth has 6 lobes, purple-blue, with the upper lobes larger, and a bright yellow spot in the center of the blue, with glandular hairs on the outer base; there are 3 long and 3 short stamens, with the long ones extending outside the flower, and the filaments irregularly united within the perianth; the ovary is oblong; the capsule is ovate.
How to stock and manage water hyacinth
1. Stock at the right time
After the last frost in spring, begin stocking when the temperature reaches above 13 degrees C. Water hyacinth likes to grow in groups, and grows quickly in groups, so when stocking, the amount placed per 0.067 hectares must not be less than 300 kg. After stocking, it must be enclosed and fixed with wooden poles, grass ropes, etc., to prevent it from being scattered by the wind. Later, as it grows, the enclosure must be continuously expanded until it forms a solid patch. 2. Scientific fertilization
Water hyacinth likes to grow in fertile water. Plants in fertile ponds grow more robustly, with fresh green stems and leaves and short thick roots; on the contrary, water hyacinth growing in lean ponds is short and small, with yellowing stems and leaves and slender roots. Therefore, during cultivation, when plants grow poorly and leaves turn yellow, fertilizer should be applied in time, preferably decomposed farmyard manure, or a 1%-3% ammonium sulfate solution can be sprayed to promote growth. 3. Pest control
Water hyacinth generally has few pests and diseases. If aphid damage is found, spray a 1000-1500 times diluted solution of 40% omethoate for control. Only after half a month from spraying can it be harvested for feed.
4. Harvest in time
When water hyacinth fills pits and ponds or forms large patches, it can be harvested. Frequent harvesting helps the water hyacinth plants spread out, expand the nutrient area, facilitate the absorption of sunlight and water, and continue to reproduce and grow. 5. Protect for overwintering
Water hyacinth cannot overwinter naturally north of the Yangtze River basin and must be protected to overwinter. Generally, a protection pond is used for overwintering, that is, in a sheltered, sunny place, dig a pond 3 m long, 3 m wide, and 2 m deep, line the bottom with plastic film to prevent water seepage (if conditions permit, a permanent pond built with bricks and cement can be used). Then move the water hyacinth kept for seed use the following year into the pond, cover it with film, and when the temperature is especially low, cover it with straw mats for insulation.
Notes on planting water hyacinth
1. Watering points: different growth stages of the same flower have different water requirements. Water hyacinth needs a relatively large amount of water during its vigorous growth period, so water appropriately more to promote growth; during flower bud differentiation, water appropriately less to promote flower bud differentiation.
2. Pruning essentials: when pruning water hyacinth, carry out one pruning in spring, cutting off withered, dead leaves or dead branches, thinning them out, which is beneficial for better growth of water hyacinth.
3. Potting soil replacement: when transplanting, the new flower pot needs to be mixed with the original soil, generally with 70% original soil and 30% new soil as suitable, and then the water hyacinth is moved in. This can prevent the water hyacinth from dying due to sudden environmental changes.
I think everyone is quite familiar with water hyacinth. Its planting is relatively simple, its vitality is fairly tenacious, and its reproduction speed is also very fast, so once water hyacinth is planted, it must be harvested in time and frequently collected, which is beneficial to its spread and growth.