Detailed Explanation of Field Management Techniques for Lotus Root Cultivation

Lotus root, also known as lotus rhizome, is the rhizome of a plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It can be eaten as food and also used medicinally. It is cultivated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Guangdong and other places in China. The selection and breeding of lotus root mainly includes methods such as asexual selection and sexual hybridization.

Asexual selection.

China is rich in lotus root germplasm resources, which provides good conditions for asexual selection. In recent years, varieties bred from superior asexual plants include Kexuan No. 1, Elian No. 1, Zhehu No. 1, Wuzhi No. 2, Ganlian 85-4, Ganlian 85-5, etc. The method of asexual selection is to broadly mobilize the people in lotus root production areas. For individual plants with high yield, good quality, strong adaptability, strong disease resistance, very early maturity or very late maturity, etc., they should be promptly reported to the relevant scientific research departments or agricultural authorities, and asexual propagation and promotion should be carried out.

Sexual hybridization.

Sexual hybridization is one of the effective methods for breeding new lotus root varieties and has been widely applied in lotus root breeding. Sexual hybridization can make full use of the excellent traits of both parents and purposefully breed new varieties with high yield, good quality, strong disease resistance, very early maturity or very late maturity, etc. In recent years, new varieties bred through sexual hybridization include Elian No. 3, Yangou No. 1, Elian No. 4, Xiangbailian No. 1, etc.

Topdressing can be applied 2-3 times. The first time is when 1-2 standing leaves have grown, the second time can be before the rows close, and the third time is when the back leaves appear. For every 667 sq m (mu), apply 2000-4000 kg of manure or 15 kg of urea the first time, 20-25 kg of compound fertilizer the second time, and 10-15 kg of urea the third time. For early-maturing cultivation, only two topdressings may be applied.

Weeding and loosening the soil: weeds must be removed at any time before the rows close. When there are 1-2 standing leaves, after fertilizing, the soil around the lotus root seed can be loosened by hand or hoe to facilitate the growth of lotus runners. When loosening the soil and weeding, care should be taken to prevent breaking the lotus stems.

Turning lotus heads: in order to make the lotus runners distribute evenly in the field and avoid inserting into the field ridge, the growth direction of the lotus runners should be checked at any time. Move them toward sparse areas. When turning a lotus head, first dig away the soil from the first one or two nodes in front of the lotus root to expose the bud tip and lotus runner, then use your hand to lift the lotus runner and adjust its direction, and bury it in the soil. Do not pull hard, to prevent breaking the lotus runner. The best time to turn lotus heads is on a sunny afternoon.

Water layer management: generally, a lotus root field must not be cut off from water. The water layer depth should be controlled according to the principle of shallow in the early stage, deep in the middle stage, and shallow again in the late stage. During the middle of growth, when the temperature is high and the lotus stems are also tall, the water depth can reach more than 20 cm. After the lotus withers, if it is kept for seed until the following year, a certain depth of water layer should be maintained to prevent the soil from drying and cracking, to avoid freezing damage to the underground stems in severe winter, and at the same time to avoid the soil becoming hard after the field dries, making it difficult to dig up.