How to Grow A-choy (Taiwan Lettuce)? Detailed Growing Methods and Tips

A-choy, also known as yumai lettuce, bitter vegetable or lettuce, belongs to the Asteraceae family, Lactuca genus. It is a pointed-leaf leaf lettuce harvested for its tender shoots and tender leaves. The leaves are long and lanceolate, light green in color, crisp and tender in texture, with an extremely fresh, delicate and fragrant taste and a unique flavor. It contains large amounts of vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and abundant calcium, iron and other nutrients. It is a top-grade vegetable for raw consumption and is known as the “phoenix tail”.

1. Site selection and land preparation: Choose a plot where long-residual herbicides such as pursuit and chlorimuron-ethyl have not been applied to the previous crop. Before planting, plow the land deeply, apply about 3000 kg of farmyard manure per 667 sq m, 10-15 kg of urea, 15-20 kg of diammonium phosphate, 5-10 kg of potassium sulfate, or 50-60 kg of compound fertilizer, broadcast on the ground surface and then plow and harrow. Mix the fertilizer and soil thoroughly and evenly, then make flat beds or raised beds, with a bed width of 1.5-2 m and a bed length of 10-20 m.

2. Sowing and seedling raising:

① Sowing time: Sowing can be staggered so that the crop comes to market in batches and is supplied to the market successively. For spring protected cultivation, sowing and seedling raising can generally be done in a greenhouse in late March and then transplanted; or sow in a hotbed and transplant into medium or large tunnels in mid-to-late April. For spring open-field cultivation, sowing can be done in mid-May, with marketing in early to mid-July; for summer-autumn cultivation, sowing can be done in late July to early August.

② Sowing and seedling raising: Apply an appropriate amount of decomposed organic fertilizer to the seedling bed and water thoroughly. Because the seeds are brown and very small, they must be mixed with fine soil before sowing and broadcast. After sowing, cover with sieved fine soil and then a layer of plastic film. Remove the film after emergence. Seedlings emerge in about 5-7 days. When the seedlings grow to 3-4 true leaves, they can be transplanted to the field.

③ Planting density: Appropriate close planting can achieve higher yields. The plant-to-row spacing is 15×15 cm, and 25,000-30,000 plants can be transplanted per 667 sq m.

3. Field management: Seedlings generally recover 3-4 days after transplanting. During the growing period, foliar fertilizer should be applied 2-3 times together with watering, generally by spraying 0.2% monopotassium phosphate or other foliar fertilizer on the leaves.

4. Pest and disease control: A-choy is prone to downy mildew. In the early stage of the disease, spray 72% metalaxyl mancozeb wettable powder at 400-500 times dilution for control, or spray 72% Previcur at 1000 times dilution for control. When leafminers cause damage, spray 1% cyromazine-abamectin EC at 1500 times dilution for control.