Summary of Field Management Experience in Balloon Flower Cultivation
1. Thinning and final thinning: When seedlings are 3-5 cm tall, carry out thinning 1-2 times; when seedlings are 10-12 cm tall, carry out final thinning at a spacing of 6-8 cm.
2. Cultivation and weeding: During the seedling stage, weed and loosen the soil frequently; when the seedlings are small, it is best to pull weeds by hand, and each thinning should preferably be combined with weeding. After planting, carry out timely shallow cultivation and weeding to keep the soil loose and free of weeds. In the second year of planting, weed 1-2 times before the plants have closed the rows; after the plants have grown and closed the rows, cultivation and weeding should no longer be carried out.
3. Topdressing: Generally topdress 5-6 times. After final thinning, promptly apply 1 topdressing of decomposed barnyard manure or urea, with a urea rate of 2.2-3 kg per mu; apply 1 time each when the seedlings are about 15 cm tall and when they flower in June-July. After the aboveground plants wither in winter, combine with cleaning the furrows and earthing up to additionally apply plant ash or soil miscellaneous fertilizer; after the seedlings emerge fully in early spring of the second year, apply 1 time of dilute human and livestock manure water to accelerate plant regrowth; before flowering in June-July, apply 1 topdressing of human and livestock manure water plus 25 kg of superphosphate.
4. Irrigation and drainage: After final thinning, water timely according to plant growth conditions. During the rainy season, pay attention to drainage to avoid waterlogging in the field and causing root rot.
5. Cleaning furrows and earthing up: For balloon flower planted for one year, after winter begins, earth up in combination with fertilization. In the following spring, appropriately control the amount of nitrogen fertilizer and increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, so that the stems grow thick and strong to prevent balloon flower from lodging before flowering.
6. Flower and fruit thinning: Balloon flower flowering and fruiting consume a large amount of nutrients and affect root growth, so appropriate flower and fruit thinning is needed.