How to cultivate Cornus officinalis for fast growth and high yield
Cornus officinalis, whose fruit flesh is called yurou, also known as yaozzao, hongzaopi, is a precious woody medicinal plant of the genus Cornus in the family Cornaceae, and is a famous traditional specialty of the Chun'an mountainous area. In recent years, yurou has sold well and prices have risen, and it is being vigorously developed in various places. However, because the seed shell of Cornus officinalis is thick and hard, it generally germinates 3 years after sowing, and seedlings grown from seed only bear fruit after more than 10 years of afforestation, seriously affecting the speed of development. To accelerate the development of Cornus officinalis production, based on the production practice experience of Chun'an, a simple and easy-to-follow set of fast-growing and high-yielding cultivation techniques for Cornus officinalis is introduced here.
1. Suitable growth conditions Cornus officinalis is suitable for growing in valleys and foothill zones on shady slopes, semi-shady slopes, and sunny slopes at an altitude of 200-1000 m. If grown on the middle and upper parts of a sunny slope, fruiting is poorer. It is shade-tolerant and cold-tolerant, and has weak resistance to high temperatures. Cornus officinalis is a fibrous-root tree species with no obvious taproot, and is suitable for cultivation on deep, fertile, loose soil rich in organic matter.
2. Biological characteristics Cornus officinalis is a tree species with slow growth and a long lifespan. Its annual growth and development cycle is as follows: buds swell in mid-March, flowering occurs in early April, young fruits form in mid-to-late April, and late May is the period of rapid fruit enlargement. The volume increases very quickly. From June to August, fruit growth is slow. In early September (some tree types may be 7-15 days earlier), it enters a second vigorous growth period.
3. Rapid seedling raising
(1) Select good mother trees and collect good seeds In September-October, select vigorous mature trees that bear many fruits, show no obvious alternate bearing, mature early, and resist pests and diseases, and collect seeds when the seeds are fully mature.
(2) Seed soaking and germination promotion From October to early November, soak the collected seeds in warm water at 40-50°C for 2-3 days, then remove them. Choose a sloped field or vegetable garden plot with good drainage and sufficient light, dig a pit 60 cm deep, place 30-40 cm of barnyard manure at the bottom of the pit, firm it, cover it with gunny sacks, then pile one layer of wet sand and one layer of seeds, and cover the ground with rice straw and then plastic film to keep warm and moist.
(3) Land selection and sowing The nursery land should be loam or sandy loam with good drainage, convenient irrigation, and fertility. Before sowing, plow deeply and apply 75-100 kg of organic compound fertilizer per mu. Disinfect the soil to eliminate insect pests. Make seedbeds 1 m wide, sow in drills from mid-to-late February to early-to-mid March, with a row spacing of 20 cm and a seed furrow depth of 5-6 cm. After sowing, cover with fine soil or burnt mud ash 2 cm thick, then cover with rice straw and plastic film. In mid-to-late April, choose a cloudy day to remove the film, then strengthen management, weed, fertilize, control insects, and protect seedlings from drought in a timely manner.
4. Grafting When the seedling height grows to more than 50 cm, grafting can be carried out. Grafting methods include cut grafting, bud grafting, and side-veneer grafting, with spring cut grafting and autumn bud grafting having relatively high survival rates.
5. Field planting Choose fertile, organic-matter-rich, slightly acidic mountain land, carry out horizontal strip clearing of the whole area, make planting holes 60 cm long, 60 cm wide, and 40 cm deep, apply sufficient base fertilizer, and plant about 40 trees per mu. It can also be planted mixed with economic forests such as Chinese hickory; the canopy density of Chinese hickory must be below 0.6. After survival, strengthen cultivation and management, and generally it can bear fruit and begin production in 3 years.
6. Management of mature stands
(1) Winter digging and summer hoeing Winter digging is carried out after November and combined with applying base fertilizer, generally once every 2 years. Summer hoeing is carried out before the dry season arrives, and weeds are placed over the root zone to reduce surface evaporation and lower soil temperature.
(2) Scientific fertilization In winter or early spring, apply 0.5 kg each of urea and superphosphate, and 0.5 kg of cake fertilizer or 1-1.5 kg of organic compound fertilizer per tree. From the end of May to the end of June, apply 0.5 kg each of urea and superphosphate per tree.
(3) Flower and fruit protection At the early flowering stage, apply 2.5%-3.5% agricultural borax solution to the trunk. At the full flowering stage, spray a mixture of 0.5%-1% agricultural borax water and 5-10 mg/kg 2,4-D solution.
(4) Pest and disease control Angular leaf spot generally occurs from May to June. For diseased plants, starting in June, spray 800-1000 times dilution of 50% wettable thiram once every 7-10 days, spraying 2-3 times. The wood-boring looper, also known as gonggong worm, has first-generation larvae from late May to mid-July, causing relatively severe damage, and second-generation larvae from August to September, causing relatively light damage. It can be killed by spraying 1000 times dilution of 50% fenitrothion emulsion or 90% trichlorfon.