Detailed Explanation of Cultivation Techniques and Planting Key Points for Cornus officinalis

Cornus officinalis is also known as medicinal jujube, yurou, and zaopi. It belongs to the genus Cornus in the family Cornaceae. It is mainly produced in Zhejiang. It is distributed in Anhui, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Sichuan and other provinces. It is relatively concentrated in the Funiu Mountain area, Tianmu Mountain area, and Qinling Mountains. Its vertical distribution range is 250-1300 m, but it grows and develops best between 600-900 m above sea level. The fruit pulp contains 16 kinds of amino acids, and in addition, it contains large amounts of elements essential to the human body. It also contains relatively strong physiologically active components such as saponin proto-sugars, polysaccharides, malic acid, tartaric acid, phenolics, resins, tannins, and vitamins A and C. Its taste is sour and astringent, and it has effects such as nourishing, strengthening the stomach, promoting urination, tonifying the liver and kidneys, and benefiting qi and blood. It mainly treats conditions such as high blood pressure, soreness and pain of the waist and knees, dizziness and tinnitus, impotence and spermatorrhea, and excessive menstruation.

Plant Characteristics

1. Plant characteristics: It is a deciduous tree or small tree, with a tree height of 3-10 m. The leaves are dark green, simple, opposite, ovate or elliptical, 4-12 cm long and 2-6 cm wide, with acuminate tips and cuneate bases; the leaf surface is sparsely hairy, while the underside is densely hairy. There are 6-8 pairs of lateral veins. The flowers are bisexual, yellow, in umbel-like inflorescences; each inflorescence consists of 20-30 florets. The umbel-like flowers are axillary, opening before the leaves, and are yellow. The drupe is elliptical and dark red when ripe.

2. Variety introduction: There are Cornus officinalis and Cornus chinensis. Medicinal cultivation is mainly Cornus officinalis. Although there are currently no cultivars, investigations show that economic traits within the species vary significantly, making it easy to breed new cultivars.

Biological Characteristics

1. Requirements for growth and development

Fertile soil, deep soil layers, and well-drained loam and sandy soil. Cornus officinalis can overwinter safely in the Beijing area, and mature trees can also overwinter safely in the central and southern Shanxi areas.

2. Requirements for environmental conditions

① Climate: suitable in areas with an average annual temperature of 8-17.5°C. It has strong cold resistance and can tolerate a brief low temperature of -18°C. The annual rainfall should be 600-1500 mm.

② Terrain: mostly distributed on shady slopes, semi-shady slopes, and sunny slopes in mountain valleys and lower mountain areas. It is cultivated more often in low mountains at an altitude of 250-800 m.

Propagation Methods

1. Sexual propagation

① Seed collection: In autumn when the fruit is ripe, select large, strong fruits, remove the pulp, and wash clean. Because the seed coat is thick and hard, germination must be promoted before sowing.

② Seed treatment. Place the seeds in a 1%-2% alkali solution and rub by hand for 3-5 minutes, then add boiling water while stirring until the water submerges the seeds. Let cool for a while, rub again for 3-5 minutes, then soak in cold water for 24 hours. After that, remove the seeds and spread them on a cement surface to sun-dry for 8 hours. Repeat this for 3 days. When 90% of the seed shells have cracked, mix the seeds with wet sand at a ratio of 4:1 and store them in sand.

③ Sowing and raising seedlings. Around the Spring Equinox, pick out the seeds that have already cracked and sprouted and sow them. Before sowing, open shallow furrows about 5 cm deep on the seedbed at a row spacing of 25 cm, evenly scatter the seeds into the furrows, and cover with 3-4 cm of soil. Maintain soil moisture, and seedlings can emerge in 40-50 days. For 15 hectares, 750-1050 kg of seeds are needed. When the seedlings grow 2 true leaves, thin them to a seedling spacing of 7 cm, remove weeds, cultivate in early June, water once before winter, and earth up around the roots of the seedlings so they can overwinter safely.

④ Transplanting. In the second spring, when the seedlings are 60 cm tall, they can be transplanted. Transplanting before new shoots emerge is best. It is suitable to plant 450-750 plants per hectare; for plots intercropped with other crops, about 300 plants per hectare. Timely maintenance and management after planting, and meeting the requirements for water, fertilizer, light, air, and heat, are important measures to ensure high and stable yields.

2. Asexual propagation

Asexually propagated plants can bear fruit 6-8 years earlier and maintain the characteristics of excellent mother trees. Select mother plants with large fruits, many fruits, thick pulp, and a high peel yield. In low-temperature areas, attention should be paid to selecting late-flowering individual plants so that the flowering period avoids low-temperature and rainy weather.

① Layering propagation. After harvesting the fruit in autumn or before the ground thaws and buds sprout, bend 2-3-year-old branches near the ground down to the ground, bury into soil already fertilized with decomposed manure the part of the branch cut to 1/3 of its woody part, cover with 15 cm of sandy loam, and leave the tip of the branch exposed above the ground. Water frequently. In the second winter or third spring of layering, dig open the soil around the rooted layered branch, cut the part connecting it to the mother plant, and transplant the rooted seedling elsewhere for final planting.

② Cutting propagation. In mid-to-late May, cut branches from excellent plants into 15-20 cm lengths, keep 2-4 leaves on the upper part of the branches, and insert them into a seedbed made of a uniform mixture of humus soil and fine sand, with a row spacing of 20 cm × 8 cm and a depth of 12-16 cm, then cover with 12-16 cm of soil and press firm. Water thoroughly, cover with agricultural film, maintain an air temperature of 26-30°C and relative humidity of 60%-80%, and set up a shade shed above with 25% light transmittance. In mid-June, adjust the light transmittance to 10% to avoid strong light exposure. Remove the shade shed before overwintering and water thoroughly. The following year, loosen the soil and pull weeds appropriately, strengthen water and fertilizer management, and lift the seedlings for final planting in late autumn and early winter or in early spring of the following year.