Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for High-Yield Cultivation of Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle has deep roots and lush leaves, can prevent soil erosion, purify the air, and as a garden and potted flower, can beautify the environment and cultivate character. It is an excellent plant that combines ecological, economic and ornamental value. It generally yields about 100 kg of dried flowers per mu, and about 5 kg to 6 kg of fresh flower buds can be processed into 1 kg of dried product. Calculated at 28 yuan per kg, its income per mu is about 2,800 yuan. Plant once, benefit every year. Honeysuckle has strong adaptability to climate and soil. It prefers a warm and humid climate, with an optimum growth temperature of 15°C to 30°C. Generally, as long as the temperature is not lower than 5°C and there is a certain degree of humidity, it can grow all year round. It is tolerant of saline-alkali soil, drought and waterlogging. It can grow on hillsides, field ridges, sandy beaches, and barren hilly land. When planted in loose, fertile soil, its root system is well developed, branches and leaves are lush, silver flowers cluster together, and the yield is relatively high.
Cultivation Techniques
Honeysuckle propagation uses seed propagation or vegetative propagation. To obtain high quality and high yield, both methods must select excellent varieties.
1. Seed propagation, also called sexual propagation, is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and growth is slow. In addition, because honeysuckle is mainly used medicinally for its flowers, most plants are not allowed to set seed. It is mostly not used in production.
2. Vegetative propagation, also called asexual propagation, includes three methods: cuttings, layering, and division. Among them, the cutting method is simple and easy, easy to survive, and is most used in production. The layering propagation method and division propagation method are mostly not used in production, so they will not be described in detail here. Cutting method. It is divided into direct cutting and seedling raising by cutting.
Direct cutting. In the main production area of Pingyi, flower farmers, during the rainy seasons of summer and autumn, select robust 1-year to 2-year-old branches free of pests and diseases, cut them into 30 cm lengths, remove the lower leaves, and according to a hole spacing of 1.3 m, place 10 to 15 cuttings per hole, exposing about 10 cm above the ground, then fill with soil and press firmly, water, and plant directly on hillsides, field ridges and other places. Keep the soil moist, and in about half a month new roots will grow.
Cutting seedling raising. It can be carried out all year round except in severe winter. Choose fertile, moist sandy loam with convenient irrigation, use farmyard manure as base fertilizer, plow, level and harrow fine to make a seedbed. Open furrows at a row spacing of 25 cm to 30 cm, with a furrow depth of 15 cm to 20 cm, arrange the cut cuttings evenly in the furrow, with gaps between cuttings being sufficient. Fill with soil and firm it, exposing about 5 cm above the ground, and water thoroughly immediately. If the temperature is above 20°C, keep the soil moist, and in about half a month they can take root and sprout. Seedlings raised in autumn and winter, because they are in the dormant period, will not take root before the end of the year, but they must not lack water, otherwise they will dry up and die. Cuttings raised as seedlings should be transplanted after they produce thick adventitious roots.
Transplanting. Honeysuckle transplanting should be chosen in early to mid-March in spring, and from early August to early October in autumn. Choose loose soil, good drainage, and fertile soil close to a water source. Apply 3,000 kg of barnyard manure per mu, deep plow more than 30 cm, make flat beds, and dig holes at a row and plant spacing of 1.5 m × 1.5 m. The depth and width of the holes depend on the size of the seedlings. Mix fertilizer and soil at the bottom of the hole. For seedlings of half a year to 1 year, place 5 to 8 plants per hole scattered within the hole and plant them in a circular arrangement. For large seedlings of about 2 years, place 1 to 3 plants per hole scattered within the hole and plant them in a half-moon arrangement. Fill with soil, press firmly, and water. In addition, vacant land beside ditches, on field ridges, wasteland, and in front of and behind houses can all be used for planting.
Field Management
Pruning. Reasonable pruning is one of the main measures to increase honeysuckle yield. Pruning in winter and spring is for shaping and increasing the yield of the first crop of flowers. For honeysuckle transplanted for 1 to 3 years, the upper part of the branches can be cut off, leaving thicker branches as the main trunk to promote thickening and upright growth. Cut off the upper parts of branches at all levels, retaining only 2 to 4 pairs of buds, to promote the growth of new branches. For flower clumps more than four years old, prune long branches, diseased and weak branches, dead branches, and overly dense branches to reduce nutrient consumption. Gradually make the honeysuckle branches evenly spaced, with the inner and outer layers arranged so that the top is round, the base is clear, and the interior is open, and the whole plant forms an upright umbrella-shaped flower clump, which facilitates ventilation and light penetration and produces more flower buds. After each harvest, immediately cut off the tips of the flowering branches so that the buds at the nodes branch and grow, forming new flowering branches.
Topdressing. In early winter, open a ring-shaped furrow about 15 cm deep around the flower clump and apply human excrement and urine into it. After the first crop of flowers, topdressing is mainly with urea or compound fertilizer. For strong clumps more than four years old, apply about 10 kg of human and livestock excrement and urine per clump, or apply about 100 g of ammonium sulfate and 200 g of superphosphate, scattering the fertilizer into the furrow beside the flower clump and covering it well with soil. After each topdressing, water to promote the growth of new flowering branches and produce more flower buds.
Loosening soil and weeding. After planting, weeds should be removed and soil loosened frequently so that no weeds grow around the flower clump. After the clump is formed, branches and leaves spread over the ground and intertillage is inconvenient, so it is sufficient to carry out one time each in spring when sprouting and in winter when leaves fall. Near the root zone of the flower clump it should be shallow, and farther away it can be slightly deeper. Flowering period management. Spring drought and summer waterlogging easily cause a large amount of flower drop and flower rotting. Measures should be taken according to local conditions to do well in irrigation or drainage.
Pest and Disease Control
Brown spot disease. The disease is severe from July to August. Leaf lesions are round, yellow-brown, and in humid conditions gray mold-like material grows on the underside. In severe cases, the leaves turn yellow, wither and fall off.
Control method: In winter, remove diseased branches and leaves to reduce sources of the pathogen. In the early stage of the disease, spray with Bordeaux mixture at 1:1.5:200, once every 7 to 10 days, for 2 to 3 consecutive sprays.
Aphids. They begin to occur around Qingming. The affected leaves and flower buds curl up and stop growing.
Control method: Before Qingming, spray once with 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2,000 times dilution or 10% imidacloprid at 3,000 times dilution for control.
Honeysuckle looper. It generally causes serious damage when the first crop of flowers has just been harvested. The larvae can eat all the leaves within a few days. Young larvae damage the underside of leaves, feeding on the lower epidermis and mesophyll tissue and leaving the upper epidermis, making the leaf surface appear as white transparent spots. In severe cases, they can eat all the leaves of entire patches of flower clumps. Control method: In winter, prune branches and clear the clumps to destroy the overwintering environment of the pest and reduce the source of insects. In the early stage of occurrence, spray with 90% crystalline trichlorfon at 1,000 times dilution, or spray with 40% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 1,000 to 1,500 times dilution.
Leopard moth. The larvae mostly bore into the stem from branch forks or the leaf axils of tender shoots and feed inside, causing new shoots to wither and the plant to die.
Control method: In mid-to-late July, during the peak hatching period of the larvae, evenly spray 50% fenitrothion at 1,000 times dilution onto the branches, to the extent that they are wet but not dripping.
Coffee longhorn beetle. It is an important stem-boring pest. It first damages beneath the epidermis, gradually bores into and feeds on the xylem, causing affected branches to wither and the entire flower clump to gradually die.
Control method: In winter, prune branches, peel off the old bark of old branches and trunks, and promptly remove dead branches to destroy the egg-laying conditions of adults. In late June, before the newly hatched larvae have bored into the xylem, spray with 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate at 1,500 times dilution.
Willow carpenter moth. It is a trunk-boring pest. Adults lay eggs on the middle and lower parts of old stems. After hatching, the larvae migrate downward along the phloem, enter the xylem to feed, causing the base trunk to become hollow and, in severe cases, to die.
Control method: In winter pruning, remove dead branches together with the roots and burn them in a centralized manner. From July to September, dig a pit 10 cm to 15 cm deep at the root-stem part of the flower clump, pour in 20 ml of 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate diluted 2 times, then cover with soil and press firmly.
Harvesting and Processing
In production, harvesting should be done when the upper part of the flower bud is swollen, the base is green, and the color is bright and glossy. At this time, the accumulation of chlorogenic acid in the flower is highest. Generally, the first crop of flowers is picked in mid-to-late May, and afterward the 2nd, 3rd and 4th crops of flowers are harvested at intervals of about 1 month. Place the picked flower buds on reed mats. When sunlight is strong, spread them thicker; when sunlight is weak, spread them thinner, so that they can be sun-dried the same day. During the initial drying, they must not be turned arbitrarily, to avoid the flower color turning black. After sun-drying, store them sealed tightly in a dry place, but the center of the flower is not yet completely dry; after a few days it will absorb moisture again, so sun-dry again until completely dry. Storage and Preservation
Honeysuckle should be stored in a dry, cool place, protected from moisture and light, and prevented from discoloration, mold and insects. Flower farmers in the main production areas mostly fully dry it and then put it into plastic film, tie the opening tightly, and store it.
Commercial grades of honeysuckle can be divided into four grades according to appearance indicators such as shape and size, degree of opening, color, impurities, insect damage and mold. Among them, the best is dry, with large unopened flower buds, yellow-white color, mild taste, delicate fragrance, and no mold, insects, branches or leaves.