How to grow Astragalus seeds? Detailed planting methods and techniques
When it comes to Astragalus, I think everyone is still quite familiar with it. Astragalus is a relatively common and relatively commonly used traditional Chinese medicine. We all know that the culture of traditional Chinese medicine has several hundred years of culture and history in our country, so the cultivation of traditional Chinese medicine in our country is still very widespread.
How to grow Astragalus seeds
1. Carefully select seeds It is advisable to choose superior individual plants that are over 3 years old, pure in variety, free of pests and diseases, and robust in growth as mother plants. In autumn, when the pods droop and turn yellow and ripe and the seeds turn brown, harvest immediately, harvesting as they ripen. After the pods are harvested, thresh them, dry them in the sun, and store them. Before sowing, select by water and by winnowing, and choose plump, brown, glossy seeds for production.
2. Seed treatment Astragalus seeds have hard seed coats, so seed treatment must be carried out before sowing to break the seed impermeability and increase the sowing emergence rate. There are 3 seed treatment methods:
① Alternating water temperature soaking. A few days before sowing, soak in 40°C warm water during the day, then change to cold water at night, treating continuously for 3 days and nights. After removing, put them into an earthen jar, cover with a wet cloth, and place in a warm place to promote germination. They will sprout in 3—4 days and can then be sown. Alternatively, place the seeds in boiling water and stir rapidly for 1 minute, immediately pour into cold water, let the water cool to 40°C, then soak for another 2 hours, pour off the water, cover with a wet gunny sack and let them sweat for 12 hours, and sow when the seeds swell or the outer coat cracks.
② Mechanical damage. Mix 1 part fine river sand with 2 parts seeds evenly, place on a medium-sized mill, spread 3—4 cm thick, and mill until the seed coats become fuzzy and prickly. After milling, sieve out the seeds, soak in 20°C warm water for 1 day, pile them in a warm place to ferment, and they will germinate in about 5 days and can then be sown. Be careful not to over-mill and rub the seeds.
③ Sulfuric acid treatment. For old, fully mature, hard seeds, soak in 70—80% sulfuric acid solution for 3—5 minutes, then immediately rinse in running water for half an hour, or wash the residual sulfuric acid off the seeds several times with clean water, and sow when slightly dry. The germination rate can reach over 90%.
3. Sowing Sowing should seize the soil moisture. If the soil moisture is poor, water thoroughly to build up bottom moisture.
Astragalus can be sown in spring, summer, and autumn. Spring sowing is carried out around “Qingming”, no later than “Guyu”; summer sowing is carried out in 6—7 month; autumn sowing is generally carried out around “Bailu”. Sowing times differ with climate conditions in different places and should be flexibly controlled. For example, in the south, where temperatures are high, autumn sowing is done in 9 month, with seedlings emerging before winter; in the north, where temperatures are low, seedlings have poor resistance and are susceptible to frost damage, so autumn sowing should be done before winter, with seedlings emerging the following spring. In windy, sandy, and arid areas, spring and autumn sowing make it difficult to preserve full stands, and in spring when seedlings emerge they are prone to pest damage. Using summer sowing in 6—7 month results in neat emergence and robust seedling growth.
Astragalus sowing methods are divided into two types: direct sowing and seedling transplanting
Direct sowing is convenient for field management and is currently used more in production, but the seed quantity used is large, growth is not uniform, and it affects commodity quality and digging. Generally, hole sowing or drill sowing is used, and broadcast sowing can also be used. For hole sowing, on the prepared planting bed surface, open shallow holes at a row and plant spacing of 33×27 (cm2), sow 4—5 seeds per hole, cover with soil 2 cm thick, and use 1—1.5 kg of seed per mu; for drill sowing, open transverse trenches on the bed surface at a row spacing of 45 cm, with a trench depth of 3 cm. When sowing, mix the seeds evenly with plant ash and human and animal urine, then evenly scatter into the trenches. After sowing, cover with fine soil 1—2 cm, press slightly firm, and use about 2 kg of seed per mu.
Seedling transplanting can save land. After transplanting, the plants grow robustly, the rhizomes grow neatly, harvesting is convenient, and the commodity quality is good and the yield is high. In recent years, its application in production has gradually increased. Open transverse trenches on the seedling bed surface at a row spacing of 20—25 cm, with a trench depth of 3 cm and a sowing width of 10 cm. Mix the seeds evenly with plant ash and sow evenly into the trenches, cover with soil 2 cm thick, press slightly firm, water thoroughly, and cover the bed with grass to keep warm and retain moisture. Use 10—15 kg of seed per mu. For spring seedling raising, it is best to use a small arched shed with film covering for seedling raising, to raise temperature and preserve soil moisture. When temperatures are low, a straw curtain can be added for insulation. For summer seedling raising, after the seedlings emerge, in order to prevent sun exposure and maintain seedbed humidity, a shed curtain must be set up or black netting used for shading, with about 50% shading being best. On rainy days and at night, the shade curtain should be removed so the seedlings can receive dew.
After the seedlings emerge, field management should be strengthened, weeds removed promptly, and overly dense and weak seedlings removed in good time. When the seedlings grow to 13—15 cm and the roots are 15 cm long, they can be transplanted. Transplanting should be carried out on cloudy days or in the afternoon and evening of sunny days. The survival rate after transplanting after rain is relatively high. First separate large and small seedlings, then open holes at a row spacing of 20—24 cm and a plant spacing of 12 cm, planting 1—2 seedlings per hole. After transplanting or planting out the seedlings, they should be irrigated or sprayed with water immediately to promote survival. Generally, about 20,000 seedlings are planted per mu.
Field management of Astragalus
Thin Astragalus when it is 6-8 cm tall, as long as they are not crowded. After final thinning, water and topdress, using 10-15 kg of urea per mu. During the seedling stage, pay attention to intertillage and weeding. In the rainy season, when humidity is too high, pay attention to drainage.
1. Thinning and filling gaps: When the seedlings are 5-7 cm tall, carry out the first thinning. After 2-3 thinnings, leave 1 strong seedling every 8-10 cm. If there are missing plants, small seedlings should be replanted with soil, or pre-germinated seeds can be resown to fill gaps.
2. Topdressing: In the 1st and 2nd years of growth, topdress once each year in combination with intertillage and weeding, applying 1000 kg of decomposed human and animal manure water per mu or 7-8 kg of three-element compound fertilizer (N, P, K each 15%). After the plants wither in the first winter, apply 2000 kg of barnyard manure per mu plus 10 kg of three-element compound fertilizer (N, P, K each 15%) and 150 kg of cake fertilizer. Mix well and apply in trenches between rows, then earth up to prevent freezing.
3. Topping: Topping is done to control plant height growth and reduce nutrient consumption. Topping before the end of 7 month can increase yield.
4. Intertillage and weeding: Astragalus seedlings grow slowly, and if weeding is neglected, it is easy to cause weed infestation. Therefore, when the seedlings are about 5 cm tall, intertillage and weeding should be carried out promptly in combination with thinning. The 2nd time is when the seedlings are 8-9 cm tall, and the 3rd time is after final thinning, carrying out intertillage and weeding once each. After the second year, weed once each in 5, 6, and 9 month.
Astragalus yield-increasing techniques
1. Yield-increasing measures: Apply more organic fertilizer as base fertilizer before planting, plow deeply and harrow finely, and the yield will rise noticeably.
2. For direct sowing or seedling raising of Astragalus, follow actual field operations, and it should be no later than mid-to-late 7 month. In arid areas, planting in the rainy season is best, harvesting in late autumn of the second year, with very good returns.
3. How to sprout quickly: For summer sowing, soak the seeds in cold water for 30 hours, changing the water once in between. After removing them, keep them moist. At sowing time, the soil must have moisture, and they will sprout very quickly.
Astragalus cultivation is still relatively common in our country, because Astragalus has a fairly high share of our country's traditional Chinese medicine market. Astragalus is a relatively common traditional Chinese medicinal material. The reason traditional Chinese medicine has been able to continue in our country from ancient times to the present naturally lies in its unique advantages.