How to Treat Atractylodes Diseases? Detailed Explanation of Control Methods

Atractylodes is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, bitter in nature, warm and pungent in flavor, with effects of drying dampness, resolving turbidity and relieving pain, and it is widely cultivated in medicinal gardens across China. So, how to treat Atractylodes diseases?

1. How to treat Atractylodes diseases?

Root rot: drench with 50% Tuzet wettable powder at 1000 times dilution or 1% lime water; Fusarium wilt: use 68% thiram and hymexazol 20 g or 80% captan 15 g + 25% iprodione 20 ml mixed with 30 jin of water for root drenching; Black spot: 32.5 g/L difenoconazole and azoxystrobin 10 g + 50% thiram and ziram 50 g mixed with 30 jin of water for spraying.

2. What are the cultivation techniques for Atractylodes?

1. Land preparation and fertilization

Choose loam, sandy loam or humus loam with deep soil layer, good drainage, loose and fertile texture and sufficient sunlight for the bed. Apply 2000 kg of farmyard manure per mu. Adopt the wide-ridge high-bed technique, with a bed width of 130-140 cm, length as needed, bed height of 10-12 cm and bed spacing of 30 cm.

2. Field management

Intertillage and weeding: during the seedling stage, weed and loosen the soil frequently, and pay attention to intertillage and weeding after planting. If the weather is dry, irrigate in good time, which can also be done together with topdressing.

Topdressing: generally topdress 3 times a year, combined with earthing up to prevent lodging. The first topdressing is in May with clear manure water, using about 1000 kg per mu; the second is in June during the vigorous growth period of the seedlings with human excrement and urine, using about 1250 kg per mu, or 5 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu; the third topdressing should be before flowering in August, using 1000-1500 kg of human excrement and urine per mu, while adding an appropriate amount of plant ash and superphosphate.

Irrigation and drainage: if drought occurs, water in good time to keep the soil moist; during the rainy season, drain promptly to prevent waterlogging, so as to avoid root rot and seedling death, and reduce yield and quality.

Bud removal: during the budding period from July to August, for Atractylodes plants not grown for seed, remove the flower buds in good time to favor underground growth.

3. Harvesting and processing

Cultivated Atractylodes needs to grow for 2 years before it can be harvested. North Atractylodes can be dug in both spring and autumn, but the quality is better when dug from after autumn to before the seedlings emerge in early spring of the following year. After North Atractylodes is dug out, remove the stems, leaves and soil, sun-dry until 50% dry, then put it into a basket and shake off part of the fibrous roots, with the surface turning dark brown; when sun-dried to 60-70% dry, shake it once more to remove all the old skin; when fully sun-dried, shake it one last time to make the surface yellow-brown, and it becomes a commercial product. Those with large size, firm texture, many vermilion dots in the cross-section and strong aroma are best. About 200 kg of dried medicinal material can be produced per mu.

During the cultivation of Atractylodes, choosing the right soil can avoid many diseases. The land must not be waterlogged; after waterlogging, the roots easily rot, so low-lying water-accumulating land is not suitable for planting.