What are the key points of Amomum villosum cultivation techniques?

Every part of Amomum villosum is a treasure; its flowers, fruits, roots, stems and leaves can all be used as medicine. It has very high medicinal value, and herb growers often cultivate it, so today we will introduce Amomum villosum cultivation techniques.

1. Site selection and land preparation

Before planting, choose a fertile area with high water content and a certain degree of shade for planting, and the soil must not be too sandy or too clayey. Soil with no shade, abundant light and excessive stickiness is not suitable for growing Amomum villosum. After choosing the site, land preparation must be done well: plow it deep and level it, apply plenty of fully decomposed farmyard manure as base fertilizer, improve soil looseness and enhance soil fertility, and make beds ready for planting.

2. Seed selection

Around August each year, when the fruit splits and gives off a pungent smell, it means the fruit is ripe; then use scissors to cut off the fruit stalk and take the seeds out of the fruit. Then wash the impurities, mucus and so on from the seeds clean, air-dry them, and sow them at the right time.

3. Sowing

Sowing is generally carried out in autumn. When sowing, pay attention to controlling the sowing density; it must not be too dense, so as to avoid reducing the seed germination rate. Sowing is generally mainly done by dibbling; after digging the sowing holes, place about two seeds in each sowing hole. After sowing, cover with soil and grass to improve the soil's moisture-holding capacity and prevent rain from washing the seeds away.

4. Timely field planting

After sowing, under normal management, seedlings generally emerge in about 1 month; then strengthen management and carry out field planting at the right time around Qingming Festival the following year. When field planting, keep about 1/3 of the leaves of the seedlings, and plant immediately after cutting. When field planting, keep the row spacing at about 80 cm, control the depth of the planting holes at about 30 cm, and then apply plenty of fully decomposed farmyard manure. After field planting, cover with about 8 cm of soil, leaving the creeping stems exposed. Press the base of the plants firm to avoid lodging in the wind. After field planting, cover appropriately with grass again; if water deficiency occurs, water in time to keep the soil moist.

5. Field management

During the cultivation process, we must do a good job of intertillage and weeding. Proper intertillage can prevent soil compaction, improve soil permeability, and create a good growing environment for Amomum villosum. When weeding, manual pulling should be the main method, because Amomum villosum has a very large number of creeping stems, and if a hoe is used for weeding, it is very likely to damage the creeping stems of Amomum villosum. Weeding can not only prevent weeds from competing for nutrients, but also, because the flowers and fruits of Amomum villosum have a very strong fragrance, it can also avoid harm to the plants from snakes and rats. When watering, sprinkling should be the main method; sprinkling can promote pollen growth and increase the fruit-setting rate, but it must not be excessive, so as to avoid flowers dropping.

Using Amomum villosum as a raw material, a series of products such as “Amomum villosum wine”, “Amomum villosum baijiu” and “Amomum villosum red wine” have been launched successively; in recent years, local specialty products such as “Amomum villosum honey”, “Amomum villosum preserves” and “Amomum villosum tea” have also been developed, and are sold far and wide.