Detailed Guide to Lei Bamboo Planting Techniques and Cultivation Management
Lei bamboo is a type of bamboo, mainly distributed in Zhejiang and other regions, and is a relatively good bamboo species for bamboo shoots, so what are the Lei bamboo planting techniques?
I. Introduction to the growth habits of Lei bamboo
Lei bamboo is a plant of the grass family (Poaceae) and the genus Phyllostachys. The bamboo can grow up to 10 m tall. The young culms of Lei bamboo are dark green, and the mature culms are generally green, grayish-green, or yellow-green. The shoot period of Lei bamboo begins in March, and the flowering period is from April to May.
Lei bamboo is native to Zhejiang, China, and is currently cultivated in Jiangxi, Shanghai, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, and other places.
Lei bamboo prefers fertile soil and fears waterlogging. Its rhizomes are thin and have few roots. It is suitable for growing in areas with an annual average temperature of 15.30°C and annual precipitation of 1400 mm. The planting soil is best a slightly acidic or neutral sandy loam that faces the sun, is close to a water source, is loose in texture, and has good drainage and aeration. Lei bamboo can be planted in dry land, around the four sides of a house, and on riverbanks, and ordinary red soil and yellow soil are also suitable for cultivation.
II. Lei bamboo planting techniques
1. Land preparation
After choosing a good planting area, the land in that area needs to be deeply plowed, large stones, tree stumps, and the like removed, and then basal fertilizer applied.
Drainage ditches should be opened well on flat land to prevent waterlogging. Dig about 60 holes per mu, each 80 cm long, 50 cm wide, and 40 cm deep, and then apply sufficient basal fertilizer. Apply about 25 kg of basal fertilizer per hole.
2. Planting
Plant the mother bamboo into the dug holes, then spread straw, bamboo leaves, and other mulch over them.
The best planting time is the plum rain season in June, when the survival rate of the plantation is high, the rhizomes spread quickly, and shoots can emerge in the same year.
When placing the mother bamboo in the hole, the rhizome roots should be spread out and the bottom should be in close contact with the soil, then topsoil should be filled in and tamped down layer by layer. Note that tamping should be done around the bamboo culm base, and one must not pound on top of the mother bamboo base, so as to prevent damaging the rhizome.
3. Fertilization
After the bamboo shoots that grow become mature culms, simply apply an appropriate amount of fertilizer according to the growth conditions, and later attention should also be paid to the prevention and control of pests and diseases.
The main pests and diseases include witches' broom disease, scale insects, aphids, bamboo borers, and sooty mold.