A Detailed Guide to the Cultivation Methods of Dalbergia odorifera (Huali Mu)

Dalbergia odorifera is a Chinese herbal medicine, mainly distributed in southern China, such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and other places. It can be used as a landscaping plant and can also be made into furniture. So, what cultivation methods does Dalbergia odorifera have?

1. Growing environment

Dalbergia odorifera has relatively strict requirements for the growing environment, so this is also one of the reasons why it is so rare. Generally speaking, the planting site for Dalbergia odorifera should be chosen as mountain land and gentle slopes with moderately acidic or slightly acidic soil, good drainage, facing the sun, and brown or red loam. Secondly, the temperature of the planting site is best when it averages between 23 and 25 degrees, and the most suitable temperature for the growth of Dalbergia odorifera is between 20 and 25 degrees.

2. Propagation methods

The propagation methods of Dalbergia odorifera are generally seed propagation and cutting propagation. For seed propagation, we generally sow in February and March each year. Before sowing, the seeds should be soaked in hot water at a temperature of about 60 degrees. After one day, remove them, dry the seeds, and then sow them. This can promote the germination speed of the seeds, and generally seedlings can emerge in about half a month. For cutting propagation, the main trunk part of Dalbergia odorifera seedlings, or side branches, are used for cuttings, and new roots can generally grow in about one month.

3. Cultivation management

Generally, when the seedlings grow to about 50 cm, we can transplant and establish them. The initial planting density is about 300 to 500 saplings per mu, and the planting density should be reasonably planned according to the fertility of the soil. Under normal circumstances, the row spacing of each plant is about 2 m, and the plant spacing is 1 m or 1.5 m. After planting, we should water once in the morning and evening every day until the seedlings grow new roots. During this period, we should continuously fill in missing seedlings. During the growth of the saplings, we should pay attention to pruning the tree shape to promote the growth of the saplings, and later gradually cultivate the main trunk and branches of the saplings so that they form a crown, and prune the crown to maintain reasonable openness. During the growth of Dalbergia odorifera, that is, in the first four years or so, we should organically combine fertilization, intertillage, earthing up, weeding, and expanding the planting holes, about 3 to 4 times each year. After the fifth year, only one field operation is needed each year.

4. Pest and disease control

During the growth of Dalbergia odorifera, there will also be harm from pests and diseases, such as black spot disease, anthracnose, longhorn beetles with tumor-like chests, and false inchworms. Black spot disease generally occurs around June and July each year and harms the entire Dalbergia odorifera tree. We can use Bordeaux mixture for control. Anthracnose is a very common disease, and Bordeaux mixture is usually used for treatment. Longhorn beetles with tumor-like chests generally begin to appear in February and last until around April, causing serious harm to the young branches of Dalbergia odorifera, and trichlorfon can be used to poison and kill them. False inchworms generally appear in early April and mainly harm the young branches of Dalbergia odorifera as well, and phosmet can be used for control.

The above are the cultivation methods of Dalbergia odorifera. I hope they can help you!