How to Grow Chinese Water Chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis): Cultivating the "Underground Snow Pear" This Way

The Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis), also known as the horse's hoof, water chestnut, or spiny turtle, is both a fruit and a vegetable, crisp and delicious. So, what are the methods for growing Chinese water chestnut? Let's find out together!

1. Site selection

The Chinese water chestnut is not demanding about soil and can adapt to various soil environments, but neutral and slightly acidic soil is the best choice. The planting site requires convenient drainage and irrigation. It is not suitable to grow Chinese water chestnut continuously; it is best to rotate it with other crops at an interval of 2-3 years to reduce the chance of disease occurrence, while also reducing the impact of disease on yield and quality.

2. Seed selection and seedling raising

The Chinese water chestnut reproduces asexually through corms. When sowing, select corms with undamaged skin, robust apical and lateral buds, a dark brown color, and a large size as seed. Generally, only fifty or sixty corms are needed per mu. The sowing time is at the end of March or the beginning of April, and it should be done before Qingming Festival if possible. Before sowing, soak the corms in a 600-fold dilution of 50% carbendazim wettable powder for one day to disinfect them. After disinfection, arrange the corms in the seedling bed with the bud tips pointing upward. After arranging them, cover with a layer of fine soil, then water to keep the seedling bed moist.

3. Temporary planting

When the young shoots grow to 10-15cm in the seedling bed and have 3-4 lateral buds, temporary planting can be carried out. This is generally done at the end of April or the beginning of May. Early rice fields can be chosen for temporary planting. Before temporary planting, prepare the land and apply fertilizer first: apply 1000kg of manure, 25kg of ammonium bicarbonate, and 25kg of compound fertilizer per mu. During temporary planting, pull out the sprouted Chinese water chestnuts and plant them in the rice field, maintaining a plant spacing of 40×50cm. Keep the water depth at 1-2cm in the early stage, then deepen it to 2-3cm in the later stage. Strengthen fertilizer and water management. When the seedlings reach 40cm in height, they can be finally planted.

4. Final planting

Final planting also requires land preparation and fertilizer application. Deep plowing of 20cm is required, and the soil should be finely broken and leveled, with sufficient basal fertilizer applied. Pull out the temporarily planted seedlings. When pulling the seedlings, dig them out together with the corms, and remove male Chinese water chestnut seedlings whose leaf-like stems are clustered and slender. If the seedlings are too tall, cut off a section of the tips of the leaf-like stems to prevent wind from affecting root establishment after final planting. After washing the seedling roots clean, soak them in a 600-fold dilution of 25% carbendazim wettable powder for 1 hour to disinfect, then apply some rooting powder before planting. The planting depth is 8-12cm, so that the roots make perfect contact with the soil. Plant about 4000 plants per mu, maintaining a plant spacing of 60×30cm.

5. Field management

Strengthen fertilizer and water management, using the method of transplanting in shallow water and establishing the plants in deep water. For final planting, plant in shallow water with a water level of 2-3cm. After planting, deepen the water level to 5-9cm. After the plants survive, lower the water level to 2-3cm. During the corm formation stage, keep the water level at 8-10cm. When the corms mature, stop irrigation and just keep the soil moist. Fertilization should be mainly basal fertilizer, supplemented by topdressing. Topdressing mainly uses nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers. In the early stage, mainly nitrogen fertilizer is used, and in the later stage, mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are used. When fertilizing, combine it with intertillage and weeding, and remove weeds to prevent them from competing with the plants for nutrients. When weeding, if diseased or weak seedlings are found, they can also be pulled out directly.

The above are the methods for growing Chinese water chestnut. I hope they can help you!