A Detailed Guide to the Benefits, Effects, Dietary Taboos and Cultivation Techniques of White Radish

White radish is one of the favorite soup ingredients for many people. White radish is very suitable to be boiled in water, then drink the radish water with a little white sugar added, which can be consumed as a beverage and has a very good effect on digestion and nourishing the stomach. So what are the benefits and effects of white radish? What are the dietary taboos of white radish? What are the cultivation techniques of white radish?

I. Benefits and Effects of White Radish

1. Anti-inflammatory and cough-relieving: White radish has very good dietary therapeutic effects in reducing inflammation, resolving phlegm, relieving cough and regulating qi. It can assist in treating a variety of diseases including colds, and when paired with pear it is the best food for treating cough.

2. Promoting digestion: White radish is rich in mustard oil, crude fiber, amylase and various amino acids, which can promote digestion and speed up gastrointestinal peristalsis, and has an excellent therapeutic effect on indigestion, nausea and vomiting, mouth ulcers, constipation, etc.

3. Cancer prevention and anti-cancer: Vitamin A and vitamin C in white radish can effectively act as antioxidants; radish contains lignin, which can enhance the vitality of macrophages, and the various enzymes it contains can break down the carcinogenic nitrosamines, thus having the effect of preventing and fighting cancer.

4. Whitening the skin: White radish is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and other vitamins, which can prevent skin aging, stop the formation of dark spots, and keep the skin fair and tender; in addition, it can also prevent aging and arteriosclerosis, etc.

5. Cleansing the intestines and detoxifying: The dietary fiber content in white radish is very considerable, especially the leaves, which are even richer in plant fiber. These plant fibers can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, relieve constipation and play a detoxifying role.

II. Dietary Taboos of White Radish

1. Patients with gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic gastritis, simple goiter, threatened abortion, uterine prolapse, etc. should eat it sparingly.

2. White radish is a cold and cooling vegetable, so people with a constitution of excess yin and cold, and those with deficiency cold of the spleen and stomach, should not eat much of it.

3. White radish should not be eaten together with fruit. In the daily diet, if radish is eaten together with orange, it can induce goiter.

4. White radish mainly purges while carrot tonifies, so the two are best not eaten together. If they are to be eaten together, some vinegar should be added to harmonize them.

5. White radish and ginseng are mutually incompatible in medicinal properties and must not be eaten together, lest the effects counteract each other and fail to provide a tonifying effect.

III. White Radish Cultivation Techniques:

1. Soil selection

For white radish, loose and fertile sandy loam, loam and light clay rich in organic matter should be chosen.

2. Fine land preparation

After the previous crop is harvested, clear away residual leaves and weeds, pick out stones and clods, and plow deeply to break up the soil.

1) Pure planting: Carry out deep plowing to a depth of more than 30 cm, sun-dry the soil for 5-7 days, and apply 1500-2000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure, 30 kg of calcium superphosphate, 10-15 kg of potassium sulfate and 0.5-1 kg of borax per mu.

2) Interplanting: After more than half of the flue-cured tobacco plants have been harvested and cured, plow and merge two tobacco ridges into one, with a ridge width of about 2 m and a hole spacing of 35-40 cm. Apply 5-8 kg of compound fertilizer per mu as seed fertilizer and scatter it into the holes.

Cultivation of white radish

3. Sowing

1) Seed treatment: Before sowing white radish, select the seeds carefully, remove weeds, and place them in the sun to dry for 2-3 hours.

2) Sowing technique: Before sowing white radish, water the bottom thoroughly, sow 3-4 seeds per hole, and sow the seeds at a moderate density, using 0.3-0.4 kg of seed per mu. After sowing, mix 500-1000 kg of fine manure soil per mu with 15-20 kg of calcium superphosphate, 15-20 kg of potassium sulfate, 0.5-1 kg of borax and 3 kg of sulfur-phosphorus granules, stir well and cover the holes.

4. Thinning and final singling

The principle of “thin early, single late” should be grasped. The first thinning is done when there are 2-3 leaves, removing small, diseased and weak seedlings, leaving 2-3 robustly growing seedlings per hole. Final singling is carried out when there are 5-6 leaves, leaving only one plant per hole. When singling white radish, depending on the growth of the whole field, pull out small weak seedlings and larger seedlings so that the plants grow uniformly and consistently.

5. Cultivation, weeding and earthing up

White radish should be cultivated 2-3 times during the whole production period, first deep then shallow, first near then far, avoiding damage to the roots. Stop cultivation after the rows close. During the last cultivation, earth up the soil from the furrows onto the ridge surface to prevent the plants from falling over.

6. Watering

This should be determined according to the growth stage of white radish, rainfall, temperature, soil quality, groundwater level, and air and soil moisture conditions. Generally, water less during the seedling stage to promote deeper root growth; during the peak leaf growth stage, more water is needed, so irrigate appropriately but not excessively, so as to avoid excessive vegetative growth; during the rapid swelling stage of the fleshy root, irrigate evenly to promote the growth of the fleshy root and make it plumper and more tender; stop watering half a month before harvest to improve quality and storability.

7. Scientific fertilization

Determine the topdressing time according to soil fertility and growth conditions, generally carried out twice, at the seedling stage, the leaf growth stage and the peak fleshy root growth stage. At the seedling stage and the peak leaf growth stage, mainly apply nitrogen fertilizer, applying 10 kg of urea and 15 kg of ternary compound fertilizer; at the peak fleshy root growth stage, apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, applying 15 kg of calcium superphosphate, 10 kg of urea and 25 kg of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer, while adding 0.5-1 kg of borax. Quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer should not be used within 20 days before harvest.

8. Integrated pest and disease control

In accordance with the plant protection policy of “prevention first, integrated control”, priority should be given to agricultural control, physical control and biological control, together with scientific and reasonable use of chemical control. When using chemical control, scientifically adopt new pesticides with high efficiency, low toxicity and low residue, ensure that chemical control of pests and diseases is accurate, early and at a small scale, and use reasonable mixing, rotation and alternating application of pesticides.

9. Timely harvest

When the fleshy root of white radish has fully swollen, the leaf color turns dark and begins to yellow, and coarse lines appear on the root head, harvest in time, generally about 70 days after sowing.