Method and Key Technical Points for Intercropping Upland Rice under Camellia oleifera Stands

Because Camellia oleifera afforestation is carried out in a single pure-stand model, land utilization is low and forest land productivity is poor, and Camellia oleifera planting requires 5 years before it produces any yield, with large upfront capital investment and slow economic returns, which restricts the development of the Camellia oleifera industry. For this reason, all localities are also actively exploring understory economic development models for Camellia oleifera stands, especially through reasonable intercropping in young Camellia oleifera plantations, which can both increase income from the intercrops and, by “cultivating in place of tending”, improve the growing environment for Camellia oleifera and raise economic returns. So how do you intercrop upland rice under Camellia oleifera stands?

Upland rice, also known as dryland rice, mountain rice or dryland paddy, belongs to the dryland ecological type of crop. It needs no water layer throughout its life and has the characteristics of strong drought tolerance, good tolerance of poor soil, strong stress resistance and wide adaptability. Upland rice grain is of the glutinous rice type, and its grain quality meets the first-grade standard for high-quality rice. Grown naturally without chemical fertilizer and without pesticides, it is a pollution-free organic food.

1. Selection of Camellia oleifera stand

Newly established Camellia oleifera bases are generally on low hills and gentle slopes below 800 m in altitude and below 25° in gradient, with a spacing of 2.5 m X 3 m between plants and rows, and are equipped with complete infrastructure such as access roads and water tanks. All these newly established Camellia oleifera bases can be used for intercropping upland rice.

2. Key techniques for intercropping upland rice in young Camellia oleifera plantations

(1) Seed selection

Bailinggu No. 5, of the japonica type, with white grain, strong drought resistance, fond of stony loam soil and tolerant of poor soil.

(2) Sowing

Upland rice must be sown immediately after land preparation and fertilizer application. Generally from early May to early June, the forest land is cleared by full cultivation and deep plowing, and the Camellia oleifera stand is required to have no weeds or shrubs. In conjunction with overall cultivation, holes are dug and base fertilizer applied, with a fertilizer rate per mu of 1000 kg of organic fertilizer and 10 kg of compound fertilizer. The holes should be shallow, with a depth of 3 to 5 cm. Sowing holes should be more than 60 cm away from the surrounding Camellia oleifera plants, and the fertilizer in the holes should be kept separate from the seed as much as possible, with a spacing of 40 cm X 45 cm between plants and rows and a seeding rate per mu of 2 to 2.5 kg of Bailinggu No. 5.

(3) Routine management

Upland rice sprouts about 10 days after sowing. After the seedlings emerge, loosen the soil and weed promptly at 25 to 30 days, when weeds are growing most vigorously and the weather is in the plum rain season; if the timing of weeding is not handled well, it will affect the growth and yield of upland rice. At the same time, if missing plants are found during this period, thinning dense areas to fill sparse ones can be carried out on rainy days.

(4) Prevention of diseases, insect pests and animal damage

In July and August, with high temperature and high humidity, diseases occur easily, so monitoring should be done well. During the growing period, neither of the 2 varieties introduced this time suffered from diseases or insect pests, but animal damage occurred frequently. In May and June, when the upland rice seedlings have just emerged, the Camellia oleifera stand has just been fully cultivated and deep plowed, so apart from the newly emerged upland rice seedlings and small weeds there is nothing else, which is exactly the environment wild rabbits like most for activity; in August and September, when the upland rice grain begins to ripen a little, wild boars come to “harvest ahead of time”.

(5) Harvesting

Upland rice has tall stalks and tends to lodge after maturing. Harvesting begins in late October, by cutting the rice ears for threshing, and then the rice stalks are split and returned to the ground.