Tutorial on Off-Season Cultivation Techniques for Water Bamboo (Wild Rice Stem): Latest Methods Explained

Water bamboo (Zizania latifolia) is a perennial root plant that grows in swamps and wet mud, and it is mainly the underground swollen stem of the water bamboo that is harvested for eating. Generally, water bamboo is planted as single-season water bamboo and double-season water bamboo. Double-season cultivars have higher yields. Under conventional cultivation it comes to market in May, but off-season cultivation allows planting in winter and harvesting as early as February of the following year, so you can seize the early market opportunity and strive for better economic returns. The specific off-season cultivation techniques are described in detail below.

1. Seed and Site Selection

Choose low-lying field land for planting, but keep the soil fertile. You can turn some weeds or rice straw into the field so that after decomposition they become soil nutrients, and the site must be convenient for irrigation and drainage. Fertilization is about 3000 jin of farmyard manure, together with 100 jin of nitrogen fertilizer. Make a seedling bed in the paddy field, similar to rice seedling raising, level the bed surface, and make the bed surface 1.2 m wide. Then select previously harvested seed water bamboo; generally the seed water bamboo should have strong tillering ability, be thick and strong, and be intact. First dry it in the sun to promote sprouting; once the outer leaves are dry, you can raise seedlings.

2. Seedling Management

For seedling raising, the row spacing and plant spacing are both 5 cm. The seedling stakes should be covered with rice straw, and the rice straw must be disinfected and used after being sprayed with chemicals. After the rice straw is sprayed and dried, it can be set on fire to burn off the outer old leaves, and at the same time reduce the source of pathogens. Then you can cover with plastic film to keep warm and raise seedlings. Because the outside temperature is relatively low, remove the film after one month, when the outside temperature has risen somewhat. After seedlings emerge, maintain a water layer of 2 cm and broadcast a little plant ash.

3. Fertilization

Apply nitrogen fertilizer at the tillering stage; generally apply about 30 jin of urea per mu, 50 jin of superphosphate, and then 35 jin of potassium chloride. This is a pre-calculated fertilizer amount, and fertilization should be adjusted flexibly in between. Fertilization at the tillering stage should be done in small amounts and multiple times, which can prevent excessive vegetative growth of the plants and promote rapid swelling of the rhizomes. To promote rhizome swelling, apply one more topdressing: 30 jin of urea, 10 jin of potassium chloride,

4. Controlling the Water Layer

Because growth requires a large amount of water, after planting the water layer needs to be controlled according to the growth stage. At the tillering stage, keep only 3 to 5 cm of shallow water to prevent excessive vegetative growth of the plants. When tillers have grown to about 8 plants per seedling, you can add water to more than 10 cm. When water bamboo is shooting, the water should not exceed the heart leaf.

5. Other Management

Within two weeks after transplanting, cultivate once. Cultivation is to control tillering, so that there are not too many tillers. When growth shifts to water bamboo growth, you can cut off some old leaves for ventilation and light penetration. When field humidity is high, pay attention to the occurrence of pests and diseases. The main ones are the rice stem borer and the greater rice stem borer. Generally, use 0.1% matrine emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution or 0.6% miechongling at 1500-2000 times dilution for continuous spraying control. For frequently occurring sheath blight, choose 5% Tianan aqueous solution at 400 times dilution or 50% dimethirimol wettable powder at 400 times dilution for spraying.

The main point of off-season water bamboo cultivation is to regulate the temperature to the normal temperature for planting, so that seedling raising and planting can succeed and seedlings can emerge smoothly, allowing the planting time to be advanced. In addition, planting must pay attention to pest and disease damage. The rest of the basic cultivation process is not very different from normal planting.