Latest Technical Key Points for Field Management of Arrowhead
Arrowhead is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Alismataceae family and a very common vegetable in our daily lives. It is cultivated to some extent in various regions across China, though mainly in the south. Arrowhead combines edible, medicinal, and ornamental value, and it has strong effects such as anti-cancer and cancer prevention, detoxification, and diuresis. However, growing it is not so easy and requires careful management. Below, the editor brings you the field management methods for growing arrowhead. Let's take a look!
1. Seedling Management
Seedling management of arrowhead is very important, because the seedling stage is the most fragile period for arrowhead. Failure to manage it well can lead to seedling death and reduced yield. After the seedlings are successfully transplanted, observe the seedlings regularly. Sometimes strong winds, rainstorms, and other weather conditions can cause water accumulation and soil loosening, making the seedlings insufficiently firm and prone to tilting or lodging. At this time, we should promptly straighten the tilted or lodged seedlings to help them continue growing. However, seedlings that are too severely damaged or seriously affected by pests and diseases should be promptly removed and replaced with healthy seedlings to ensure uniform stands and yield. Do a good job of weeding to prevent weeds from competing for the nutrients needed for seedling growth and affecting seedling development.
2. Leaf Removal and Bud Pinching
Two to three weeks after transplanting, observe the growth of the arrowhead plants. When the plants have grown 6-8 leaves, carry out one round of intertillage and weeding. Remove the tiller shoots in the middle of the plants to reduce nutrient consumption and prevent them from competing for nutrients. Then remove the 3 oldest leaves and bury them deep in the soil together with their petioles. After that, carry out leaf removal once every half month until the period of vigorous growth at the end of October. During the growth process, intertill and weed as appropriate according to soil conditions, do a good job of bud pinching, and appropriately suppress plant growth to prevent excessive vegetative growth and reduce yield.
3. Timely Topdressing
Arrowhead has relatively strong growth ability and high yield, so its nutrient demand is relatively large. Only sufficient nutrients can ensure robust plants and high yield. Therefore, we should topdress appropriately throughout the entire growth period of arrowhead. In the early growth stage, mainly apply nitrogen fertilizer, together with an appropriate amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. As with leaf removal, topdress about once every half month. However, in the later stage, control the application of nitrogen fertilizer to prevent excessive vegetative growth of arrowhead, which would reduce field aeration and light penetration, affect corm formation, and lower yield. After entering the corm formation stage, apply one heavy fertilization to promote corm formation and prevent nutrient deficiency. Each time you fertilize, pay attention to whether the plants are wet. Topdressing should be done after the dew on the plants has dried to prevent fertilizer damage.
4. Pest and Disease Control
Pest and disease control in arrowhead is very important. We need to understand the peak periods of various pests and diseases. Take preventive measures and strengthen field management. Common pests and diseases of arrowhead include leaf spot disease and aphids, among others. We must master the control measures for each pest and disease. During the growth period of arrowhead, improve field aeration and light penetration, remove old leaves and branches as well as diseased leaves and branches, and enhance ventilation. It is best to implement crop rotation of more than two years, as the incidence rate under continuous cropping increases greatly. After disease occurs, promptly check exactly which pest or disease it is, then use the corresponding control measures. Plants with severe disease should be immediately removed and taken out of the field to prevent the disease from spreading.
To ensure and promote the growth of arrowhead plants and increase the corm formation rate, after leaf removal, the top of the arrowhead should be appropriately pressed down by 8 mm. This can effectively inhibit the growth of the aboveground plant, increase the corm formation rate, and ensure yield. The above is the editor's brief introduction to field management of arrowhead. That is all for today's article. Thank you for reading and supporting us. If you want to learn more related information, please continue to follow us!