Water chestnut planting techniques and methods tutorial, latest edition explained in detail

Water chestnut is also called horseshoe and water chestnut, because its appearance and effects are similar to chestnuts, and it grows in soil, so it is also called ground chestnut. It is crisp and sweet, and we have all eaten it. It can be eaten raw as a fruit and can also be used as a vegetable. So do you know how it is planted? Take a look with Qinnong.com.

1. Land selection

Water chestnut has low requirements for 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. There is also one point to note: it is not suitable for continuous cropping. It is best to rotate with other crops at an interval of 2-3 years to reduce the probability of disease occurrence and reduce the impact of disease on yield and quality.

2. Seed selection and seedling raising

The propagation method of water chestnut is asexual propagation using corms. When sowing, select corms with undamaged skin, robust terminal buds and lateral buds, dark brown color, and large size as seeds. Generally, only five or six dozen corms are needed per mu, ensuring late March or early April, as much as possible before Qingming Festival. Before sowing, first soak them for one day in a 600-fold dilution of 50% carbendazim wettable powder for disinfection. After disinfection, arrange the corms in the seedbed with the bud tips facing upward. After arranging them, cover with a layer of fine soil, then water to keep the seedbed moist.

3. Temporary planting

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

4. Final planting

During final planting, similarly prepare the land and apply fertilizer. Deep plowing of 20cm is required. Break the soil into fine pieces and harrow it into mud. Apply sufficient base fertilizer. Pull out the seedlings that were temporarily planted. When pulling the seedlings, dig out the seedlings together with the corms. Remove male water chestnut seedlings whose leaf-like stems are clustered and slender. If the seedlings are too tall, cut off a section from the tips of the leaf-like stems to prevent wind from affecting rooting after final planting. Then wash the seedling roots clean, soak them for 1 hour in a 600-fold dilution of 25% carbendazim wettable powder for disinfection, smear on some rooting powder, and then plant. The planting depth is 8-12cm, so that the roots and soil make perfect contact. Plant about 4000 plants per mu, maintaining a plant spacing and row spacing of 60×30cm.

5. Field management

Strengthen fertilizer and water management. Use the method of shallow-water transplanting and deep-water survival. At final planting, plant in shallow water with the water level at 2-3cm. After planting, deepen the water level to 5-9cm. After survival, 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 base fertilizer, supplemented by topdressing. Topdressing mainly applies nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers. In the early stage, mainly nitrogen fertilizer; in the later stage, mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. When fertilizing, combine 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 is the water chestnut planting technique brought to you by Qinnong.com. We hope it can help you. To learn more about water chestnut plants, please keep following Qinnong.com.