How to Grow Baby Bok Choy Flower Stems? Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial
Baby bok choy flower stems are one of the important vegetable varieties during autumn and winter. They refer to the stems that baby bok choy sends out from the heart of the plant in spring, and the tips of the stems are picked for eating. They are cultivated throughout the country, especially in Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places where the area is relatively large. They are generally sown in autumn and come to market in early winter. Now let us take a look at baby bok choy flower stem cultivation techniques!
Variety Selection
Choose the needed varieties according to local consumption habits and geographical climate, generally giving priority to early-maturing varieties, such as Zao Tai 30 (an extremely early-maturing baby bok choy flower stem variety), Zao Tai 40 (the variety with the purest taste and the most tender texture), Zao Tai 50 (a mid-to-late-maturing baby bok choy flower stem variety), Huang Tai 30 (an extremely early-maturing baby bok choy flower stem variety), etc.
Cultivating Strong Seedlings
In the Yangtze River basin, baby bok choy is generally sown and raised as seedlings from mid-August to mid-October. Each mu of field requires a seedbed area of 15 sq m and about 150 grams of seed. Direct sowing can also be used, with 500 grams of seed per mu. After emergence, thinning should be done in time, removing mixed, weak and diseased seedlings, and maintaining a spacing of about 5 cm.
Reasonable Close Planting
About 20 days after sowing baby bok choy, when the seedlings have reached 3 to 4 true leaves, select strong seedlings and transplant them on a sunny day. The field for transplanting should be given sufficient base fertilizer, with 50 kg of ternary compound fertilizer and 2500 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer applied per mu, using a combination of broadcast application and band application. When transplanting, it is best to move the seedlings with soil, and the planting density varies by variety. Zao Tai 30 and Huang Tai 30 have a compact plant type and are suitable for close planting, with about 10000 plants per mu, while Zao Tai 40 and Zao Tai 50 have a larger plant type and are planted slightly more sparsely, with about 6000 plants per mu.
Field Management
7 to 10 days after transplanting baby bok choy, a seedling-promoting fertilizer mainly based on nitrogen should be applied in time, at 5 kg per mu. After entering the stem-harvesting period, about every 10 days, apply once a thin manure water or compound fertilizer to promote the growth of side stems. Under conditions of sufficient fertilizer and water, the harvest period can continue until March of the following year.
Pest and Disease Control
1. Viral disease
[Symptoms] Mosaic pattern, with dark green and light yellow interveinal mottling on the leaves, stunted plants, stiffened, deformed, and premature death.
[Control] Control aphids in time before the six-leaf stage of the plants. The main pesticides include 40% dimethoate 1500-2000 times solution and 10% imidacloprid 1500 times solution. When spraying, mainly spray the back of the leaves and the heart leaves.
2. Downy mildew
[Symptoms] Yellow spots in polygonal or irregular shapes on the leaves, with a white frost-like mold layer on the back of the leaves. In the later stage, the diseased spots turn brown, and the leaves dry up and fall early.
[Control] When using chemical control, care should be taken to spray the back of the leaves. Commonly used pesticides include 75% chlorothalonil 600 times solution and 25% metalaxyl 800-1000 times solution.
3. Soft rot
[Symptoms] The infected parts first appear water-soaked, changing from light yellow to gray, then to brown, until soft rot and foul odor occur, with bacterial ooze.
[Control] Focus spraying on the diseased plants and their surroundings, especially spraying the diseased leaves near the ground surface and the base of the stems. Commonly used pesticides include 100-200 ppm agricultural streptomycin, 70% dexon 500-1000 times solution, and 50% carbendazim 600-700 times solution.
4. Cabbage caterpillar
[Symptoms] The larvae chew the leaves into holes or notches, and in severe cases eat the entire leaf, leaving only the petiole.
[Control] The main control pesticides include Bt emulsion, 0.15 kg per mu diluted with 250 kg of water for spraying, and 2.5% deltamethrin 5000 times solution can also be sprayed.