A Detailed Guide to the Latest Cultivation Methods for Yellow Chives: Mastering the Key Points of Cultivation and Management
Yellow chives are a perennial herbaceous plant of the Liliaceae family, a product of common chives that have been blanched and turned yellow through softening cultivation, also known as chive sprouts, yellow chive sprouts, chive white, etc. Production isolates them from light, and they grow entirely in darkness; because there is no sunlight, they cannot carry out photosynthesis to synthesize chlorophyll, so they turn yellow. Now let us take a look at the cultivation methods for yellow chives!
Seed Treatment
1. Variety selection: For yellow chive varieties suitable for cultivation in China, you can choose Huangjiu No. 1, 791 Xuejiu Wang, Xuejiu No. 4, and other varieties.
2. Plot selection: For yellow chive cultivation, choose a plot with fertile soil and convenient drainage and irrigation conditions, but try not to follow a previous crop of chives or onions and garlic.
3. Seed treatment: Soak the seeds in water not exceeding 53°C; do not use too much water. After soaking for more than 10 hours, dress the seeds with 2-3‰ carbendazim wettable powder and set aside for use.
Land Preparation and Bed Making
1. Seedling bed: Use 2.5 jin of seed per mu, with 3 sq m of seedbed needed per 2 liang of seed, and 75 sq m of seedbed per mu. The seedling bed is 1-1.4 m wide. When preparing the land, apply no base fertilizer or apply little; deep plow about 30 cm, then level it with a claw hoe, tread it flat wearing flat-soled shoes, and then level it again to set the shape.
2. Planting bed: The planting bed for yellow chive seedlings should be prepared on dry land, and dry beds should be furrowed and watered. The planting bed runs east-west, with windbreaks on the north and west sides. The bed is 2.2 m wide and 30 m long, with 1.4 m between two beds. Set up one windbreak every two beds, with the windbreak 1.5 m high.
Planting Preparation
1. Raising seedlings: The seedling raising time for yellow chives is around April 15 each year. Before raising seedlings, water the prepared seedling bed thoroughly, sow seeds evenly dressed with carbendazim, and then spray 5% phoxim granules.
2. Mulching: After sowing the chive seeds, cover with 0.5-1 cm of sieved topsoil, immediately level it, spray with herbicides such as hecaojing (a pesticide that has no effect on the growth of onions and garlic), cover well with plastic film, and press the two sides firmly with soil.
3. Topdressing: When 80% of the yellow chive seedlings have emerged, remove the plastic film. When they have grown to around five leaves, water once every 5-7 days, and apply urea as a topdressing with the water twice at 7.5-12.5 kg per mu. Stop watering 5-7 days before transplanting.
Planting Management
1. Prepare beds at the right time: Planting of yellow chives begins around June 25 each year. The key is to keep the bed soil at moderate moisture. Prepare beds on dry land, and furrow and water dry beds before planting. If beds are prepared on wet land, the soil tends to harden, aeration is poor, and new roots are difficult to grow.
2. Apply sufficient base fertilizer: Apply 10,000 jin of farmyard manure per mu, together with 20 kg of biological fertilizer, 20 kg of urea or diammonium phosphate, 150 kg of superphosphate, and 35 kg of potassium sulfate. Mix the fertilizer and soil thoroughly and evenly, keep the bed soil moderately loose and firm, and make the bed surface level.
3. Transplant in time: When the yellow chive seedlings have grown to 4-5 leaves and are about 20 cm tall, they can be transplanted. Transplant according to a reasonable density, with appropriate planting depth, moderate watering, and proper pesticide use.
4. Reasonable close planting: The planting bed for yellow chives is 2.2 m wide. When transplanting with a row spacing of 30 cm and a single-plant spacing of 5 cm, yellow chives are both high-yielding and high-quality, and the beds do not need to be rotated for 4-6 years while still maintaining high and stable yields.
6. Appropriate depth: Special attention must be paid to the depth when transplanting yellow chive seedlings. If planted too deep, tillering is late and scarce, and later growth is not vigorous; if planted too shallow, the clumps easily scatter. The depth of the planting furrow should be determined according to the size of the chive seedlings.
7. Proper pesticide use: After planting yellow chive seedlings, apply 5% phoxim granules and 25% carbendazim wettable powder along the rows onto the chive roots, using 2.5 kg of each per mu, and then cover with soil. Spray pesticide once 5-7 days after planting.
8. Water at the right time: After transplanting the chive seedlings, water thoroughly immediately, then hoe and conserve soil moisture so that the bed surface appears dry rather than wet. After a large number of new roots have grown, water a second time depending on the dryness or moisture of the bed surface.
9. Fertilizer and water management: Yellow chives grow year-round and have a high fertilizer requirement. According to different cultivation purposes, growth characteristics at different stages, and water and fertilizer needs, apply fertilizer and water reasonably, promoting and controlling as needed, and applying them flexibly.
Pest and Disease Control
1. Gray mold: Gray mold mainly damages the leaves. When a small number of diseased plants are found, spray with 50% procymidone or 50% iprodione at 1000 times dilution, or control with 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 500 times dilution.
2. Phytophthora blight: Phytophthora blight can damage roots, stems, and leaves, and the more humid the conditions, the more severe the disease. If found, spray with 50% phosethyl-Al copper at 600 times dilution or 64% oxadixyl mancozeb at 400 times dilution, spraying once every 7-8 days, with 2-3 sprays being best.
3. Verticillium wilt: Verticillium wilt can damage leaves, causing them to yellow, droop, and gradually die. When the disease occurs, spray with 50% carbendazim at 500 times dilution or 70% mancozeb at 500 times dilution.
4. Chive maggot: To control chive maggot, use ground spraying, that is, during the peak emergence period of adults, broadcast 2.5% trichlorfon powder along the rows at 2-2.6 kg per mu, or spray 40% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
5. Leafminer: To control leafminer, during the peak egg-laying period to the early larval hatching stage, spray 75% cyromazine at 5000-7000 times dilution, or 2.5% deltamethrin, 20% fenvalerate, or other pyrethroid pesticides at 1500-2000 times dilution.
6. Thrips: To control thrips, during the peak larval occurrence period, spray 50% phoxim at 1000 times dilution, or 10% imidacloprid at 4000 times dilution, or 3% acetamiprid at 3000 times dilution, or 2.5% deltamethrin and other pyrethroid pesticides at 1500-2500 times dilution.