How to grow Chinese mahogany sprout seedlings? Latest planting technique method tutorial

Chinese mahogany (Toona sinensis) is a cultivated variety in the Meliaceae family, Toona genus, grown as a tree for its tender stems and leaves as food. It is called the “vegetable on the tree” and is rich in vitamins and various essential trace elements for the human body. It has considerable medicinal and health benefits, is delicious and tasty, and is deeply loved by people. In production, Chinese mahogany sprout seedlings come in three types: seed sprouts, seedling vegetables, and shoot sprouts. Let us take a look together at the planting technique for Chinese mahogany sprout seedlings!

Chinese Mahogany Seed Sprouts

1. Seed treatment: It is best to use 'Hongyouchun' seeds, as this variety has a high germination rate and good sprout quality. Remove the seed wings from fresh Chinese mahogany seeds, soak in clean water for 5-6 hours, disinfect by soaking in a 0.01% potassium permanganate solution for 15 minutes, then continue soaking in clean water. During this period, rinse twice with 20-25°C warm water until the Chinese mahogany seeds swell with absorbed water, then drain the water. Wrap the seeds in 3 layers of clean wet cloth, place in a container and keep dark to promote germination. During germination, rinse 1-2 times daily with 20-25°C warm water. Generally, after 4-8 days the seeds show white and can be sown.

2. Timely sowing: Spread a layer of straw paper, non-woven fabric, or gauze etc. evenly in a disinfected seedling tray, then spread a 2.5 cm thick layer of perlite. Scatter the germinated seeds on top, with a sowing rate of about 150 grams per tray. After sowing, cover the seeds with a 1.5 cm thick layer of perlite. Finally, spray with 20-25°C warm water to moisten and place on the cultivation rack.

3. Post-sowing management: After sowing, spray with 20-25°C warm water twice daily, morning and evening. Maintain relative air humidity at around 80%, avoiding excessive water holding in the substrate or water accumulation in the tray. For the first 3 days after sowing, control the daytime temperature at 20-25°C and keep it at 12-15°C at night. After the sprouts arch out of the substrate, control daytime at 18-23°C. When the temperature is lower, growth is slower; when the temperature is higher, growth speeds up, quality declines, and lignification easily occurs. Generally, after 12-14 days, when the sprouts are 5-7 cm long, the cotyledons have not yet unfolded, the sprouts are thick and tender white, and the root tips have not yet turned yellow, they are ready for harvest.

Chinese Mahogany Seedling Vegetables

Chinese mahogany seedling vegetables are edible Chinese mahogany seedlings obtained by continuing to expose Chinese mahogany seed sprouts to light. When the Chinese mahogany seed sprouts grow to be thick, yellow and tender, and the cotyledons have fully unfolded, they can continue to grow with light exposure for greening. Chinese mahogany sprout seedlings grow well under weak light and scattered light conditions, and can be regulated using shade nets according to weather conditions. Before harvesting, rotate the trays top-to-bottom and left-to-right according to seedling color. Generally, after 2-3 days of light exposure, when the seedlings grow to over 10 cm, the cotyledons have fully unfolded, and true leaves are showing, harvest and market them before lignification occurs.

Chinese Mahogany Shoot Sprouts

Chinese mahogany shoot sprouts are the tender bud sheaths of Chinese mahogany, commonly known as chun sprouts. Their production process involves cultivating Chinese mahogany plants. Chinese mahogany branches, tillers, and root segments can be used for propagation, but the propagation coefficient is small and seedling uniformity is poor, so seed propagation is generally used in production.

1. Seed sowing: Choose fertile, loose, well-lit land as the nursery site. Apply sufficient base fertilizer before sowing, water thoroughly, and prepare the land in time when the soil surface dries. In the finely raked and leveled seedbed, open furrows at 20 cm row spacing, with a furrow depth of 2-4 cm and a furrow width of 6-8 cm. Sow the seeds evenly in the furrows, preferably with one seed every 3 cm. Use 2-3 kg of seeds per mu.

2. Seedling management: After sowing Chinese mahogany seeds, cover with 1-2 cm of fine soil, and finally cover with plastic film. Seedlings begin to emerge in 4-7 days. When the seedlings begin to arch through the soil, promptly break the film to release the seedlings and press the openings tightly. When the seedlings have 2 true leaves, combine with intertillage and loosening of the soil to thin and weed in time. After thinning, strengthen water and fertilizer management to cultivate strong seedlings.

3. Timely planting: The planting period for Chinese mahogany is from after leaf fall in winter to before sprouting in early spring. Plant about 3000 plants per mu, and green manure can be intercropped between rows, later turned under as fertilizer. For seedlings used in winter-warm greenhouses, generally after leaf fall in autumn, when the daily average temperature is 3-5°C, lift the seedlings and transplant. For close planting cultivation, plant about 6000 plants per mu. Water promptly after planting.

4. Field management: Apply topdressing during the growth period of sprouting new shoots, applying topdressing once after each harvest, and water promptly in dry weather. To promote earlier sprouting, spray young buds with 0.01% gibberellin to break dormancy. After 2-3 harvests, carry out dwarfing treatment in mid-July. From mid-to-late July, use 15% paclobutrazol at 200-400 times dilution, spraying once every 10-15 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays. This can control excessive growth, promote earlier topping and dwarfing, and increase dry matter accumulation.

5. Plant adjustment: Chinese mahogany grown in protected dwarf cultivation needs plant adjustment, with topping to promote branching. Newly transplanted seedlings in greenhouses should not be topped for the time being, because the nutrients stored in the xylem can support one crop of Chinese mahogany growth, allowing it to produce the first crop of Chinese mahogany, improving utilization, and promoting photosynthesis during rapid growth. When harvesting the second crop of Chinese mahogany, then top the plant to set the trunk. After setting the trunk, spray paclobutrazol once.

6. Bagging optimization: To improve quality, when Chinese mahogany sprouts grow to about 5 cm, they can be covered with a black-and-red 2-layer polyethylene film bag to grow away from light. When they grow to 15 cm, pick them together with the bag. The outer bag can be reused.

7. Timely harvest: Harvest when the chun sprouts grow to 15-20 cm, retaining 1-2 leaves at the base to facilitate lateral bud sprouting. In open fields, 2-3 harvests can be made; in protected cultivation, 3-5 harvests can be made.