The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Aralia elata Shoots

Aralia elata shoots, also known as Aralia elata, Cili Laoya, Longya Aralia, Huyangci, etc., grow at forest edges, in shrub thickets and forest clearings. The tender shoots are the edible part, and there are many ways to eat them: raw, stir-fried, pickled in sauce, made into soup, used as filling, or processed into small pickles of various flavors. They are a famous top-grade wild vegetable, hailed as the “king of wild vegetables”. Now let us take a look at Aralia elata cultivation techniques!

Prospects for Aralia elata Cultivation

Aralia elata grows freely in the natural environment and has low requirements for environmental conditions. Propagation by seed has a high rate, grows fast and requires little cost input, carries no risk, and the operation process is easy to master. Artificial cultivation is still in its initial stage; resources are decreasing while social demand is increasing, and there is a huge domestic and international market. A plate of Aralia elata shoots in a high-end restaurant is worth over a hundred yuan. However, due to years of harvesting, plants die off, wild resources are destroyed year by year, and yield declines year by year. Production can no longer meet market demand, so developing artificial production of Aralia elata is an urgent task; therefore, artificial cultivation of Aralia elata has very broad development prospects.

Benefits of Aralia elata Cultivation

1. Yield: When artificially planting Aralia elata, two plants are set per sq m. Through artificial domestication, each plant can yield 0.5-1.5 kg. Calculated by large mu, 2000 plants are set per mu, and the yield can reach about 1.5 tons.

2. Benefits: Aralia elata is extremely rich in nutrients, and moreover the amount of natural wild plants is very small. The international market price is about 5000-10000 yuan per ton, and the economic income per mu can reach about 75000-15000 yuan.

Seedling Raising from Aralia elata Seeds

1. Open-field seedling raising: Beds can be made in autumn or spring. Choose a flat plot, loosen and rake it fine, apply 300 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu, and 50 kg of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizer, applied all at once together with land preparation. Then make beds 1.2 m wide and 10 cm high. After the beds are made, sowing can begin. The sowing time is set from late March to Qingming Festival. Aralia elata seeds are very small. To improve sowing quality and achieve uniform distribution, fine sand should be mixed in when sowing, with 10-15 kg used per mu.

2. Pot tray seedling raising: Use plastic pot trays to raise seedlings in advance in a greenhouse. The time can be set about 2 months before transplanting. The substrate can be crushed peat with a small amount of decomposed high-quality farmyard manure and compound fertilizer added. To increase viscosity, a small amount of yellow mud also needs to be added to the substrate. When sowing, first fill the pot tray with substrate to 3/4 of its depth. After watering, sow the treated seeds. To be safe, it is best to sow 15-20 seeds per hole on average. After sowing, cover thinly with a layer of substrate or mountain topsoil, and then spread a thin layer of vermiculite powder on top.

Aralia elata Cultivation Techniques

1. Planting time: When Aralia elata seedlings grow to more than 10 cm and many prickles emerge on the stems, they can be planted. The seedlings to be planted must first undergo ventilation and water control for hardening before planting. This is generally done in early spring when the 10 cm soil temperature reaches above 12°C. The method is the same as planting trees.

2. Planting density: Aralia elata has a well-developed root system and luxuriant branches and leaves. If the row spacing is too narrow, it will inevitably affect ventilation and light transmission, causing stems to grow excessively. Planting one plant per sq m is relatively reasonable, and the row spacing can be appropriately wider. The best design is row spacing 1.8 m and plant spacing 0.6 m, so 700 holes can be planted per mu.

Aralia elata Cultivation Management

1. Weed control: In the first year it is very easily harmed by weeds. Generally, the herbicides used for legume crops have a good effect, but which pesticide is most effective for weed control in Aralia elata still needs further testing. If manual weeding is adopted, care must be taken not to damage the root system during hoeing. After summer, Aralia elata has grown to a certain height and its branches and leaves have become luxuriant. At this time, the threat of weeds can be left to uncontrolled management.

2. Water management: Water management is mainly to prevent spring drought. Plots for propagating stems also need to be closer to a water source. Once drought occurs, water immediately to ensure uniform and strong seedlings. In addition, although Aralia elata likes water, it is not tolerant of waterlogging, so once floods or waterlogging disasters occur, ditches should immediately be dug around the plot to drain water and alleviate the disaster.

3. Pruning and training: The pruning principle for Aralia elata is to make plant height suitable for harvesting, promote the development of many branches and the root system, and increase yield. When pruning, cut close to the base of the branch, keep 4-6 lateral buds, and cut off the upper part. Pruning is completed in early spring before sap flow, and during the growing season it can be done after harvest.

4. Reasonable topdressing: When cultivating Aralia elata, topdressing should be carried out appropriately according to soil fertility and growth vigor. Both farmyard manure and chemical fertilizer can be used. Farmyard manure can be spread directly on the bed, ridge or hole, while chemical fertilizer should be applied in dug holes and covered with soil.

5. Timely harvesting: After the terminal bud of Aralia elata is snapped off, 1-5 lateral buds below the terminal bud or the secondary buds of the terminal bud sprout, so it can be picked multiple times. It is best to pick 2-3 times, and not to pick many times, so as to avoid exhausting the tree. The tender shoots are best when 10-15 cm and the leaves have not yet unfolded. Lateral bud leaves unfold early, so they can be picked at 5-10 cm.