A Detailed Guide to the Latest Cultivation Precautions for Dodder
Dodder is also called chanzhen or bean parasite. It is an annual parasitic plant, and both photosynthesis and nutrient supply depend on other plants, otherwise it cannot grow. It can be used to treat symptoms such as kidney deficiency, waist pain, impotence, frequent urination, as well as uterine cold and infertility. It is mainly cultivated in Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Yunnan and other places in China. So what should be noted when cultivating dodder? Let's take a look together below.
1. Seed treatment
Dodder seeds can only germinate after going through low temperatures, so they must be stored through the low-temperature storage of winter. At the same time, before sowing, the seeds need to be treated with carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl, then an appropriate amount of phoxim and water should be added and mixed evenly. Finally, scoop out the seeds, wrap them well with cotton cloth, pile them together to dry, and sow after about six hours.
2. Sowing method
Sowing is generally done around June. We need to sow two crops at the same time, and either flax or soybean can be chosen. Because dodder needs to parasitize other plants, the emergence time of the other plants must be faster than that of dodder. After the soybean or flax emerges, it must be carefully tended, because this is the key to successful dodder cultivation. Dodder should be sown beside the other plants to make it convenient to absorb nutrients.
3. Planting density
Planting density also requires great attention. If the planting density is too high, then the nutrients it needs to absorb will be greater, but it cannot support itself, so the plants that provide it with nutrients will be drained dry, wither and die due to insufficient nutrient supply. In general, the distance between rows is best kept at about 30 cm, and the distance between plants is about 25 cm.
4. Weeding and watering
Dodder likes warmth and moisture, but it cannot absorb them by itself, so we need to water reasonably according to the water needs of the main host, to avoid the main host's moisture being absorbed dry and causing cultivation failure. Field humidity should generally be kept at about 60 to 75 percent. When weeding, note that shallow cultivation is required, and it should not be deep, so as to avoid damaging the roots of the plants. In order to avoid variety mixing, we must completely remove the weeds when weeding. But note that herbicides cannot be used, because dodder itself is also a kind of weed.
Dodder is very different from the cultivation of other plants, so management is also a bit more complicated. When cultivating dodder, there are still many points to note, and everyone needs to discover them during the cultivation process. The editor has only briefly introduced a few of the most common problems, hoping to be of some help to everyone.