How to Grow Pinellia? Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial
Pinellia is a medicinal plant of the Araceae family, also known as three-leaf pinellia and half-moon lotus. Its medicinal part is the tuber. It is distributed wild throughout various regions of our country and has the effects of drying dampness and resolving phlegm, and directing qi downward to stop vomiting. However, the whole plant is toxic and must not be eaten raw. Eating a small amount causes symptoms such as numbness of the body, spasms, and difficulty breathing, and eating too much can cause death. Let's take a look at its cultivation techniques below.
1. Site Selection and Land Preparation
Choose a sunny, flat plot, preferably sandy loam soil with deep soil layers, loose and fertile texture, and convenient drainage, where legumes and grasses have been planted previously. Once the plot is chosen, begin land preparation. First, plow the soil deep to 20-30cm, harrow it fine and level it, then make beds 120cm wide, with a required ditch width of 30cm and depth of 15-20cm. Apply sufficient base fertilizer: 2000 kg of fully decomposed farmyard manure or compost per mu, and 25 kg of superphosphate.
2. Sowing and Seedling Raising
Pinellia can be sown in spring or summer. Spring sowing is best in February to March, and summer sowing is best in April to May. Open furrows in the bed for sowing, then sow the tubers in the furrows, generally using 50-60 kg of seed per mu. After sowing, do not cover with soil; instead, scatter farmyard manure or compost over the seeds, then water once with clear manure water, then cover with soil and level it. Cover the ground with rice straw or crop stalks, which can both keep warm and retain moisture, speed up seed germination, and prevent other weeds from growing and competing for seed nutrients. Observe promptly after sowing; germination occurs in about 20 days, and when the germination rate reaches half, the covering can be removed.
3. Fertilizer and Water Management
In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, Pinellia also needs topdressing during its growing period. After the seedlings are uniform, apply one topdressing of thin manure water. In the mid-growth period, during the bulbils formation stage, apply a second fertilizer; this time also apply clear manure water, or apply 10 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu. In August, when seedlings are established, apply a third fertilizer; this time apply manure water or cake fertilizer and 20 kg each of superphosphate per mu, plus 10 kg of urea. Pinellia is a plant that likes moisture and fears drought, but it also dislikes waterlogging. Therefore, in dry seasons, water promptly to keep the soil moist, and in rainy seasons, take good drainage and waterlogging prevention measures to avoid soil water accumulation causing tuber rot.
4. Field Management
Field management mainly includes intertillage and weeding, earthing up, and pest and disease control. Intertillage and weeding generally depend on field conditions; check the field frequently, pull weeds promptly when found, and use chemicals as little as possible. When weeding, shallow cultivation of 2-3cm can be done, but not too deep, to avoid damaging the root system. The purpose of earthing up is to cover the bulbils so that they can take root and sprout in moist soil as soon as possible and form new plants early. For earthing up, use fine mud from the plow pan, about 200 kg per mu, spread it evenly over the bed surface at a thickness of 1-1.5cm, covering the bulbils and seeds, then press lightly. The main diseases of Pinellia include leaf spot, tuber rot, and viral disease, while the pest is the red hawk moth. Control should be carried out promptly when they occur.
The above are the cultivation techniques for Pinellia. We hope they can help you. To learn more about medicinal herb cultivation knowledge, please follow us.