How to Grow Atractylodes for High Yield? Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Atractylodes is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Atractylodes in the Asteraceae family. Its rhizome is used as medicine and has the effects of drying dampness, resolving turbidity, and relieving pain. It has many medicinal commodity names, such as Han Atractylodes and Mao Atractylodes (Mao Cangzhu), etc., but the many commodity names can be broadly divided into two major categories, namely the northern-produced North Atractylodes and the southern-produced South Atractylodes. Now let us take a look at high-yield cultivation techniques for Atractylodes!

Growth Habits of Atractylodes

Atractylodes is widely cultivated in medicinal gardens across China. It prefers a cool climate and often grows wild at the edges of sparse forests on shady slopes of low mountains, in shrub thickets, and among grasses. It has strong vitality and can also be planted on barren hills, sloping land, and lean soil, but it grows best in sandy loam with good drainage, a low groundwater table, loose structure, and rich humus. It is averse to waterlogging; after being waterlogged, the roots easily rot, so low-lying water-accumulating land is not suitable for planting.

Propagation Methods of Atractylodes

1. Division propagation: For division propagation of Atractylodes, in mid-to-late May when the buds are about to sprout, dig up the old seedlings with roots, remove the soil, cut the rhizome into several small pieces, each with 1 to 3 buds, and then plant them in the field.

2. Rhizome propagation: For rhizome propagation of Atractylodes, dig up the rhizomes during harvest, cut off the rhizomes with buds, and keep the rest for medicinal use. After the cut surfaces are dried, open holes at a row spacing of 20×20 cm and plant, placing one piece per hole, then cover with soil and press firm.

3. Seed propagation: Atractylodes is usually raised from seedlings in late April. The seedbed should preferably be a sunny site. Drilling or broadcasting can be used, with 3 to 4 kg of seed per mu. After sowing, cover with grass, and remove the covering grass after the seedlings emerge. When the seedlings are 10 cm tall, they can be transplanted.

Cultivation Techniques of Atractylodes

1. Site selection and land preparation: For Atractylodes cultivation, choose loam, sandy loam, or humus loam with deep soil layers, good drainage, loose fertility, and sufficient sunlight for making beds. Apply 2000 kg of farmyard manure per mu, generally using the large-ridge high-bed technique.

2. Thinning and final singling: For direct-seeded Atractylodes, thin the seedlings when they are 5 to 6 cm tall, and when they are 10 to 15 cm tall, set the spacing at 15 to 20 cm between plants and 25 cm between rows. For hole sowing, keep 2 to 3 strong seedlings per hole. For transplanted plants, the number of seedlings per mu is generally 12000 to 15000.

3. Intertillage and weeding: During the seedling stage of Atractylodes, weed frequently and loosen the soil appropriately and shallowly. After transplanting, intertillage and weeding should be carried out 3 to 4 times each year, usually loosening the soil once every two months, and topdressing can be done together with hilling.

4. Timely watering: Before and after emergence of Atractylodes, the soil should often be kept moist to facilitate emergence and seedling growth. After the soil thaws in early spring, water immediately to protect the seedlings. When the weather is dry and the soil is dry, water promptly. Generally, once the plants have grown, watering is no longer needed.

5. Reasonable topdressing: During the seedling stage of Atractylodes, apply 2000 kg of decomposed dilute human and livestock manure water per mu. In June to July, apply 2500 to 3000 kg of decomposed human feces and urine plus 15 kg of superphosphate. In October, open furrows between rows and apply decomposed stable manure or compost, then water and cover with soil.

6. Bud removal and seed reservation: In commercial fields of Atractylodes, remove flower buds promptly at the budding stage so that nutrients are concentrated for the growth of underground rhizomes. For seed fields, choose loose and fertile land and healthy, disease-free planting material, appropriately thin flowers and buds, and cultivate excellent seeds and seedlings.

7. Timely harvest: Atractylodes can be harvested 3 to 4 years after sowing or 2 to 3 years after transplanting. In spring or autumn, in October to November, after the aboveground stems and leaves wither, dig up the rhizomes on a sunny day. Shake off the soil from the dug rhizomes, remove the remaining stems, dry them in the sun or by drying, and then rub off the fibrous roots.

Pest and Disease Control of Atractylodes

1. Root rot

[Damage] The disease occurs in May and June, causing root rot. The ability to absorb water and nutrients gradually weakens, and finally the whole plant dies.

[Control] Pay attention to ditching and drainage. Pull out diseased plants immediately. Use 50% Tuzet wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, or irrigate with 1% lime water, or spray with 50% Thiophanate at 800 times dilution.

2. Aphids

[Damage] They damage leaves and tender shoots, especially in spring and summer. Chemical agents can be used, or 1:1:10 tobacco-lime water can be used for control.

[Control] Spray with 50% Sumithion emulsion at 1000 times dilution, or 50% Pirimicarb wettable powder at 3000 times dilution, or 2.5% Fenpropathrin emulsion at 3000 times dilution, or use 1:1:10 tobacco-lime water for control.

3. Cutworms

[Damage] Young larvae feed on cotyledons and tender leaves, while middle and older larvae feed on tender stems near the soil surface, causing plants to wither and die.

[Control] Use 80% Dichlorvos or 50% Phoxim diluted with water to drench the roots, or mix 50% Phoxim emulsifiable concentrate with fine sandy soil and broadcast it.