The latest tutorial on Scrophularia ningpoensis planting techniques and methods

Scrophularia ningpoensis is also known as Yuanshen, Black Ginseng, Zhejiang Scrophularia, etc. It is native to China and is a tall herbaceous plant of the genus Scrophularia in the family Scrophulariaceae. It is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and other places. Its medicinal value is very high, and it has the effects of clearing heat and cooling blood, nourishing yin and reducing fire, and detoxifying and dispersing masses. Now let us take a look at the planting techniques of Scrophularia ningpoensis!

Growth habits of Scrophularia ningpoensis

Scrophularia ningpoensis has strong adaptability. It likes a warm and humid climate, is relatively cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant, and can be planted wherever drainage is good. It prefers fertile humus soil and sandy loam. Clay soil and low-lying land are not suitable for planting. Continuous cropping is prohibited, and Scrophularia ningpoensis can only be planted again after an interval of 3 to 4 years. Wild Scrophularia ningpoensis is mainly distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Guangxi, Anhui and other places. Cultivated Scrophularia ningpoensis is mainly distributed in Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi and other places.

Propagation techniques of Scrophularia ningpoensis

1. Land selection and preparation: Choose deep sandy loam soil and plant on sunny slopes of barren hills. The previous crop is best as legumes or grasses. The roots of Scrophularia ningpoensis go very deep into the soil and have strong fertilizer-absorbing ability, so deep ploughing is required and sufficient base fertilizer should be applied, 75,000 kg/hectare. After harrowing level, make high ridges 25 cm high, 45 to 60 cm wide at the bottom and about 30 cm wide at the top. Bed cultivation is adopted, with beds about 120 cm wide, and the length determined by the terrain and the amount of planting material.

2. Propagation method: In production, Scrophularia ningpoensis generally uses bud propagation. When harvesting, select disease-free, robust, white buds. In the south, winter planting is used, planting from mid to late December to early to mid January of the following year. Open holes at a row spacing of 40 to 50 cm and a plant spacing of 34 to 40 cm, with holes 8 to 10 cm deep, and place 1 bud in each hole with the bud facing upward. In the north, spring planting is mainly used, planting from late February to early April.

Field management of Scrophularia ningpoensis

1. Cultivation and weeding: When Scrophularia ningpoensis sprouts, pull out weeds as soon as they appear. When weeding, do not loosen the soil too deeply to avoid damaging the root tubers. After June, when the plants have grown larger, there is no need to loosen the soil further; just pull out weeds.

2. Timely topdressing: Before the rows close, topdress Scrophularia ningpoensis 1 to 2 times mainly with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, and also apply some barnyard manure or compost. Apply it in small holes or trenches beside the plants, cover with soil firmly, and earth up around the roots.

3. Reasonable thinning: In the second year after planting, Scrophularia ningpoensis will grow many seedlings from the roots, causing the roots to swell and increasing yield. Promptly remove excess plants, leaving only 2 to 3.

4. Timely topping: When Scrophularia ningpoensis grows to a certain extent, it will bolt. If the Scrophularia ningpoensis is harvested for commercial use and not for seed, promptly remove the flower stalks when they emerge so that nutrients are concentrated in the root tubers.

5. Watering and drainage: Scrophularia ningpoensis is relatively drought-tolerant and not waterlogging-tolerant. When drought is especially severe, water appropriately to keep the soil moist, but do not allow heavy waterlogging. During the rainy season, when there is much rain and standing water, drain it promptly.

Pest and disease control of Scrophularia ningpoensis

1. Leaf spot disease

[Damage] It is more serious in the rainy season and commonly occurs in both northern and southern regions. In the early stage of the disease, small purple-brown spots appear on the leaf surface, slightly sunken in the center, and later the lesions expand into polygonal, round or irregular shapes. Large lesions are grayish brown, separated by leaf veins into a net-like pattern, with a broad ring of purple-brown angular protrusions around the edge, and many small black dots scattered on the lesions. In severe cases, the leaves wither and die.

[Control] 1. Clean the garden after harvest to eliminate diseased and residual plants. 2. Strengthen field management, paying attention to drainage and ventilation. 3. Before the disease occurs and in the early stage, spray 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture or 65% zineb 500 times solution, once every 7 to 10 days, for several consecutive times.

2. Southern blight

[Damage] It damages roots and rhizomes. This disease is easily contracted in the south, occurring from June to September and being severe when there is a lot of rain. The roots rot, and the diseased roots and rhizosphere soil are covered with white silky mycelium, bearing light yellow to tea-brown rapeseed-like small sclerotia. The mycelium and small sclerotia can spread to the main stem. Diseased plants quickly wilt and die.

[Control] 1. Rotate with grass crops and avoid continuous cropping. 2. Strengthen field management, paying attention to drainage and ventilation and light transmission. In rainy areas, high-bed planting should be used. 3. Promptly pull out diseased plants, remove the soil from diseased holes, and spread lime to seal the diseased holes. 4. Before planting, soak in 50% thiophanate 1000 times solution for 5 minutes, then dry and plant.

3. Cutworms

[Damage] They damage the rhizomes and young buds of Scrophularia ningpoensis.

[Control] Use 100 grams of 2% methomyl emulsifiable concentrate, add 1 kg of water to dilute, then spray on 100 kg of fresh grass or chopped vegetables (about 16 cm long), mix into poison bait, and pile it in the field in the evening, making small piles 30 to 40 cm in diameter and 15 cm high at certain intervals, using 25 kg of poison bait per mu to trap and kill cutworms.