The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Achyranthes bidentata

Achyranthes bidentata, also known as Huai Achyranthes, Niu Ke Xi, and Shan Xian Cai, is a perennial herb of the genus Achyranthes in the Amaranthaceae family. It is widely distributed throughout the country except in Northeast China, and often grows under forest on mountain slopes. Its dried root is used as medicine and has the effects of removing blood stasis and unblocking meridians, nourishing the liver and tonifying the kidney, strengthening tendons and bones, promoting diuresis and treating strangury, and directing blood downward. Its cultivation value is very high. Let us take a look at the cultivation techniques for Achyranthes bidentata below!

Site Selection and Land Preparation

Achyranthes bidentata is a deep-rooted plant. It grows wild beside houses, in woodland, and in grassy mountain slopes, and is mostly cultivated in plain areas when grown at home. Choose a warm, humid climate and loose, fertile sandy loam or yellow soil. Apart from clay soil and saline-alkali soil, it can generally be grown in most soils, and sandy loam with deep upper layers, dryness, and good drainage should be chosen. Apply more than 5000 kg of barnyard manure or farmyard manure per mu, add 25 to 40 kg of superphosphate, and deep plow 50 to 60 cm. After slight leveling, open a ditch 20 to 30 cm deep every 60 cm, water thoroughly along the ditch so that the soil is fully moistened, wait until the ground surface is slightly dry, then fill and harrow it fine, and make flat beds 1 m wide.

Sowing and Seedling Raising

Achyranthes bidentata is usually sown in mid-June of the lunar calendar on bed surfaces already supplied with sufficient base fertilizer. If the weather is rainy, simply scatter the seeds evenly on the bed surface and cover with 0.5 cm of soil. If the weather is dry with no rain, first soak the seeds in clean water for 1 day, drain the water, place them in a basin, cover with cloth, keep indoors, stir and turn them from time to time, and they will sprout in about 2 days. In the afternoon, scatter the germinated seeds evenly on the bed, cover with 0.5 cm, and then water. The soil must not be dry; if there is no rain for a long time, water once every 1 to 2 days, and after the seedlings emerge completely, the soil should also be kept moist at all times. The sowing rate is 0.5 kg per mu.

Field Management

1. Thinning seedlings and intertillage: Achyranthes bidentata seedlings fear high temperature and waterlogging. After the seedlings emerge completely, watering can be stopped. When the seedlings are 3 to 4 cm tall, keep seedlings at a spacing of 3 cm; when they are 6 cm tall, thin to a spacing of 9 cm. One month after sowing, the plants produce axillary buds, which should be removed when necessary, generally 3 to 4 times. When the seedlings are 12 to 15 cm tall, apply cake fertilizer in combination with intertillage, 750 kg per hectare. When the seedlings are 40 to 50 cm tall and terminal inflorescences appear, cut them off in time; topping increases yield and quality.

2. Watering and fertilizing: From the seedling stage to mid-August, water as little as possible or not at all for Achyranthes bidentata, so as to promote downward root growth. After late August, the amount of watering should be increased to promote thickening of the main root. Experienced farmers say that heavy water in the early stage causes seedling collapse, heavy water in the late stage causes root rot, and heavy water in the middle stage gives deep roots and high yield. In addition to the seedling-setting fertilizer, apply fertilizer once at the end of September. In early October, if conditions permit, carry out one foliar application of superphosphate, and never allow water to accumulate in the field.

3. Harvesting and processing: Achyranthes bidentata is generally harvested around Frost's Descent when the aboveground leaves wither. If harvested too early, the roots are not plump and the yield is low. If harvested too late, the roots are prone to lignification or frost damage, affecting quality. Dig carefully to prevent breaking, shake off the soil, and when dried to 80 percent dry, sort into length grades, and fumigate once with sulfur at a ratio of 100:1 to prevent insect damage. It also has a bright yellow color and is easy to dry in the sun, then dry further in the sun for medicinal use. Generally, 3000 to 3750 kg of dried product is produced per hectare.

Pest and Disease Control

1. Leaf spot disease

[Damage] Leaf spot disease damages the leaves, mostly occurring in rainy summer seasons. Affected leaves produce yellow-brown lesions, and in severe cases the entire leaf turns gray-brown and withers and dies.

[Control] Clean the field before harvest and centrally dispose of diseased residues. In the early stage of the disease, spray 1:1:120 Bordeaux mixture or 65% amobam 500 times liquid, once every 10 to 15 days, for 2 to 3 consecutive times.

2. Root rot

[Damage] Root rot mostly occurs in hot, rainy seasons and in low-lying waterlogged places. After onset, the underground roots become brown, water-soaked, and rot, and the aboveground parts die.

[Control] Choose plots with good drainage and plant on high beds. Pay attention to drainage during the rainy season. When preparing land, treat the soil with 1 kg of 50% carbendazim per mu, pull out diseased plants or disinfect diseased holes with lime, and also drench the affected area with 50% carbendazim 500 times liquid.

3. Silver Y moth

[Damage] The larvae of the Silver Y moth harm the plants, biting the leaves into holes or notches.

[Control] Handpick and kill the larvae, or spray with 90% trichlorfon 1000 to 1500 times liquid, or add 40% dimethoate 2000 times liquid and spray.

4. Red spider mite

[Damage] Red spider mites generally occur and cause damage from June to July, and the damage is severe in dry conditions. Adults suck sap on the underside of leaves, and diseased leaves dry up and fall off.

[Control] Remove weeds, eliminate overwintering pests, and when they occur, spray with 25% chlordimeform aqueous solution 500 times liquid or 40% dimethoate 1000 to 1500 times liquid.