How to Grow Chinese Lantern Seeds? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods
Chinese lantern is also known as hanging golden lantern, lantern fruit, red lantern, golden lady, and so on. It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Physalis in the Solanaceae family. The Bashang area of Hebei is the main producing area. The medicinal part is the fruit calyx, which has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, relieving cough, and promoting diuresis. Wild plants are found in the three northeastern provinces and the Inner Mongolia region, but they are not mainly used as medicine. Now let us take a look at how to grow Chinese lantern seeds!
Growth Habits
Chinese lantern has strong adaptability and can be planted in all parts of the country. The temperature requirement is 12-30°C, and the light requirement is not strict. It is distributed throughout the country, with the main production areas in the three northeastern provinces, Shanxi, and the Inner Mongolia region. It is resistant to severe cold and drought. The soil requirement is neutral or slightly acidic to alkaline plots rich in organic matter. Hillsides, mountain gullies, and wasteland can all allow it to grow well, and its drought and cold resistance are very strong.
Seed Treatment
Chinese lantern seeds are usually harvested in October, washed, and dried in the shade. Before November 10, soak the seeds indoors in clean water for 24 hours, then remove them and drain off the water. Mix them evenly with fine sand twice the amount of the seeds. The moisture standard is that when squeezed by hand they form a ball, and when touched they break apart. Then put them in a breathable bag, choose a place outdoors with high, dry sandy loam soil, dig a pit 30 cm deep, place the seed bag into the pit, and cover the seed bag with 10 cm of soil. After the ground freezes, cover the surface with 10 cm of mulch to delay the rise of ground temperature in early spring, so as to prevent the seeds from germinating underground.
Sowing Methods
Remove the mulch 5 days before sowing Chinese lantern. When sowing, take out the seeds and sow them together with the sand. Draw furrows 1-1.5 cm deep at a row spacing of 25-30 cm, scatter the seeds into them, cover with fine soil or fine sand 0.8-1 cm, and then water. At a suitable temperature, seedlings emerge in 7-15 days. After about 28 days, when the seedlings have 3-4 leaves, they can be transplanted. Use wide ridges with double rows, with a row spacing of 60-70 cm and a plant spacing of 20-25 cm, setting two plants per hole.
⟦NL>Field Management
Chinese lantern management is relatively extensive. During the seedling stage and before flowering, normally hoe twice to keep weeds under control. From after flowering to the harvest period, generally no management is needed. Starting from the second year, promptly remove excess tillers. Keep about 50,000 plants per 667 sq m. The yield of Chinese lantern planted in the current year is not high, and from the second year onward the yield will continue to increase. If Chinese lantern is to produce a high and early yield, at a seedling height of 10 cm, combine thinning with cultivating and weeding, apply 20 kg of urea per mu in May-June, and pay attention to drainage during the rainy season. During the growth period, spray dwarfing agent twice to prevent excessive growth. Before harvesting the fruit, spray mancozeb twice to prevent leaf spot disease. Spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate twice to promote early ripening and increase yield.