How to Grow Millettia speciosa? Latest Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial
Millettia speciosa is a plant of the genus Millettia in the Fabaceae family, also known as pig's trotter taro, golden bell root, mountain lotus root, hanging golden bell, vigorous potato, etc. When used as medicine it has effects such as strengthening yang, nourishing the kidneys and tonifying deficiency, strengthening sinews and activating collaterals, calming the liver, and moistening the lungs, and its cultivation value is relatively high. Let us take a look below at the cultivation techniques for Millettia speciosa!
Can Millettia speciosa be planted?
Millettia speciosa can be planted. Millettia speciosa has not yet been industrialized in our country, and can be said to be in the ascendant, so many growers often make mistakes in their understanding, mistakenly believing that once Millettia speciosa is planted there will be a successful harvest. Little do they know that Millettia speciosa has many different germplasm sources, and different sources of Millettia speciosa differ to a certain extent in their morphological characteristics and yield. Only by selecting high-quality, high-yield varieties can a successful harvest be achieved; otherwise, failure may result.
Selection of Millettia speciosa Seedlings
1. Seed seedlings: Millettia speciosa seed seedlings are formed by seed germination and generally have only one main root. After the main root is cut off, the fine roots it sends out are not easily enlarged to form tubers. The seedling traits vary greatly and are not uniform, and yield cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, they branch a lot, grow slowly, have low yield, and poor quality. Plants grown for more than two years will only flower and set seed, and in plants used for flowering and seed setting, the quality of the underground tubers is relatively very poor. Generally, seedling-grown plants need 4 to 5 years to form yield.
2. Tissue culture seedlings: Millettia speciosa tissue culture seedlings are produced through mass production, grow uniformly, have excellent traits, and have a relatively large number of roots, all of which can enlarge into tubers.
3. Cutting seedlings: Among Millettia speciosa seedlings, cutting seedlings have relatively great advantages. Collecting cuttings is relatively easier and simpler than seeds and can maintain the excellent traits of the mother plant, with high content of active ingredients. They form yield faster, set more tubers, and have better quality than seedling-grown plants. Generally, they can form yield in 1 to 2 years, and the advantages are very obvious.
Preparation for Planting Millettia speciosa
1. Hardening off seedlings: After Millettia speciosa seedlings leave the nursery, they need to recover before being planted out. After the seedlings are placed well, first spray them with a 500-fold carbendazim solution to prevent disease occurrence, and harden them off under a shade shed for about one week, watering once every morning. If conditions do not allow, they can be hardened off under tree shade with regular watering.
2. Site selection: During the seedling stage, Millettia speciosa needs more water, and soil moisture should be ensured, but it is not tolerant of waterlogging. During the rainy season, drainage should be carried out in time, and there must be no standing water in the furrows. Therefore, when selecting a site for transplanting, as long as it is not paddy field, it is generally suitable for planting.
3. Land preparation: After selecting the land for Millettia speciosa, weed it, deep-plow the soil, and harrow the land. Where machine plowing cannot be carried out, loosen the soil at the places prepared for planting, with a tilling depth of 0.5 m. Then dig drainage ditches according to the terrain, and build large ridges and high ridges 1.5 to 1.8 m wide and about 0.6 m high along the contour lines. On sloping land, dig pits 1 m square and 0.5 m deep at the planting points.
4. Base fertilizer: Apply sufficient base fertilizer during land preparation, with 1 to 2 tonnes of organic fertilizer per mu together with about 100 jin of superphosphate. After mixing evenly, broadcast it on the ground, then rotary till and build ridges, or after building ridges broadcast it on top of the ridges. Afterwards, it is recommended to cover with agricultural film, preferably black plastic film, with a thickness of 0.014 mm or more, and the width determined according to ridge width and ridge height.
Millettia speciosa Cultivation Techniques
1. Transplanting management: The planting density is 300 to 500 plants per mu. The planting time should preferably be chosen in the afternoon when sunlight is weaker; if it is cloudy, planting can be done all day. Holes should be punched in the plastic film and pits dug according to the plant spacing. When planting, tear open the nutritional pot at the side of the pit, then place the seedling with its soil ball into the pit to prevent the soil ball from scattering. The planting depth should preferably be 1 cm above the soil ball surface or level with it. Where conditions permit, drip irrigation can be used for watering: pre-lay water pipes on top of the ridges, then cover with film, and replenish water in good time according to soil and weather conditions to achieve the goal of saving water.
2. Timely weeding: After planting, Millettia speciosa grows relatively slowly at first. Manual methods or spraying herbicides can be used to remove weeds between the ridges to prevent weeds from competing with Millettia speciosa seedlings for fertilizer and water. When spraying herbicides, care should be taken to spray carefully under windless conditions to prevent the herbicide from drifting onto the Millettia speciosa plants.
3. Fertilizer and water management: Millettia speciosa is drought-tolerant but not waterlogging-tolerant, especially at the seedling stage. In rainy weather, ditches should be opened in time for drainage to prevent flooding. About 1 month after planting, after branches have emerged, topdressing can begin. Take 2 jin of compound fertilizer per mu and dilute it in 400 jin of water for single-plant irrigation. About 3 months after planting, the total amount of topdressing per mu is 40 jin (20 jin each of urea and compound fertilizer mixed evenly). Apply a small handful of compound fertilizer in holes between every two seedlings. Thereafter, fertilize once around October each year.
4. Pruning and training: For vine-type or small shrub-type Millettia speciosa varieties, pruning management should be used to control the growth of plant branches so that more underground tubers are set, growth is faster, and yield increases. For plants not used for propagation and planting, vigorous branches should be thinned out to inhibit vine growth and maintain plant height. The earlier the pruning, the better, to promote nutrient supply to root growth. For plants kept for seed propagation, in addition to early pruning, take one bottle of Yuhualing No. 2 and dilute it in 30 kg of water for foliar spraying. After spraying 2 to 3 times consecutively, plants planted in March to April can enter the flowering stage in June to September.
5. Thinning flowers to promote fruit: When flower buds emerge on Millettia speciosa, thin out some of the flower buds. Too many flower spikes should not be retained, and the number of plant branches should be maintained. Before flowering, spray Yuhualing No. 2 once more to promote flowering and pod setting, and to concentrate a large amount of nutrients for supply to underground rhizome growth. After the Beginning of Autumn, spray Yuhualing No. 5 to promote rapid rooting and continuous enlargement of Millettia speciosa. Apply corresponding fertilizers according to the growth status of Millettia speciosa leaves and rhizomes so that Millettia speciosa can achieve high yield.
6. Disease and pest control: Adult Millettia speciosa plants are generally not easily harmed by diseases and pests, but under high temperature, rainy, and damp conditions, seedlings may develop a small amount of leaf spot disease, which can be controlled by spraying 600-fold solutions each of 50% carbendazim wettable powder + 80% mancozeb. At the same time, Millettia speciosa seedlings are easily harmed by lepidopteran pests and can be controlled with 1000-fold solutions such as 5% abamectin emulsifiable concentrate, 5% abamectin-chlorpyrifos granules, or 2.5% abamectin-hexaflumuron emulsifiable concentrate.
7. Harvesting and processing: The harvesting time for Millettia speciosa should preferably be in autumn and winter when the soil is dry. Where conditions permit, a cultivator can first deep-plow once between the rows, and after loosening the soil, harvest manually. Where conditions do not permit, dig the tubers directly by hand. After harvesting, store in a cold storage at 0 to 5°C for half a month, or slice and dry, vacuum-pack fresh slices, make beverages, etc.