A Detailed Tutorial on the Latest Planting Techniques and Methods for Kudzu Root
Kudzu root, also known as fen ge, kudzu vine, and so on, is a plant of the genus Pueraria in the legume family. It is rich in starch and isoflavones, and also contains more than ten kinds of trace elements essential to the human body, such as calcium, selenium, iron, copper, phosphorus, and potassium. It has effects such as staving off hunger, relieving exterior symptoms and reducing fever, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, stimulating appetite and aiding digestion, and treating hemorrhoids and preventing cancer. Now let us take a look at kudzu root planting techniques together!
Kudzu Root Planting Prospects
Kudzu is a rare pollution-free green food, and every part of it is valuable. Kudzu root can be made into precious starch, kudzu flowers are a fine medicine for sobering up, kudzu leaves are high-quality feed, and kudzu residue is a high-grade fiber raw material. At present, kudzu root sells very well in the European, American, and Southeast Asian markets, and prices remain firm. Kudzu root starch sells for as much as 50 yuan per kilogram on the market, and the extract kudzu flavonoid sells for 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per kilogram. Kudzu is suitable for planting in rural mountainous areas, market demand is large, and the prospects for artificial cultivation look promising.
Kudzu Root Variety Selection
Planting kudzu root is done to obtain better economic returns, so when selecting good varieties, high-yield kudzu root seedlings should be chosen, such as the high-yield fast-growing kudzu root 119, Musheng kudzu root, Gange No. 3, and Songshi kudzu root. Never plant wild kudzu or local varieties with coarse fiber just to save trouble, otherwise it will result in low returns.
Kudzu Root Seedling Raising Techniques
1. Seedbed preparation: Choose mountain land or garden land that is sheltered from the wind and faces the sun, has sandy soil, and is free from harm by livestock and poultry as the seedbed. Prepare the seedbed land into ridges 15 to 20 cm high and 60 to 100 cm wide, with no limit on length. Apply 1.5 to 2.5 kg of decomposed barnyard manure or farmyard manure per square meter. Plow deeply and rake level, with the middle of the seedbed slightly raised and the ditches on both sides 20 to 30 cm wide.
2. Seed placement operation: Before placing the seeds, the seedbed must be fully moistened. Take the selected superior variety kudzu vine stems, use one branch bud as one seed, cut the bud nodes into small sections 6 to 10 cm long, and scatter them on the prepared seedbed. To avoid overlap, cover them with fine soil 2 to 3 mm thick, in principle so that they are faintly visible, then broadcast some decomposed barnyard manure, cover with a layer of rice straw, and use bamboo strips or small bamboo slivers about 2 m long to insert into the seedbed in an arch shape, inserting one every 35 cm. Cover with agricultural film, fully covering the seedbed in an arch shape, and compact the surrounding edges firmly with soil.
3. Seedbed management: Because the temperature during the seedling raising period is relatively low, the water consumption of the seed stems is not great. If the ridge surface is dry after about 10 days, water once. After the planted roots sprout branches, water demand should increase appropriately, watering about once every 3 days to keep the seedbed fully moist. The seedbed temperature should preferably be around 20°C. When the temperature reaches above 30°C, the film should be uncovered for ventilation or water should be sprayed to regulate it, so that the temperature remains balanced. When the seed ears sprout branches, uncover the covering rice straw to avoid direct sunlight, and provide appropriate shading at noon on sunny days to prevent sunburn. When the young branches growing from the seed ears have developed 3 leaves and reached a length of 5 cm, seedling lifting with soil can be carried out. The lifting action should be gentle to avoid injury.
Kudzu Root Planting Management
1. Land selection and preparation: To achieve high yield in artificial cultivation of kudzu root, the first step is to select good land. First, sweet potato or soybean land can be converted for planting. Second, choose sandy loam land with a relatively thick soil layer and good drainage for planting. Ridge preparation begins in mid-February. Before land preparation, apply 500 kg of barnyard manure, 500 kg of stove ash, and 50 kg of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus fertilizer per mu, or apply 200 kg of compound fertilizer. During land preparation, as with sweet potato ridges, the ridges are 60 to 70 cm high, and the ridge length is determined by what is convenient for land operations.
2. Reasonable close planting: From the end of February to mid-March, choose cloudy weather without strong wind for transplanting. Before transplanting, the seedbed should be watered thoroughly so that seedlings can be lifted with soil. Plant 500 to 700 plants per mu, with a plant spacing of about one meter. Before planting the seedlings, first arrange the seedlings on the ridge according to the plant spacing, then dig small holes, place the seedlings into the holes, cover with 2 cm of fine soil, and press the soil firm with both hands.
3. Replanting and fertilizing: After the seedlings are transplanted, appropriately use diluted human and livestock manure water to settle the roots, and pay attention to inspection, replanting dead seedlings in time. When the seedlings grow to about 30 cm, they must be stimulated twice, and 0.3 to 0.5% urea water can be sprayed, once every 15 days, after which appropriate topdressing can be carried out.
4. Intertillage and weeding: When the kudzu vines grow to 1 to 2 m, intertillage and weeding should be carried out. Although kudzu root has strong stress resistance, some pests and diseases are still unavoidable. Especially in the key season for tuber growth from June to August, in order to maintain vigorous leaves, carry out prevention and control with residue-free drugs when necessary, or use lime powder for control.
5. Harvesting and seed preservation: Kudzu root can be dug in the same year or in the second year. Generally, the starch content is highest when dug in November to December. When digging, large roots can be dug and small ones left, so that with one investment, benefits can be obtained over the long term. Kudzu root is mainly propagated asexually. For seed preservation, robust and pure plant vines can also be selected as seed stems for the second year. Generally, any part from 1.5 m above the root crown can be used as a seed stem.