The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Tree-Form Honeysuckle
Tree-form honeysuckle has few leggy branches, and most bare buds also become short flowering branches; even with heavy water and fertilizer it does not produce leggy branches and vines. The internodes are short, and most flowers open from the first internode, with an upright habit forming a 45-degree angle with the ground. It grows fast, reaching 0.5 cm in thickness in 50 days. Harvesting saves labor, and the yield is 2 times that of the traditional variety. Besides showing economic traits such as high yield and good quality, tree-form honeysuckle also has extremely strong adaptability and stress resistance. Its stems and leaves are thick and large, the leaf color is deep green, and photosynthesis is strong. The hairs on the stems and leaves are thick, stiff and long, especially the hairs on young leaves, which are thick and long, giving it great resistance to the honeysuckle round-tailed aphid. The leaf wax layer is thick and abundant, and the root system is well developed, giving it extremely strong drought resistance and tolerance to poor, thin soil, as well as a very strong capacity for soil and water conservation and for windbreak and sand fixation.
Cultivation Techniques
1. Site selection and land preparation
For planting honeysuckle, you can use scattered plots such as barren slopes, field edges, ditch sides, and the areas in front of and behind houses, or you can choose good land for planting. First plow the land deeply, apply sufficient base fertilizer, then level and rake it fine and make high beds or high ridges for planting.
2. Transplanting
Carry this out before sprouting in early spring or during the dormant period in autumn and winter. On the prepared planting site, dig holes at a row spacing of 100 cm and a plant spacing of 60 cm, and in each hole apply 5 kg of farmyard manure mixed evenly with the subsoil. Then plant 1 strong seedling in each hole, fill with fine soil, press firm and tread solid, and water thoroughly to settle the roots. Strengthening field management of honeysuckle is the main factor for a high yield. Field cultivation management generally includes reasonable arrangement of the population structure, intertillage and weeding, fertilization and watering, and pest and disease control. The relevant content on early-stage close planting, pruning and shaping, and routine intertillage, weeding, fertilization and watering is provided for producers to apply in field management.
Management Techniques
1. Reasonable close planting
The rationalization of the honeysuckle population structure is generally achieved through early-stage close planting (1111 plants per mu) and later-stage pruning and transplanting, so that competition among plants within the population for light, warmth, water, air and fertilizer is adjusted to maximize overall benefits, thereby improving ventilation and light penetration of the population and the utilization rate of water and fertilizer, and achieving rationalization of the plant population structure and density. Reasonable close planting generally refers to reasonable close planting in the early stage.
2. Intertillage and weeding
After transplanting and survival, carry out intertillage and weeding 3 to 4 times each year, or use spring plastic film mulching management (before sprouting, weed, apply herbicide, and mulch with film). Mulch planting can reduce intertillage and weeding, raise soil temperature, and increase yield. For intertillage and weeding, the 1st time is when new leaves sprout in spring; the 2nd time is in June; the 3rd time is in July to August; and the 4th time is in late autumn and early winter. After intertillage and weeding, soil should also be banked up around the root zone of the plants to help them overwinter. When intertilling, it is better to keep it shallow around the root zone of the plants and slightly deeper farther away, so as to avoid damaging the roots; otherwise it will affect the growth of the plant root system. After the 3rd year, depending on weed growth, the number of intertillage and weeding operations may be appropriately reduced.
3. Topdressing
After sprouting in early spring each year and after each harvest of flower buds, 1 topdressing should be carried out. In spring and summer, apply decomposed human and animal manure water or nitrogen fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate and urea (a mixture of fermented chicken manure and compound fertilizer works better), opening shallow furrows beside the plants and scattering it in, then covering with soil to cover the fertilizer; in winter, apply 5 to 10 kg of decomposed barnyard manure or compost, 100 g of ammonium sulfate, and 200 g of superphosphate per clump, opening a ring-shaped furrow around the flower clump and applying it in, then covering the fertilizer with soil and banking up soil 5 cm thick.
4. Shaping and pruning
After transplanting and survival, plant only 1 plant per hole; the four-season tree-form honeysuckle can automatically grow into an upright small corymb-shaped shrub. The specific shaping and pruning method: within 1 to 2 years after planting, the main task is to cultivate an upright, thick and strong main trunk. When the trunk height is 30 to 40 cm, cut off the top shoot to promote side buds to sprout into branches. After sprouting in the spring of the 2nd year, select and retain 4 to 5 thick and strong branches on the upper part of the main trunk as main branches, arranged in two layers.
In winter, from the first-order branches growing from the main branches, retain 5 to 6 pairs of buds and cut off the upper part. After that, from the second-order branches growing from the first-order branches, retain 6 to 7 pairs of buds and cut off the upper part. Then, from the flowering branches growing from the second-order branches, pick off the hooked tender tips. If there are no such tender tips, do not remove them. Generally, after the beginning of spring, the young branches with dense, short internodes and fine leaves that sprout from the second-order branches or the original old flowering branches are all flowering branches and should be retained. Through shaping and pruning, the honeysuckle tree becomes a corymb-shaped shrubby flower clump with sparse, well-distributed branches, good ventilation and light penetration, and a thick, strong, upright main trunk.
Because honeysuckle has the characteristic that newly grown shoots of the current year can develop into flowering branches, the above pruning measures can promote the growth of more new branches and the formation of more flower buds, thereby achieving the goal of increasing yield. Winter pruning is carried out each year from after Frost's Descent to before the ground freezes, and dead old branches, diseased and pest-damaged branches, thin and weak branches, and long branches that cross and disrupt the tree shape should also be cut off, so that nutrients are concentrated on producing new shoots and forming flower buds. After each harvest of flowers, summer pruning is likewise carried out. After each pruning, 1 topdressing should be applied. Winter pruning can also leave 3-4 pairs of buds per branch.
5. Drainage and irrigation
If the flowering period encounters dry weather or excessive rain, it will cause phenomena such as a large amount of flower drop, flower rotting, and young flower rupture. Therefore, irrigation and drainage work should be done in a timely manner.
6. Overwintering management
Honeysuckle can overwinter naturally in most areas of our country, but when planting honeysuckle in cold areas such as Jilin, attention should be paid to protecting the old branches for overwintering. If the old branches are frozen to death, new branches will regrow the next year, with fewer flowers and lower yield. The specific method is, before the ground freezes, lay the old branches flat on the ground, cover with 6 to 7 cm thick wormwood grass, and then cover the grass with soil, so they can overwinter safely; before sprouting the next spring, remove the covering.
Pest Control
1. Honeysuckle pests. The main one is aphids, which can be killed with Decis.
2. Disease and pest control. Powdery mildew (mainly in southern regions) does relatively great harm to honeysuckle leaves, so branches should be pruned and shaping carried out to improve ventilation conditions; in addition, a 1500-fold dilution of triadimefon can be used for leaf spraying. Other diseases and pests can be controlled by conventional methods.
Harvesting and Processing
Four-season tree-form honeysuckle flowers in the same year after transplanting. Generally, the first batch of flowers is picked in early May, and flowers are picked once every 1 month, producing five batches, until late October. The harvest period must be before the flower buds have opened; when the flower buds turn from green to white, with the upper part swollen and the lower part still bluish-green, the honeysuckle picked is “er bai hua”; when the flower buds have completely turned white, the flowers harvested are called “da bai zhen”. The picked flower buds should be dried in the air or by heat promptly, and should not be piled up to become moldy. The general yield per mu is about 150-200 kg, and the best quality is judged by being dry, free of foreign leaves, with flower buds of correct color and a fresh, fragrant odor.
1. Sun drying
Mostly choose a wind-sheltered, sunny flat ground or stone slab with long sunlight hours, spread the flowers in a thin layer in the morning, and collect them the same day after drying in the sun. This method saves labor and time, but in windy or rainy weather it will affect quality.
Sun drying mostly uses the basket drying method. Make a basket frame about 1.7 m long, about 0.7 m wide and 5-7 cm high from wooden sticks, and use sorghum stalks or a mat as the bottom (sorghum stalks are not peeled, and the mat should be used flipped over to absorb water better). Dry 2.5-3 kg of fresh flowers per basket. Place the baskets in a ventilated, sunny place oriented north-south, with the northern part raised higher, and after drying to 80 percent dry, they can be poured onto a mat to be turned and dried. At night or in rain, the baskets can be stacked in the yard, with two crossbars placed between baskets, and covered on top with a mat (or rainproof gear). When the flower buds reach 80 percent dry, they absolutely must not be turned, otherwise they will turn black and quality will decline.
2. Oven drying
If done in a drying room, the operating procedure is mainly: pre-drying (room temperature 30°C) → loading flowers (35°C, swap the upper and lower flower baskets every 2-3 hours) → heating and ventilation (ventilate at 40°C; within 5-10 hours, keep the temperature at 45-50°C, ventilating for 5 minutes each time; after 10 hours, when the temperature rises to 55°C, dry quickly, totaling about 18 hours) → removing from the flue (reduce the fire 1 hour before removing from the flue, and ventilate; when the temperature drops below 10°C and the honeysuckle is 80-90 percent dry, take the flower baskets out to air-dry).
When oven drying, the drying room generally uses a two-room type, 6 m long and 5 m wide. At one end of the house, two furnace mouths are built, and inside the room a return-flue type fire channel is built. A chimney and skylight are left in the roof. At 0.3 m above the ground, a pair of opposite ventilation holes is left in each of the front and rear walls of each room. On both sides inside the room, 20 cm from the wall, one steel bar or wooden drying rack is set up each, with a 1.4 m passage left between the racks. The racks are 5.6 m long, 1.6 cm wide, and 2.6 m high, divided into 10 layers, with a layer spacing of 20 cm and the bottom layer 40 cm from the fire channel. Each layer holds 8 honeysuckle baskets, with a spacing of 10 cm between baskets, totaling 160 flower baskets.
Before loading the flowers, pre-dry first to remove indoor moisture and raise the temperature. When the room temperature rises to 35°C, the flowers can be loaded, keeping the fresh flowers 3-4 cm thick. Arrange the baskets neatly on the drying racks, close the doors and windows, block the ventilation holes, and begin baking. Every 2-3 hours of baking, swap the positions of the upper and lower baskets once. After the honeysuckle is loaded, immediately increase the fire. When the room temperature rises to about 40°C, the fresh flowers begin to release water, and the skylight can be opened to discharge water vapor. Within 5-10 hours, the room temperature should be kept at 45-50°C, and the air holes opened so that water vapor is discharged quickly. If the temperature is not enough, part or all of the air holes can be blocked, and ventilation done again when the indoor moisture is great, for only about 5 minutes each time. After 10 hours, most of the water vapor of the fresh flowers has been discharged, the room temperature reaches 55°C, and the honeysuckle dries quickly; one flue batch takes 18 hours. About 1 hour before removing from the flue, gradually reduce the fire and keep ventilating throughout. When the temperature drops below 40°C and the flowers feel firm to the grip and make a sound, the flower baskets can be taken out.
Whether sun-dried or oven-dried, after 1-2 days they should be dried (or sun-dried) once more to make them thoroughly dry. A smokeless coal ball stove can also be used for oven drying. At present, in the Shandong production area, flower farmers mainly use the basket drying method, and only those with large yields use drying rooms for oven drying. Processing plants of medicinal materials companies mostly use the sulfur fumigation method, which should now be prohibited.