The Latest High-Yield Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Anemarrhena asphodeloides

Anemarrhena asphodeloides, also called hairy Anemarrhena, is cultivated throughout our country. It has strong drought and cold resistance, is a perennial herbaceous plant, and can grow in dry, rain-scarce barren hills, deserts and wasteland. It is the first choice variety for greening mountainous areas and wilderness. It can be sown in all seasons of the year, but mainly in spring or summer. Anemarrhena asphodeloides is a commonly used Chinese medicinal material and is widely used by society.

Site Selection and Land Preparation

Choose humus soil or sandy loam that faces the sun, has good drainage and loose texture. Apply 2000-3000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure, 40-50 kg of cake fertilizer and 30 kg of phosphate fertilizer per mu, spread them evenly into the land, plow 20 cm deep, level and make beds, with a bed width of 130 cm.

Planting Methods

1. Seed propagation: Anemarrhena asphodeloides seeds mature successively around Major Heat. After harvesting, thresh and remove all impurities, and store in a ventilated and dry place for later use. Seed propagation can be done in spring or autumn. Spring sowing in April; autumn sowing from October to November. In the prepared bed, open furrows 2 cm deep at a row spacing of 30-35 cm. Spread the seeds evenly into the furrows, cover with soil, rake level, press lightly, and water. Keep the ground moist, and seedlings emerge in about 20 days. About 1-1.5 kg of seeds are needed per mu. Autumn sowing has a high germination rate and uniform seedling emergence.

2. Root division propagation: Spring planting is done after thawing and before sprouting, and autumn planting is done after the aboveground stems and leaves turn yellow and wither. In the prepared bed, open holes at a row spacing of 30-35 cm and a plant spacing of 15-20 cm, with a hole depth of 7 cm. Cut off the residual stems, leaves and fibrous roots from the dug-out underground rhizomes of Anemarrhena asphodeloides, break the rhizomes with buds into small sections 4-7 cm long, place one section in each hole with the bud pointing upward. Cover with soil and water. It is also possible to irrigate heavily once before planting, then prepare the land and make beds for planting, but the bed surface should not be too wet to prevent root rot. About 90 kg of rhizomes are needed per mu.

Field Management

After sowing, keep the soil moist, and seedlings emerge in about 20 days. When the seedlings are 3-4 cm tall, loosen the soil and hoe weeds. When the seedlings are 7-10 cm tall, thin them to a plant spacing of 15-20 cm. If the climate is dry during the seedling stage, water appropriately. Anemarrhena asphodeloides cultivated by rhizome division grows slowly in the previous year, so water lightly. It grows vigorously in the second year, so the number of waterings should be appropriately increased. In the year of root division planting and in the second year of direct seed sowing, when the seedlings are 15-20 cm tall, apply 20 kg of superphosphate plus 10 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu as topdressing. Open furrows between the rows, and after application, bury the fertilizer into the soil together with loosening the soil. If seeds are not needed, promptly cut off the flower stems. In hot and rainy seasons, pay attention to draining accumulated water.

Pest and Disease Control

Anemarrhena asphodeloides has strong disease resistance, and generally does not require special control with pesticides. The main insect pest is white grubs, which damage seedlings and rhizomes. Use conventional methods for control.

Harvesting and Processing

1. Harvesting

Both cultivated and wild Anemarrhena asphodeloides are dug in spring and autumn. In spring, after thawing and before sprouting; in autumn, after the aboveground stems and leaves turn yellow and wither and before the ground freezes. Use a pickaxe to dig out the underground rhizomes, remove the stems, leaves, fibrous roots and soil, and it is fresh Anemarrhena asphodeloides. Fresh Anemarrhena asphodeloides dug at the appropriate time in spring and autumn has a high drying ratio and good quality. Wild Anemarrhena asphodeloides is generally best harvested in autumn. This is because it is not easy to find before spring sprouting, and digging after sprouting has a certain impact on commodity quality. For the harvest period of cultivated Anemarrhena asphodeloides, seed propagation requires 4-5 years, and rhizome propagation generally requires 3-4 years.

2. Hairy Anemarrhena

① Sun-drying method. Place the harvested fresh Anemarrhena asphodeloides on a sunny open yard or drying platform, tossing and beating it while piling, turning it once every 7 days, and repeating this many times until it is sun-dried, which gives hairy Anemarrhena. It generally takes about 60-70 days.

② Oven-drying method. Place the fresh Anemarrhena asphodeloides on a heated kang in a drying room, turning it while baking so that it is heated evenly. When it is half-dry, take it out and put it on a drying platform to sun-dry, pick out the ones with higher moisture and continue baking, and when it is 80-90% dry, sun-dry again and sort again. After two rounds in and out, it can be dried. Baking should not be rushed, to prevent scorching.

3. Anemarrhena flesh

While fresh, scrape off the outer skin completely and sun-dry to obtain Anemarrhena flesh. If there is sufficient sunlight, it generally dries in 2-3 days.