A Detailed Guide to Selecting Anemarrhena Seeds and Raising Seedlings
Anemarrhena, also known as Chimu, Lianmu, wild smartweed and so on, is a perennial herb of the genus Anemarrhena in the Liliaceae family. It is cultivated in various parts of China and has strong drought and cold resistance, able to grow in arid, rain-scarce barren mountains, deserts and wasteland. Its dried rhizome is a famous traditional Chinese medicine, with the effects of nourishing yin and reducing fire, moistening dryness and lubricating the intestines, and promoting urination and defecation. So how do you select Anemarrhena seeds? What seedling-raising methods are there? Let's take a look together below.
1. How do you select Anemarrhena seeds?
Anemarrhena fruits are harvested when ripe from late July to late September, placed in a ventilated, dry place to dry, the seeds rubbed out, the impurities winnowed clean, and stored for later use.
Anemarrhena seeds are soaked in warm water at 30-40°C for 24 hours, taken out and dried slightly, and then they can be sown. The sowing rate is about 3 kilograms per mu.
2. What seedling-raising methods are there for Anemarrhena?
1. Sowing time
Anemarrhena can be sown in autumn or spring. Autumn sowing is before the ground freezes, and spring sowing is in April. The germination rate of seeds of the same year is 80-90%, while that of seeds from the previous year is only 40-50%.
2. Land preparation and fertilization: For Anemarrhena cultivation, well-drained sandy loam and neutral soil rich in humus are best. Deep plow 25-30 cm, harrow fine and level, make beds 1.2 m wide, dig drainage ditches, and apply 1500 kg of barnyard manure per mu.
3. Thinning and fixing seedlings: After Anemarrhena sprouts in spring, thin the seedlings when they are 4-5 cm tall, removing the weak and keeping the strong. When the seedlings are about 10 cm tall, fix the seedlings at a plant spacing of 4-5 cm. Reasonable dense planting is the key to increasing Anemarrhena yield.
4. Loosening soil and weeding: After Anemarrhena seedlings emerge, weed and cultivate in time. After thinning, carry out 1 loosening of soil and weeding. Shallow loosening is suitable, just raking the soil surface loose, but weeds must be removed completely. After fixing the seedlings, loosen the soil and weed once more, keeping the bed surface loose and free of weeds.
5. Timely topdressing: In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, Anemarrhena should mainly be topdressed with nitrogen fertilizer during the seedling stage, and with nitrogen and potassium fertilizer during the middle and late growth stages. During the vigorous growth period from July to August each year, spray foliar fertilizer once every half month, for 2 consecutive times. If it rains after spraying, spray once again.
The above is an introduction to Anemarrhena. Anemarrhena propagated from seeds is harvested in spring and autumn of the 3rd year. The rhizomes are dug out, the reed heads and fine roots removed, the yellow fuzz and light yellow leaf scars retained, the soil washed clean, and sun-dried or oven-dried to make Mao Anemarrhena; if the outer skin is removed while fresh and then sun-dried, it becomes Anemarrhena flesh.
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