What are the methods for selecting Astragalus seeds and raising seedlings?

Astragalus is a perennial herbaceous plant with great medicinal value; it can strengthen the heart and lower blood pressure, and stewed as soup it also has high nutritional value, with fairly good market prospects. So how do you select Astragalus seeds? What are the seedling raising methods? Let's take a look together below.

1. How do you select Astragalus seeds?

Astragalus seeds are very small, black granular-looking things. Astragalus seeds have a very high hard seed rate; treating them before sowing can increase the emergence rate. For sowing, it is best to use seeds set by plants that are more than 3 years old; the mother plants should be selected as superior individual plants of pure variety, robust growth, and free of pests and diseases. In autumn, when the pods turn yellow and ripe and droop, and the seeds turn brown, harvest them as they ripen. Dry the harvested pods in the sun and thresh them for storage. Before sowing, remove the shriveled seeds, impurities, and insect-damaged ones, and keep the plump, brown, glossy ones as seeds.

2. What are the seedling raising methods for Astragalus?

1. Site selection

Astragalus is a deep-rooted plant. For the cultivation site, choose a plot with deep soil, facing the sun, loose soil texture, high and dry terrain, good drainage, and neutral or slightly acidic sandy soil.

2. Seedling raising

When planting, choose the planting location according to its growth characteristics. Astragalus prefers a cool and dry environment. You can choose a sunny plot at an altitude between 850 m and 1250 m. The soil requirement is to ensure the soil's fertility; you need to control the soil depth for Astragalus, and choose slightly alkaline sandy soil for planting.

When raising seedlings and planting, choose the corresponding soil and cultivation, then transplant. It has the characteristics of saving time, money, and labor, and it should be convenient for the seedlings. Note that it is best to transplant after rainy days, or after watering, to ensure that Astragalus can grow normally and increase the survival rate. Choose ones with roots more than 20 cm long and a diameter of more than 0.2 cm for transplanting.

3. Thinning and final thinning

Thinning should be done early. The first thinning is done when the seedlings are 6.0 cm tall, and the second when the seedlings are 10 cm to 12 cm tall. For hole sowing, keep 3 to 4 seedlings per hole for final thinning; for drill sowing, keep 1 strong seedling every 10 cm to 12 cm; for seedling raising, keep 1 seedling every 2.0 cm to 3.0 cm, and move away the larger thinned seedlings, leaving the small seedlings to continue growing. When there are too many gaps to replant, it is best to resow with pre-germinated seeds.

The above is an introduction to Astragalus. The Astragalus planting area is relatively large, mainly in North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China. If you want to grow Astragalus, you must master the above seedling raising methods.

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