Big and plump strawberries grown with mile-a-minute weed biochar-based fertilizer and vinegar liquid

Mile-a-minute weed biochar combined with vinegar liquid produces big and plump strawberries. Want to learn how? Then read the introduction below.

 Huang Ying-pin, senior researcher at the Ecosystem Technology Laboratory of the Central Branch of the Industrial Technology Research Institute, says that mile-a-minute weed (Mikania micrantha) is native to Central and South America, harms crop growth, is known abroad as the "mile-a-minute weed", and is also regarded as the "green cancer" of the plant world. Mile-a-minute weed spreads rapidly in Taiwan, China, and is a plant that forestry units want to eradicate as quickly as possible, but it is not entirely useless. Research has shown that mile-a-minute weed is rich in micropores and is a very good charcoal material, which can be converted into "biochar" and "vinegar liquid" through carbonization technology; biochar can be used for soil improvement, and combined with vinegar liquid it becomes a pest and disease control agent or a plant growth promoter.

        Grower Chen Ming-hsien says that he was once poisoned by spraying pesticides, knows well the suffering of pesticide poisoning, and has always promoted organic cultivation. Under the guidance of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the association, he used mile-a-minute weed charcoal material, mile-a-minute weed vinegar liquid and bamboo vinegar liquid to prepare a natural biological agent, cultivating 5 strawberry varieties including Xiangshui, Shuimitao, GuinuGan, Mixiang and Fengxiang, and found that the leaves of all 5 varieties became thick and fleshy, with good disease resistance, and the fruits were also large and plump.

        The Industrial Technology Research Institute guided the grower in strawberry cultivation, divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group used mile-a-minute weed biochar for soil improvement, which can make the soil looser and softer, achieving water retention and fertilizer retention effects. Combined with vinegar liquid, biochar, organic materials, microorganisms and other biological agents for cultivation, it was found that the strawberry plants were stronger and the leaves were larger and more fleshy; the fruit sweetness remained between 8 and 10 degrees, higher than the control group's sweetness of around 6 or 7.