How to increase the yield of Pinellia ternata? These five measures must be mastered
Pinellia ternata, also known as three-leaf pinellia, sanbujiao, and mayuguo, uses its tubers as medicine and is a commonly used Chinese medicinal herb. Because its wild resources have decreased year by year and the amount available on the market is insufficient, a relatively large gap between supply and demand has appeared on the market in recent years, and the price has kept rising. Therefore, developing Pinellia ternata production has broad prospects. According to production experience, adopting the following five measures in cultivation can increase the yield of Pinellia ternata by more than 25%.
1. Promote sprouting before sowing and cover with plastic film during the seedling stage. Pinellia ternata is generally sown in spring from February to April. Because the temperature is relatively low at this time, the seed tubers sprout slowly. Therefore, before sowing, the seed tubers can be sprouted indoors in a hotbed, with the sprouting temperature kept at about 20°C, and sprouts will emerge in 15 days. The seed tubers can also be placed outdoors in a plastic greenhouse at 20-25°C and treated continuously for 15 days. When the coleoptile is found to turn white, sow the seed tubers with sprouts into the previously prepared field, cover with plastic film, and the plastic film only needs to cover the rows where the seed tubers are planted; it can be removed after the seedlings emerge uniformly.
2. Drain and irrigate in time, and topdress at the right time. Pinellia ternata likes moisture, is tolerant of fertilizer, and fears waterlogging. Before planting, the planting site should be watered thoroughly once to help emergence. During the seedling growth period, the soil should be kept moist; in case of drought, irrigate in time; in the rainy season, drain in time to avoid seedling death caused by waterlogging in the field. Fertilization is mainly based on farmyard manure. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, topdressing should also be applied twice during the growth period. The first time is from late May to early June, when buds grow on the inner side of the lower part of the petiole; apply 2000 kg of decomposed human and livestock manure and 25 kg of decomposed cake fertilizer per 667 sq m (1 mu) between the rows. The second time is in August after the plants wither, when the daughter pinellia exposes new buds and the mother pinellia sheds its shell and regrows new roots; mix 20 kg of decomposed cake fertilizer, 15 kg of superphosphate, and 10 kg of urea evenly per 667 sq m and apply it under the plant hills, and combine fertilization with hilling soil around the hills.
3. Choose semi-shaded and semi-sunny slopes or intercrop and relay crop with tall-stemmed crops. Pinellia ternata is a shade-tolerant crop and grows well under shaded conditions, with high yield. Therefore, the planting site should be selected as semi-shaded and semi-sunny gentle slope land, or interplanted between rows of young fruit trees, or tall-stemmed crops such as corn and wheat can be interplanted along the edges of Pinellia ternata beds.
4. Remove flower buds. About 2 months after sowing, Pinellia ternata plants will successively bolt and bloom, consuming nutrients. Therefore, except for those retained for seed, the flower buds should be removed in batches in time so that nutrients are concentrated in the underground tubers, accelerating tuber growth and helping increase yield.
5. Delay plant withering. Pinellia ternata will show natural withering under high temperature and strong light and stop growing. Therefore, delaying plant withering is an important measure for high yield of Pinellia ternata. According to production experience, in cultivation, in addition to taking measures such as appropriate shading and spraying (irrigating) water to reduce light intensity and air temperature, a 0.01% sodium sulfite solution can also be sprayed in an appropriate amount to weaken the intensity of plant respiration, thereby delaying plant withering or reducing the number of withering occurrences, achieving the purpose of increasing yield.