How to cultivate perilla for high yield? Detailed explanation of key cultivation techniques

Perilla, also known as red perilla, red su, black su, etc. The whole plant is used as medicine. It has the effects of relieving the exterior and dispersing cold, moving qi and harmonizing the stomach. It mainly treats wind-cold common cold, cough, chest and abdominal distension and fullness, nausea and vomiting, and neutralizing fish and turtle toxins. The seeds are called suzi. They have the effects of suppressing cough and calming wheezing, and eliminating phlegm. They mainly treat cough, excessive phlegm, chest tightness, and asthma. The stems are called sugeng, and have the effects of regulating qi, preventing miscarriage, dispersing wind-cold, and resolving phlegm. They mainly treat chest tightness and qi distension, and restless fetal movement. Perilla seed oil can treat coronary heart disease and high blood lipids. It is mainly produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan and other provinces and regions.

Morphological characteristics

1. Perilla is an annual herb of the Lamiaceae family, 30-100 cm tall, with a distinctive aroma. The stem is obtusely four-angled, green or green-purple, densely covered with long soft hairs. Leaves are opposite; petioles 3-5 cm long; leaf blades wrinkled, ovate to broadly ovate, 7-13 cm long, 4.5-10 cm wide, apex abruptly acute or gradually acuminate, base nearly rounded or broadly cuneate, margin coarsely serrate, both surfaces green or purple, or only the lower surface purple, upper surface sparsely covered with soft hairs, lower surface covered with appressed soft hairs and fine glandular dots. Verticillasters form one-sided terminal and axillary racemes, densely covered with long soft hairs; bracts broadly ovate or nearly circular, about 4 mm in diameter, apex with a short point, externally covered with reddish-brown glandular dots, margin membranous; calyx campanulate, with 10 veins, lower part covered with long soft hairs, mixed with yellow glandular dots, inner throat with a ring of sparse soft hairs, calyx limb two-lipped, upper lip broad, 3-toothed, lower lip slightly longer, 2-toothed; corolla white to purple-red, two-lipped, upper lip slightly concave at the top, lower lip 3-lobed, middle lobe larger; corolla tube short, 2-2.5 mm long, stamens 4, didynamous; ovary 4-lobed, style basally attached, stigma 2-cleft. Nutlets nearly spherical, grayish-brown, about 1.5 mm in diameter, reticulate, fruiting calyx enlarged, up to 11 mm long. Flowering period June-August, fruiting period August-October. Widely cultivated throughout the country.

2. Wild perilla. This variety differs from the typical species in that: the fruiting calyx of the variety is small, 4-5.5 mm long, lower part covered with sparse soft hairs, with glandular dots; the stem is covered with short sparse soft hairs; the leaves are smaller, ovate, 4.5-7.5 cm long, 2.8-5 cm wide, both surfaces covered with sparse soft hairs; the nutlets are smaller, earth-yellow, 1-1.5 mm in diameter. It grows on mountain roadsides, wasteland at forest edges, or is cultivated beside village houses.

I. Growth habits

Perilla prefers a warm and humid environment. It has low requirements for soil, but loam or sandy loam with deep, loose, fertile soil rich in organic matter is best.

II. Land preparation and fertilization

Select a field suitable for growth and cultivate it carefully. In combination with land preparation, apply sufficient base fertilizer: apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer per mu. Then make beds and wait for sowing.

III. Sowing

Perilla is propagated by seed. In production, direct sowing is mostly used. Seedling raising and transplanting can also be used. The sowing period is spring sowing, around Qingming. Direct sowing: before sowing, first use a drill to open shallow furrows on the prepared bed surface, then evenly scatter the seeds into the furrows. Cover with soil, water, and preserve soil moisture to promote emergence. The sowing rate is 1 kg per mu. Seedling raising: evenly scatter perilla seeds on the prepared bed surface, loosen the surface soil layer so that the soil covers the seeds. Water and preserve soil moisture to promote emergence. The sowing rate is 2 kg per mu. Transplanting: choose cloudy and rainy weather, and set the perilla seedlings on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 30×20 cm, water and preserve soil moisture to promote survival.

IV. Field management

After perilla seedlings are fully established or after transplanting survives, attention should be paid to intertillage and weeding, watering frequently in dry weather, and timely drainage in rainy weather. Before and after row closure, topdressing should be applied once: each time apply 10 kg of urea and 5 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate.

V. Pest and disease control

The main disease of perilla is leaf spot, which can be controlled with 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture before onset, and sprayed with 50% carbendazim 500 solution at the early stage of onset. The main pests include silver noctuid, bagworm moth, and inchworm, which damage leaves and can be killed with pyrethroid pesticides. For underground pests, use phoxim mixed with poison bait to trap and kill them.

VI. Harvesting and processing

Perilla is harvested in autumn after the seeds mature. Cut the perilla plants down at the root and sun-dry them to obtain whole perilla. The yield is 500 kg per mu.