Detailed Explanation of the Key Cultivation Techniques for Cyathula officinalis

Cyathula officinalisIt is the dried root of Cyathula officinalis, a plant in the amaranth family, also known as Niu Xi. It has effects such as invigorating blood and removing stasis, and freeing the joints, and is used to treat amenorrhea, blood in the urine, joint soreness and pain, and traumatic injuries. It is distributed in Leshan, Ya'an, Liangshan and other cities and prefectures in Sichuan Province, with the counties of Tianquan and Yingjing having the longest cultivation history, large yields and good quality.

Morphological Characteristics

Perennial herb, 50-100 cm tall. The main root is long and cylindrical, earth-brown, with a slightly sweet taste. The stem is erect; the lower part of the stem is nearly cylindrical, and the middle part is nearly four-angled or nearly square, with rough hairs, and the nodes are slightly swollen. The leaves are opposite, the petioles densely covered with rough hairs, the leaf blades elliptical, the apex gradually pointed, the base wedge-shaped, the margin entire, and the surface dark green. Small greenish-white flowers are borne terminally or in the leaf axils, and the flowers are densely clustered into round-headed inflorescences. The utricle is long elliptical-obovate, dark gray, with the base slightly covered with sparse soft hairs; the seeds are ovate and reddish-brown. The flowering period is June—July, and the fruiting period is August-September.

I. Growth Habits

Cyathula officinalis prefers a cold, cool and humid natural environment. In Sichuan it is mostly cultivated in high, cold mountainous areas at an altitude of 1200-2 000 m, with an average annual rainfall generally above about 1500 mm, and 3-4 months of snow cover in winter.

At an altitude of about 1500 m, mature seeds from plants grown for 3-4 years can emerge 10-15 days after sowing, with a high germination rate; the seeds have a lifespan of 1 year. After sowing, the first year is vegetative growth, and the second year is reproductive growth. Summer is the period of vigorous growth, during which the roots also grow, and in late autumn and early winter the plants enter the winter dormancy period.

II. Site Selection and Land Preparation

It is best to choose loose, fertile loam for cultivation, and on hillsides a sunny slope is generally preferable. In September--October, before snowfall, plow the land deeply, preferably to a depth of more than 30 cm, and after plowing leave the soil fallow to freeze. Around Qingming the following year, plow once more, break the soil up fine and rake it level, and make high beds about 1.3 m wide.

III. Sowing

Propagation is by seed. In cultivation, the "seed" used is essentially the utricle. The germination capacity of the seed varies with the age of the plant; seed set by 3-4-year-old plants is the best, while seed set in the same year of cultivation often cannot germinate, and old seed kept from the previous year is not used for planting. Sowing is divided into spring sowing and autumn sowing. Spring sowing is around April; because of differences in altitude, sowing time varies somewhat, and lower altitudes may be sown slightly earlier, with early sowing after the snow being preferable. Autumn sowing is around August. The main producing areas generally adopt the method of spring sowing in the high mountains and autumn sowing in the low mountains, which gives a high emergence rate and few missing hills.

IV. Field Management

(1) Cultivation, weeding and thinning: cultivate and weed 3-4 times each year. In the year of sowing, the first time is in mid-to-late May, when shallow hoeing or pulling by hand is suitable, combined with thinning and filling in gaps, leaving 4-6 plants per hill. This weeding is very important and should be done as early as possible. The second time is in mid-to-late June; before cultivation, thin once more, leaving 2-3 plants per hill as the final stand. Then carry out one more time each in July—August. In the second year, cultivate and weed 2-3 times. In the third year, if harvesting is planned, carry out only 1-2 times.

(2) Fertilizing and earthing up: each year, in conjunction with cultivation, apply topdressing 3 times. After the first and second cultivations, apply human and livestock manure water and plant ash, and earth up to prevent freezing. The thickness of the earth should be such that the young buds at the root crown are buried about 7 cm in the soil. If not earthed up, the root crown is easily damaged by freezing, causing missing hills and reduced yield.

V. Pest and Disease Control

(1) Black head disease mostly occurs in spring and summer, mainly because the reed head is covered too thinly and suffers freezing damage in winter, causing blackening and rotting. Control methods: pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging, and earth up in winter.

(2) Nematode disease mostly occurs in low-altitude areas, forming uneven fleshy galls on the roots. Control methods: pay attention to soil selection; treat the soil with 35-45 kg of DD mixture per mu.

(3) The great cabbage leaf beetle occurs in May-June and bites the leaves into small holes. Control methods: spray with 800x phosmet or 1000x trichlorfon solution.

(4) Caterpillars and red spider mites damage the leaves in May-June. Control methods: spray with 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 800-1500x dilution.

VI. Harvesting and Processing

Cyathula officinalis is harvested in October-November of the 3rd-4th year after sowing. Deep digging is required to reduce broken roots. After digging, remove the soil, cut off the reed head, trim off the fibrous roots, and cut off the reverse roots, so that the main root and lateral roots each become single strips. Then, according to root size, arrange them into small bundles, stand them on a heated kang and dry them over a low smokeless coal fire, or spread them on a drying yard to become crisp in the sun. After they are half dry, pile them up for several days, and after they have reabsorbed moisture, dry them again over the kang or in the sun until fully dry. Usually, 3-year-old plants yield 150-200 kg of dried goods per mu, and 4-year-old plants yield 200-250 kg.