Detailed Explanation of Key Points for High-Yield Cultivation Techniques of Wild Ginger

Wild Ginger, also known as Liaoning wild ginger, northern wild ginger, etc. The whole plant is used as medicine, with effects of dispelling wind and dispersing cold, and relieving pain. It mainly treats wind-cold headache, cough and asthma with excessive phlegm, joint pain, nasal congestion, toothache and other symptoms. It is mainly produced in Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and other provinces.

Morphological characteristics: It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Aristolochiaceae family. The plant height is 30 cm. The lower part of the rhizome has numerous white fleshy fibrous roots. Basal leaves are 1-2 leaves; the petiole is long, grooved, with sparse short hairs on the margin. The leaf blade is heart-shaped, acute or notched at the apex, kidney-shaped at the base, entire, with sparse short hairs on both sides, and reticulate veins. A single flower is terminal, with a long pedicel, dark purple, cylindrical; the perianth is thick, the tube part is urn-shaped and cup-shaped, dark purple, with 3 lobes at the apex, spreading at the base, not recurved downward, acute at the apex, about 9 mm long and about 10 cm wide. There are 12 stamens in two whorls, arranged around the lower part of the pistil; the filaments are 3 mm, and the filaments are equal in length to the anthers. There is 1 pistil and 6 styles, conical, with small protuberances on the outer side at the base, and the stigma is notched. The ovary is semi-inferior, 6-locular, with axile placentation, and each locule has 5 ovules. The capsule is spherical. The seed is conical, with a brown hard shell, 4 mm long and about 3 mm in diameter, with a fleshy aril on one side. The flowering period is April to May, and the fruiting period is May to June.

I. Growth habits: Wild ginger prefers a humid and shaded environment and is afraid of high temperatures and direct sunlight. Under direct sunlight in summer for a few hours, the plants will wither and die. It is cold-resistant. The seeds have an after-ripening period and need low-temperature treatment before they can germinate. Deep, loose, fertile loam rich in organic matter is best. Seeds do not germinate after drying.

II. Land preparation and fertilization: Choose a field with high terrain and good drainage, and carry out intensive cultivation. Combined with land preparation, apply sufficient base fertilizer: 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: In wild ginger production, rhizome propagation is mostly used, and seed propagation can also be used. It is carried out in two steps: seedling raising and transplanting. The sowing period is July-August. Spring sowing is also possible. Rhizome propagation: In April-May or August-September, dig out large wild ginger plants, divide them into several plants according to the number of buds, and then plant them at a row spacing of 25×20 cm on the prepared bed surface. Water to preserve soil moisture and promote survival. Seed propagation: Collect the seeds promptly after they mature in June-July. While fresh, sow the seeds in spots at a row spacing of 10×6 cm on the prepared bed surface. Place 5 seeds per hole. Water to preserve soil moisture and promote emergence; after the seedlings emerge uniformly, strengthen field management. After one year of cultivation, they can be transplanted; set the wild ginger seedlings at a row spacing of 20×20 cm on the prepared bed surface. Water to preserve soil moisture and promote survival.

IV. Field management: After the wild ginger seedlings emerge uniformly, attention should be paid to intertillage and weeding. Water promptly in dry weather; drain promptly in rainy weather. Wild ginger is afraid of strong direct light, so around Qingming, some tall crops such as sorghum should be intercropped appropriately for shading to benefit the growth of wild ginger. Apply topdressing once around the Beginning of Autumn: apply 10 kg of urea and 5 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate per mu. In winter, spread a layer of farmyard manure on the bed surface.

V. Prevention and control of pests and diseases: Wild ginger has relatively few pests and diseases. If found, control them promptly by conventional methods. For underground pests, use phoxim mixed with poison bait to trap and kill them.

VI. Harvesting and processing: Wild ginger is generally harvested in autumn after the fruits mature 2-3 years after transplanting. At harvest, dig out the wild ginger plants together with the roots, remove the soil, and dry them in the sun before selling them as medicine. The yield per mu is 200 kg.