Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for High-Yield Cultivation of Cornus officinalis

Cornus officinalis, also known as zaopi, yaozhao, shanyurou, etc. Its fruit flesh is used medicinally, and it has the effects of tonifying the liver and kidneys, securing essence and reducing sweating. It is mainly used to treat soreness and pain of the waist and knees, tinnitus and dizziness, impotence and spermatorrhea, spontaneous sweating, night sweats, frequent urination, neurasthenia, menorrhagia, etc. Modern pharmacological studies show that Cornus officinalis has anti-cancer and anti-HIV functions. The main producing areas are Henan, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other provinces.

Morphological characteristics: It is a deciduous tree or shrub of the Cornaceae family, 4-10 m tall, with grayish-brown bark. Leaves are simple and opposite, ovate to oblong, with petioles 5-7 mm long, pubescent with yellowish-brown hairs when young. The umbel inflorescence opens before the leaves, clustered at the tips of branchlets, with 4 involucral bracts; flowers are bisexual, yellow, with broadly triangular sepals, ligulate or lanceolate petals, 4 stamens alternating with the petals, and an inferior ovary, usually one-loculed. The drupe is elliptical, red to purplish-red when mature, glossy, with a leathery exocarp, fleshy mesocarp, and a hard woody endocarp.

I. Growth habits: Cornus officinalis prefers a warm and humid environment. It is cold-tolerant and can grow normally at temperatures of -10 to 35°C. It has low requirements for soil, but sandy soil with deep, loose, fertile layers rich in organic matter is best for cultivation. Heavy clay, saline-alkali land, and low-lying land are not suitable for planting.

II. Land preparation and fertilization: Select a field with high terrain and good drainage, plow and harrow carefully, and apply sufficient base fertilizer together with land preparation: 5000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer per mu. Make beds 1.3 m wide and wait for planting.

III. Planting: Cultivation of Cornus officinalis is carried out in two steps: raising seedlings and transplanting. For seedling raising, the sowing period is winter sowing or spring sowing. Seeds must be treated before sowing. There are two methods: 1. Soak Cornus officinalis seeds in decomposed human urine and feces for 20 days, take them out and mix them into plant ash, then mix them evenly with wet sand at a ratio of 1:2, and place them in a previously dug pit to promote germination. After 3-4 months, when 50% of the seeds have split and sprouted, they can be taken out and sown. 2. Chemical treatment: Place Cornus officinalis seeds in a water vat at a ratio of 50 g of bleaching powder per 100 jin of seeds and soak for 3-4 days, stirring frequently. When the inner fruit skin of the seeds turns white, remove them, rinse off the chemical solution, mix with plant ash, and sow. When sowing, distribute the seeds evenly in the soil at a row spacing of 20 cm, water to preserve soil moisture, and promote seedling emergence. The sowing rate is 40 kg per mu. After the seedlings emerge uniformly, strengthen field management. After two years of cultivation, they can be transplanted. Grafting: Planting grafted seedlings can bear fruit 6-7 years earlier than cultivation from seedlings. This greatly shortens the production cycle and achieves high yield earlier. Therefore, it is best to use grafted seedlings when planting Cornus officinalis. Grafting methods include bud grafting and branch grafting. Bud grafting is generally carried out from July to September. The "T"-shaped budding method is used. Branch grafting is carried out directly from February to March. The cut-grafting method is used. The rootstock used for grafting is seedling stock of superior varieties. The scion or bud used is taken from branches or buds on healthy mother trees that are free of pests and diseases and have already borne fruit. The key to successful grafting is: choosing the appropriate time, making the cut surface of the scion smooth, and aligning the cambium on one side of the scion with the cut on the rootstock. Transplanting: Plant 2-year-old Cornus officinalis seedlings or grafted seedlings on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 3 x 2 m or 2 x 2 m. Water to preserve soil moisture and promote survival. Plant 130-150 trees per mu.

IV. Field management: After transplanted Cornus officinalis survives, attention should be paid to intertillage and weeding. Water during dry weather and drain promptly during rainy weather. In the first few years after planting, low-growing crops such as peanuts, soybeans, Isatis root, Atractylodes macrocephala, etc. can be appropriately intercropped. This increases income, improves land utilization, and achieves the goal of using short-term crops to support long-term crops. Each winter, apply a layer of farmyard manure as topdressing, and in spring, together with intercropping annual crops, apply 20 kg of urea and 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer as topdressing. In order to achieve early flowering and fruiting, high and stable yields in mature trees, and rejuvenation of old trees, the Cornus officinalis trees must also be pruned. According to the habit of Cornus officinalis mainly bearing fruit on short fruit branches and short fruit branch groups, as well as its characteristics of strong sprouting ability and weak to strong branching ability, pruning the trees into two tree forms, natural open-center form and trunk-layered form, is suitable for high yield in Cornus officinalis.

V. Pest and disease control: For gray felt disease, use 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture in the early stage of onset. For anthracnose, use 50% carbendazim 800-fold solution in the early stage of onset. For the fruit-boring moth, whose larvae bore into and feed on the fruit flesh, spray with fenpropathrin at the peak of eclosion.

VI. Harvesting and processing: Cornus officinalis generally blooms and bears fruit 8-10 years after transplanting. The fruit matures from late September to early October, and should be picked promptly when the fruit skin turns bright red. Put the collected fruit into boiling water and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the fruit swells and softens and the pit slips out quickly when squeezed by hand. Then remove and place in cold water, squeeze out the pits while hot, and dry in the sun or by heat before selling for medicinal use. Cornus officinalis can also be processed by steaming or roasting over fire. Generally, during the high-yield period (trees 20-50 years old), the yield can reach 150 kg per mu.