Detailed Explanation of Key Points of High-Yield Cultivation Techniques for Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle, also known as Erhua, Shuanghua, Yinhua, Suhua, Jinyinteng (Japanese honeysuckle), etc. The unopened flower buds are used medicinally, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispersing wind and reducing swelling. It mainly treats wind-heat common cold, sore throat, pneumonia, dysentery, painful swelling and sores, erysipelas, cellulitis and other conditions. The stem (Lonicera japonica stem) is used medicinally, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, and unblocking meridians and activating collaterals. It mainly treats dampness-related fever, joint pain, painful swelling and sores, urticaria, mumps, bacillary dysentery and other conditions. The main producing areas include Shandong, Henan and other provinces.

Morphological characteristics: It is a perennial shrub of the genus Lonicera in the family Caprifoliaceae. The stems are slender, hollow, and much branched; young branches are densely covered with short soft hairs and are green or brown. Leaves are opposite, ovate or long-ovate, with entire margins, densely covered with short soft hairs. Flowers are borne in pairs in leaf axils, silvery white when first opening, turning golden yellow after 2 to 3 days, with a fresh fragrance, 3-5 cm long; at the base of the pedicel there are 2 leaf-like green bracts; the calyx is short and small, light green, 5-lobed, with triangular lobes and hairs; the corolla is tubular, with a lip-shaped apex, the upper lip 3-lobed and recurved upward; the corolla tube is slender and densely covered with soft hairs. There are 5 stamens, yellow. There is 1 pistil; the style is slender and, together with the stamens, extends beyond the corolla tube. The ovary is inferior, hairless, nearly spherical. The berry is spherical, 3-4 mm in diameter, black when mature.

Lonicera hypoglauca is a perennial climbing shrub; leaves are ovate to ovate-oblong, the lower leaf surface densely covered with fine hairs and mixed with orange-red glandular hairs. The corolla is 3.5-4.5 cm long; the berry is black after ripening.

Lonicera confusa is a perennial vine; branches are yellowish brown, gradually turning white. Leaves are ovate to elliptic; the midvein has short sparse hairs, and the lower surface is densely covered with short white soft hairs. Stamens 5, pistil 1; the style is linear and hairless. The berry is black after ripening.

Lonicera dasystyla is a perennial vine; the style is more or less hairy.

I. Growth habits: Honeysuckle prefers a warm and humid climate with abundant sunlight. It has strong adaptability and is drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, and waterlogging-tolerant. It has no strict requirements for soil and can be planted on barren hills and wild ridges, in front of and behind houses, and by riversides and roadsides, but deep, loose, fertile sandy loam rich in organic matter is best.

II. Land preparation and fertilization: Choose a field with high terrain and good drainage, and cultivate it carefully. In combination with land preparation, apply sufficient base fertilizer: per mu, apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. Then make beds and wait for sowing.

III. Propagation: Honeysuckle is mainly propagated by cuttings, and can also be propagated by root division and layering. The propagation period can be spring, summer, or autumn. Cutting propagation: Select robust 1-2 year old branches, cut them into 30 cm long cuttings, and bundle every 50 cuttings as one bundle. Soak the lower ends in a rooting powder solution for 10 seconds, then let them dry slightly, and insert them into the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 15 X 5 cm, water to preserve soil moisture, and promote survival. Layering propagation: In winter and autumn, select 1-year-old branches near the ground from robust 3-4 year old plants that have already flowered, bend them and bury them in the soil, wound the buried part, water to preserve soil moisture, allow them to take root, and in the following spring cut them from the mother plant and transplant them separately. Transplanting: In spring and autumn, set honeysuckle seedlings in the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 1.5×1.2 cm, water to preserve soil moisture, and promote survival.

IV. Field management: After honeysuckle survives, attention should be paid to intertillage and weed control. Water immediately in dry weather. Pay attention to drainage in rainy weather. Each spring after sprouting and after each flower bud harvest, apply topdressing once each time, with 10 kg of urea and 5 kg of monopotassium phosphate each time. In winter, spread a layer of farmyard manure. At the same time, pruning should also be carried out during growth. Prune the branches into a shrub-like flower clump in a corymb shape with sparse branches, even distribution, ventilation and light transmission, and a thick, upright main trunk.

V. Pest and disease control: The main disease of honeysuckle is powdery mildew, which can be controlled with triadimefon at the early stage of the disease. The main pest is the tiger longhorn beetle, which can be killed by spraying 50% phoxim during the peak egg-laying period.

VI. Harvesting and processing: Honeysuckle is generally harvested in mid-to-late May, when the flower buds turn from green to white, are swollen at the upper part, and are greenish at the lower part. Pick the flower buds in the morning before the dew has dried, and dry them in the sun or by artificial drying in time, so they can be sold as medicine. There are four harvests each year. The yield per mu is 150 kg.