Detailed Explanation of Key Points for High-Yield Cultivation Techniques of Magnolia officinalis

Magnolia officinalis, also known as Chuanpu, Wenpu, Youpu, concave-leaf Magnolia officinalis, etc. It is a woody plant of the genus Magnolia in the family Magnoliaceae. Deciduous tree. Its bark, roots, and branch bark are used medicinally, with effects of warming the middle and regulating qi, dispersing distention and eliminating stagnation, drying dampness and resolving putrefaction. Clinically it is mainly used to treat abdominal distention and fullness, nausea and vomiting with no appetite, cough and asthma with chest fullness, summerheat-dampness with chest tightness, poor appetite with yellow urine, diarrhea, dysentery, qi counterflow with cough and asthma, etc. The flower buds are used medicinally, with effects of regulating qi and resolving dampness, mainly treating chest and abdominal stuffiness, distention and fullness, etc. Main production areas: Chuanpu is mainly produced in Sichuan, Hubei, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces and regions; Wenpu is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Anhui, Henan and other provinces.

Morphological Characteristics

1. Magnolia officinalis: Deciduous tree, up to 15 m tall; bark thick, purplish-brown, oily and with a pungent taste; branches stout, spreading, young branches pale yellow, with silky hairs; terminal buds large, narrowly ovate-conical, 4-5 cm long. Leaves leathery, obovate or obovate-elliptic, 20-45 cm long, 10-24 cm wide, apex rounded, obtusely pointed or shortly mucronate, base cuneate or rounded, margin entire or slightly wavy, lower surface with white powdery substance; petiole 2.5-4.5 cm long. Flowers opening simultaneously with leaves, solitary at the tips of young branches, white, fragrant, about 15 cm in diameter; tepals 9-12 or more. Aggregate fruit long ellipsoid-ovate, about 12 cm long. 2. Concave-leaf Magnolia officinalis: The main differences from Magnolia officinalis are: bark thinner, light brown; leaves narrowly obovate, apex notched into two obtusely rounded shallow lobes.

I. Growth Habits: Magnolia officinalis prefers a cool, moist environment with ample sunlight. Soil requirements: loose and fertile. Sandy loam rich in organic matter is best. It fears waterlogging. It grows poorly in heavy clay and saline-alkali soil.

II. Land Preparation and Fertilization: Select fields with high terrain and good drainage, and cultivate finely and intensively. In combination with land preparation, apply sufficient base fertilizer: 3000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer per mu. Then make high beds and wait for sowing.

III. Sowing: Magnolia officinalis is mainly propagated by seeds. It can also be propagated by cuttings. The sowing period is divided into winter sowing and spring sowing. Raising seedlings: Before sowing, first soak the seeds in clean water for 48 hours, then take them out and rub them with coarse sand to remove the outer red fatty aril, so as to increase the germination rate. Then sow the seeds in drills on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 30 cm. Water to preserve soil moisture and promote emergence. The sowing rate is 10 kg per mu. After full emergence, strengthen field management, and after 2—3 years of cultivation, they can be transplanted. Cutting propagation: Before budding in early spring, select robust 1—2-year-old branches, cut them into 20 cm cuttings, and cut the lower end into a horse-ear-shaped slant. Make bundles of 50 cuttings each, soak them in a 500 ppm rooting powder solution for 10 seconds, take them out and let them dry slightly, then insert them obliquely on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 10×5 cm, and use the small arched shed seedling-raising technique to promote survival. Strengthen field management, and after 1—2 years of cultivation, they can be transplanted. Transplanting: Magnolia officinalis is mostly interplanted with Chinese fir to reduce pests and diseases. When transplanting, plant Magnolia officinalis seedlings on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 3×2, water to preserve soil moisture, and promote survival.

IV. Field Management: After Magnolia officinalis has fully emerged or survived transplanting, attention should be paid to intertillage and weeding. Water promptly in dry weather, and drain immediately in rainy weather. Apply topdressing once every spring, with 20 kg of urea, 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, and 2000 kg of farmyard manure per mu. In the first few years, Magnolia officinalis grows slowly, so short-term crops may be appropriately intercropped to increase income. To increase yield, for trees over 15 years old, use a sharp knife in spring to make 3 slanting cuts into the bark, reaching the xylem, which can increase bark thickness and raise yield.

V. Pest and Disease Control: The main disease of Magnolia officinalis is root rot, which can be controlled in the early stage of onset by pouring a 1500-fold dilution of 50% thiophanate-methyl? No, 50% Tuzet into the diseased area. Leaf blight can be controlled in the early stage of onset with 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture. The main pest is the brown longhorn beetle. Control methods include: 1. Whitewash the trunk in winter with a coating agent to prevent adults from climbing the tree to lay eggs; 2. Soak absorbent cotton in 80% dichlorvos solution and insert it into the main hole to fumigate and kill the larvae.

VI. Harvesting and Processing: Magnolia officinalis bark can only be harvested and peeled after 20—25 years after transplanting. In May—June, use the ring-barking method to collect the bark of Magnolia officinalis. Dry it immediately in the shade or dry it by heat, and it can then be sold for medicinal use. Magnolia officinalis flowers are picked in March—April when the flower buds are about to open. Place the picked flower buds in a steamer and steam for 5 minutes, take them out and dry them by heat or in the sun, and they can then be sold for medicinal use.