Detailed Explanation of Euodia rutaecarpa Planting Techniques and Management Methods

Euodia rutaecarpais a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, with the fruit used medicinally. It has the functions of warming the middle, dispersing cold, drying dampness, soothing the liver, stopping vomiting, and relieving pain. It mainly treats cold pain with stomach acid, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and other conditions. For external use, it treats eczema, mouth sores, and hypertension.

Euodia rutaecarpa is a deciduous small tree or shrub. It prefers a warm climate and a sunny environment. It has low requirements for soil, but loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam and oil sand soil are best. It is suitable for cultivation in sunny spots in mountainous areas, hills, and flatlands, where it grows well and flowers and fruits in 2—3 years.

I. Seedling Raising

1. Cutting propagation:

① Stem cutting method: Select 4—6-year-old single plants with vigorous growth and no pests or diseases as mother plants. In winter or before new shoots sprout in early February of early spring, cut 1-year-old branches from the mother plants into 20—25cm lengths, with 3—4 buds per segment as cuttings. Cut into a horseshoe-shaped slanted surface. Tie every 50 cuttings into 1 bundle, dip the cut end 1—2cm into GGR solution, and let dry. For the cutting bed, use a row spacing of 105cm. First make holes with a thin wooden stick, then insert the cuttings into the holes. The depth should be 1/2—1/3 of the cutting length. Press firm, water thoroughly once, and cover with an arched plastic shed to increase temperature and retain moisture; remove it after rooting and sprouting. Cultivate for 1 year, and when the seedlings are over 50cm tall, lift them from the nursery for field planting.

② Root cutting method: In early February, dig out lateral roots more than 1cm in diameter from the roots of mother plants over 4 years old, and cut them into 15—20cm root segments as cuttings. Carry out cutting propagation according to the density and method of stem cutting. They root and sprout in about 1 month, and can be lifted from the nursery for field planting in early spring of the following year.

2. Root injury and tiller propagation

Euodia rutaecarpa has extremely strong tillering ability. In winter or before sprouting in early spring, select mother plants over 4 years old, scrape away the soil around the root zone of the plant, and on thicker lateral roots, use a knife to cut and wound them 7—9cm from the root base, apply farmyard manure, and cover with a thin layer of soil. After 1—2 months, root tiller seedlings sprout from the wound. Cultivate for 1 year, and when the seedlings are over 50cm tall, dig them out with roots and plant them separately.

II. Planting

1. Site selection: In early winter, select a sunny gentle slope, field edge, field corner, front or back of the house, or around the courtyard, with loose, fertile, well-drained sandy soil as the cutting seedling bed. After deep plowing, apply plant ash, plow the soil, and make a cutting bed 5—8m long, 1.3m wide, and 30cm high. Sprinkle water to moisten the bed surface. Dig holes at a row spacing of 32m, with hole diameter and depth of 50cm each.

2. Field planting: Planting can be done after leaf fall in winter until before sprouting in early spring. Apply 15kg of decomposed compost or farmyard manure to each hole, and water thoroughly after planting to settle the roots.

III. Tending and Management:

1. Cultivation and weeding:

After field planting and before canopy closure, carry out cultivation and weeding once each in spring, summer, and autumn every year. In the early stage, hoe shallowly to avoid damaging roots; in the later stage, hoe deeply. Other crops can be intercropped between the bamboo.

2. Topdressing:

Before sprouting in early spring, apply 1 topdressing of decomposed human and livestock manure water to promote the sprouting and growth of spring shoots. After 2—3 years of field planting, it can flower and fruit. After entering the fruiting stage, before flowering in spring, apply 1 application of decomposed cake fertilizer or human and livestock manure. Generally, for 3-year-old plants, apply 20kg per plant in a ring-shaped ditch at the root zone, then cover with soil. Before fruiting in June—July, apply another topdressing of human and livestock manure water and superphosphate or plant ash to promote fruit set; after fruit harvest in autumn, combine with garden cleaning and winter cultivation, and apply a heavy fertilization once.

3. Pruning and trimming:

For young trees 80—100cm tall, cut off the top shoot of the main trunk to promote branching. Among the lateral branches growing in all directions, select and retain 3—4 healthy branches and cultivate them as main branches; in summer of the 2nd year, select and retain 3—4 well-developed branches in the leaf axils of the main branches and cultivate them as secondary main branches, and later side branches will grow from the secondary main branches. Every winter, properly cut off overly dense branches, overlapping branches, water sprouts, and diseased and pest-infested branches. After each pruning, apply 1 fertilization to restore tree vigor.

IV. Pest and Disease Control:

1. Rust disease:

It damages leaves. Control methods: ① At the early stage of the disease, spray 0.2~0.3 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture, or 97% fenaminosulf 300 times solution, or 25% triadimefon 1500 times solution; ② increase application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to improve disease resistance; ③ after fruit harvest in winter and after each pruning, clean the garden, collect and treat diseased, residual, dead branches and fallen leaves, burn or bury them deeply.

2. Sooty mold

It damages leaves and branches, causing tree vigor decline and affecting yield. Control methods: ① Use 40% dimethoate 1000 times solution to promptly eliminate aphids and scale insects; ② at the early stage of the disease, spray 50% carbendazim 800—1000 times solution or 1:0.5:150 Bordeaux mixture, or spray 0.3 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture for control.

3. Brown longhorn beetle

The larvae bore into the stems and chew the xylem, causing hollowing, and the stems easily break and die. Control methods: ① Soak medicinal cotton in 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate, insert it into the hole, and seal the opening with yellow mud slurry to poison and kill them; ② at the egg-laying cracks, use a small knife to scrape off egg masses and newly hatched larvae; ③ during the adult egg-laying period, mix 1 part sulfur powder, 10 parts quicklime, and 40 parts water into lime slurry, and brush it on the tree trunks.

V. Harvesting and Processing

1. Harvesting

After field planting, it flowers and fruits in 2—3 years. Harvest in August—September when the fruits turn yellow and are not yet fully ripe. Choose a sunny day, and before the morning dew dries, use scissors to cut off the fruit clusters. Early-maturing varieties are suitable for harvesting after Minor Heat.

2. Processing

After the fruits are harvested, dry them in the sun and place them indoors. They must not be piled up to avoid fermentation. When drying by heat, the temperature must not exceed 60℃, and they should be turned frequently during drying and sun-drying. After drying, remove the twigs and impurities, and the product is ready.