Detailed Guide to Polygonum multiflorum Cultivation: Planting Methods and Management Essentials

I. Growth Habits

Polygonum multiflorumIt prefers a mild climate and a shady, moist environment, and is sensitive to drought and waterlogging. A loose, sandy loam rich in humus is best. It has strong adaptability and often grows wild on semi-shaded slopes, beside ditches, and at forest edges, but grows poorly on clay soil.

II. Propagation Techniques

1. Cuttage propagation. Cuttage propagation is the main method; layering and seed propagation can also be used. In April to May, select vigorous, pest-free, 1-year-old thick, mature vines, remove the tender stems, take the middle sections, and cut them into 20 cm-long cuttings, each of which must have 2 to 3 nodes. Then dip the lower end of the cuttings in yellow mud slurry, and after they dry, dig holes in the leveled and finely raked planting field at a row spacing of 20×20 cm, with holes 20 cm deep. Place a handful of dried manure or burnt soil ash at the bottom of each hole, then cover with fine soil to cover the fertilizer.

2. Layering propagation. During the period of vigorous growth in June to July, select healthy, pest-free, 3- to 4-year-old plants, bend their vines into the soil, make a cut with a knife at the point where they enter the soil, bury them 3 to 4 cm deep, fix them with forked branches, and then cover with soil to conceal them.

3. Seed propagation. In September to October, after the fruits mature, cut them off together with the infructescence, dry them in the sun, rub out the seeds, and store them for later use. In early spring of the following year in March, sow directly or raise seedlings for transplanting. Dig holes at a row spacing of 20×20 cm, with holes 2 to 3 cm deep, sow 8 to 10 seeds per hole, apply an appropriate amount of decomposed compost or farmyard manure after sowing, and cover with soil level with the bed surface. Keep the soil moist. When the seedlings are 3 to 5 cm tall, keep 2 to 3 strong seedlings per hole. The seeding rate is about 800 grams per mu.

III. Planting Techniques

It is best to choose scattered land in front of or behind houses, or land at forest edges, beside ditches, or on semi-shaded hillside slopes for planting, and the soil should preferably be sandy loam rich in humus. Apply 2500 kg of decomposed stable manure per mu, mix in an appropriate amount of burnt soil ash to make the soil loose and promote tuberous root growth. Make high beds or flat beds 1.3 m wide. The bed ditch is 40 cm.

In April to May, dig up the seedlings, leave about 20 cm of stem at the base, plant 2 to 3 seedlings per hole, press firmly after planting, water with dilute human and livestock manure water, and cover with fine soil level with the bed surface.

IV. Field Management

1. Cultivation and weeding. After emergence, carry out cultivation and weeding, and stop once the rows close.

2. Drainage and irrigation. After transplanting the seedlings, keep the soil moist and prevent waterlogging in the field.

3. Topdressing. Polygonum multiflorum likes fertilizer. Apply topdressing once in early spring of the second year, applying 1000 to 1500 kg of farmyard manure or compost per mu in furrows, then cover with soil to cover the fertilizer.

4. Set up supports. The vines of Polygonum multiflorum are long and numerous. When the seedlings are about 10 cm tall in the second year, place a bamboo pole beside each plant so the vines can twine upward, and remove the basal leaves to improve ventilation and light penetration, which helps increase yield.

5. Hilling. At the end of December each year, hill up soil around the root zone beside the plants to help them overwinter.

V. Pests and Diseases and Their Control

1. Leaf spot disease. It occurs in summer. When field humidity is high and ventilation and light conditions are poor, the leaves become diseased, with dead spots appearing, and the spots rupture and fall off to become holes.

2. Control of root rot. Drain water from the field and drench the holes with a 500-fold dilution of 50% carbendazim; actively control underground pests and nematodes to reduce the incidence of the disease.

3. Aphids. They damage tender shoots and tender leaves. Spray pesticides against aphids such as Nianfeng in a timely manner.

VI. Harvesting and Processing

Polygonum multiflorum is dug up 3 to 4 years after planting, after the stems and leaves turn yellow and wither in autumn and winter. Remove the vines, carefully dig out the tuberous roots, shake off the soil, and transport them back for processing.

Wash off the soil. Cut the large roots into slices 1.5 cm thick; the small ones may be left uncut. Dry them directly in the sun or dry them over a heated bed.