Management techniques for increasing the added value of honeysuckle

1. Strengthening field management of honeysuckle is the main link in increasing yield and income. Field cultivation management generally includes rational arrangement of the population structure, intertillage and weeding, fertilization and watering, and pest and disease control. Pruning can improve the light energy utilization rate of the honeysuckle population, remove ineffective branches and leaves such as weak branches and leggy branches, reduce the consumption of nutrients and water, rationalize the amount of branches and leaves, improve the growth environment, and make the plants robust, which is conducive to high honeysuckle yields. The yield-increasing effect of pruning on honeysuckle is very obvious; generally, pruned plants yield 2-6 times more than unpruned ones. Chlorogenic acid, as the main active component and index component of honeysuckle and Japanese honeysuckle stem, is of extremely important significance in ensuring the quality of the medicinal material. Experimental research on the relationship between different fertilization treatments and the chemical components in honeysuckle showed that different fertilizers have different effects on the synthesis of chlorogenic acid in Japanese honeysuckle: nitrogen fertilizer can reduce the chlorogenic acid content in leaves and flowers by 32.99% and 6.78% respectively, while phosphate fertilizer can increase the chlorogenic acid content in leaves and flowers by 8.68% and 14.44% respectively. This indicates that in cultivation and production, while applying nitrogen fertilizer, an appropriate amount of phosphate fertilizer should be applied more, which can not only promote the number of flower bud differentiation in the plants, but also promote the synthesis of chlorogenic acid in the flower buds, ensuring the quality of the medicinal material while increasing the yield. The plants more severely harmed by pests and diseases are generally old clumps over 10 years old, with harm rates reaching as high as 35%-80%, because pests often overwinter and lay eggs in old branches and stems. Therefore, strengthening pest and disease control and timely planting of new plants are both very important.

In short, the standardization, scientific management and standardization of planting are effective technical approaches to effectively improve the yield and quality of honeysuckle. While selecting and preparing the land, pruning and shaping, and managing water and fertilizer reasonably, pest and disease control should be strengthened to ensure a bumper harvest of honeysuckle.

2. The quality of honeysuckle differs with different harvest periods, different processing methods and different storage methods. In the production and circulation of honeysuckle, we should follow scientific methods, harvest in time, process reasonably and store scientifically. At the same time, honeysuckle and Japanese honeysuckle stem should be graded and classified for sale, and modern communication means should be fully used to improve the accuracy of market information, reduce circulation links, and ensure high quality and good prices for products. Through the determination results of chlorogenic acid content in honeysuckle flowers, leaves and Japanese honeysuckle stems, and the structural analysis of flower yield, vine stem and leaf yield, the whole honeysuckle plant is useful. In the production process of honeysuckle, a large amount of additional products are produced: overwintering old leaves and pruned branches and leaves. They all contain large amounts of effective components such as chlorogenic acid. The effective components should be extracted as much as possible, and the raw medicinal materials of the effective components should be sold or processed into Chinese patent medicines, so as to increase the added value of honeysuckle. In short, the whole honeysuckle plant is a treasure. To increase the added value of products, comprehensive consideration should be given to harvesting, processing, packaging, storage and transportation, so as to make production, processing and sales systematic and standardized, improve product grades, and maximize benefits.

3. In the cultivation process of honeysuckle, in addition to creating a rational population structure and strengthening pest and disease control, different fertilization measures should be adopted according to different needs in water and fertilizer management. Experiments show that although the application of nitrogen fertilizer reduces the chlorogenic acid content in Japanese honeysuckle leaves and flowers, it can greatly increase the yield of leaves and flowers, and can also increase the content of nutrients such as soluble sugar and free amino acids in leaves and flowers. Therefore, if Japanese honeysuckle leaves and flowers are used for food and beverages, more nitrogen fertilizer and compound fertilizer can be considered. On the one hand, it can improve the nutritional value of the product; on the other hand, because the chlorogenic acid content is reduced, it also helps prevent or reduce precipitation in liquid beverages, achieving two goals at once.

4. Timely harvesting. The content of various amino acids in honeysuckle changes to a certain extent at different developmental stages, but the general trend is that the more advanced the developmental stage, the lower the content. The soluble sugar content rises with the developmental stage, reaching its maximum at the silver flower stage, and declining somewhat at the golden flower stage. Therefore, as a health product, harvesting at the silver flower stage gives the highest soluble sugar content in the flowers. When using honeysuckle as a raw material, harvesting can be done from the two-white stage to the silver flower stage according to the efficacy of the health product. Within a single day, the soluble sugar content in Japanese honeysuckle leaves continuously increases in the morning, reaching its maximum at around 13:00. After that it continuously declines, and rises somewhat again by 19:00; the soluble sugar in the flowers reaches its maximum at 11:00. The free amino acid content in Japanese honeysuckle leaves continuously increases in the early morning, reaching its highest value at 15:00, after which it shows a declining trend. The free amino acid content in the flowers reaches its maximum at around 11:00. Therefore, when using honeysuckle leaves as a raw material to extract effective components for producing health products, picking at 13-15:00 is best; when using flowers as a raw material, harvesting at 11:00 is best.