What are the key points for growing Abrus cantoniensis? Detailed growing techniques

Abrus cantoniensis has strong adaptability and is not demanding about soil; it can generally be grown on dry land (flat land or sloping land), with sandy loam being best. It tolerates drought and fears waterlogging, so the growing site must have good drainage and plenty of sunlight. 1. Raising seedlings (sowing from March to April on the solar calendar is best). The seed coat of Abrus cantoniensis is smooth and hard, so the seeds must be treated before sowing, otherwise the germination rate will not be high. Treatment method: mix the seeds with twice their volume of fine sand, place in a mortar or bamboo tube and pound with a round-headed wooden pestle for 20 minutes, or rub by hand for 30 minutes, sieve out the sand, soak the seeds in hot water at about 40°C for 12 hours, put the seeds that have absorbed water and swollen into a cloth bag or old cloth, cover top and bottom with rice straw and sprout for 2 days, pouring hot water over them once every 8 hours. The seedling bed should be chosen near a water source with fairly good soil (half a fen of seedling bed for each mu of planting land). Make beds, break up and level the soil, mix the sprouted seeds evenly with a small amount of fine sand and sow on the bed surface, cover with a layer of fine soil, then cover with a layer of rice straw or leaves (the covering should be thin, so that the surface is just not visible). It is best to build a frame over each bed, about 2 chi high, covered with tree branches or weeds on top to prevent sunscald or heavy rain from breaking the seedlings. The seedling bed should be watered frequently to keep it moist. After the seedlings emerge evenly, gradually remove the weeds on the frame to let light through. When the seedlings are 2-3 cun high, apply human and livestock manure water once. 2. Transplanting: when the seedlings are 4-5 cun high, choose cloudy and rainy days for transplanting; either trenching or making beds is fine. Move the seedlings into the trenches or holes, fill with soil and press firm, water to settle the roots, with a plant-to-row spacing of 20×30 cm. 3. Management: 15 days after transplanting, loosen the soil and fertilize once, applying 10 dan of human and livestock manure water or 10 jin of urea (dissolve 1 jin of urea in every 100 jin of water and pour it on). Fertilize once more after one month, preferably by applying compound fertilizer deep. When the main seedling grows to 7-8 cun high, pinch off the terminal bud to encourage more branching and increase yield. In dry weather, water or irrigate as much as possible; on rainy days, pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging and root rot. In August to September, it is best to spray foliar fertilizer 2-3 times. If conditions permit, it is best to insert a trellis pole between every two plants to let the vines climb up, because Abrus cantoniensis is a light-loving, much-branching vine, and trellising helps its growth and increases yield. 4. Pest and disease control: the main disease is leaf blight; when it occurs, spray thiophanate-methyl or kangkuning. For insect pests, spray dimethoate (do not use other highly toxic pesticides, especially near harvest). 5. Harvest: harvest around the end of November, dig out with the roots, divide into bundles and wind into a figure-8 shape, then sun-dry. Generally, the yield is 200-300 kg of medicinal material (dried) per mu. Note: if conditions permit, it is best to treat the seeds with sulfuric acid. Method: half a jin of seeds (500 ml of 95% sulfuric acid, placed in a plastic box and mixed, stirred constantly with a wooden stick for 6-8 minutes (be careful not to let sulfuric acid splash onto skin or clothing), filter off the sulfuric acid, pour the seeds into clean water and rinse thoroughly, then soak in hot water at 40°C for 8-24 hours, and then sow. In this way, the germination rate is high and fast.