How to grow Chinese chives to extend the number of high-yield years

Chinese chives have a very strong tillering ability, and there is also a phenomenon of root jumping (that is, as the chives tiller, they gradually move upward in layers, and the rooting position of the chives also keeps rising). Such continuous growth often leads to a sharp decline in both yield and quality after the chives have been in place for three or four years, and growers must replant the chives to ensure good quality and high yield. So how can the chives be kept high-yielding for more years?

First, reasonably determine the spacing between chive beds. For green chives, because no soil covering is needed during winter production and only space for windbreaks and walking and working needs to be reserved, the distance between chive beds can be about 0.8 m. For white chives, because in winter soil must be taken from the front of the chive beds nearby and in relatively large amounts, in addition to reserving space between two chive beds for windbreaks, space also needs to be left for taking soil, so the width between chive beds should be larger, generally about 1.6 m between two chive beds is best.

Second, scientific close planting is necessary. If chives are planted too densely at transplanting, although high yield can be obtained quickly, it is also very easy for the yield and quality of the chives to decline rapidly about 3 years after transplanting because the chives tiller too quickly, forcing growers to raise seedlings and renew the planting again, which costs labor and effort. Therefore, reasonable close planting should be paid attention to at transplanting.

When transplanting chives, growers generally plant 30-40 plants per 2 m long chive ridge, with a row spacing of about 28 cm, which can extend the renewal interval of the chives and also help the chives grow thick and strong with good quality. This is because in the first year after transplanting, the chives tiller most rapidly, so the chives planted that year, if used for producing white chives, can also reach a yield of about 2.5 kg per ridge, and by the second year can reach a yield of about 4 kg, and can maintain this for 3 years. If growers plant about 50 plants per 2 m long chive ridge, although about 3 kg per ridge can be obtained when producing chives that year, the high-yield period of the chives can only be maintained for 2 years, so in the long run this is not conducive to improving chive yield and benefits.

Third, the transplanting depth must be reasonable. The deeper the chives are transplanted, the weaker the tillering ability and the slower the root jumping; if transplanted too shallowly, the chives have a strong tillering ability and root jumping occurs faster, and it will soon cause the chive root system to grow above the ground surface, affecting the service life of the chive planting. Generally, a transplanting depth of 5-6 cm is relatively suitable. Such a transplanting depth does not affect the tillering of the plants and at the same time can prevent the problem of too short a planting life caused by root jumping, extending the renewal life of the chive beds to about 5 years.

Fourth, newly transplanted chives must not be allowed to keep flower stalks. To ensure the yield of the chives and promote the swelling of the pseudostems and tillering, attention should be paid to inhibiting the reproductive growth of the plants and promoting their vegetative growth. The newly grown flower stalks of the chives should be removed in time, so as to ensure that the nutrients produced by the leaves are concentrated in supplying the swelling of the chive pseudostems and lay the foundation for good quality and high yield in winter.

Wangdu County Agriculture Bureau Liu Zhenghua