How to Grow Atractylodes macrocephala? A Detailed Guide to Cultivating the Medicinal Herb Bai Zhu
How do you grow the medicinal herb Bai Zhu (Atractylodes macrocephala)? Here is a detailed cultivation method. You can grow Bai Zhu by following these methods: 1. Site selection and land preparation: Bai Zhu prefers a cool climate and fears high temperatures and high humidity. It is not strict about soil requirements, but well-drained, deep, slightly acidic to alkaline and light clay soils are best. 2. Raising seedlings and transplanting...
How do you grow the medicinal herb Bai Zhu (Atractylodes macrocephala)? Here is a detailed cultivation methodYou can grow Bai Zhu by following these methods:
1. Site selection and land preparation: Bai Zhu prefers a cool climate and fears high temperatures and high humidity. It is not strict about soil requirements, but well-drained, deep, slightly acidic to alkaline and light clay soils are best.
2. Raising seedlings and transplanting: Choose large-leaf, short-stem varieties. Sow seeds to raise seedlings in mid to late April. Before sowing in the seedling bed, make flat beds and open furrows for drilling at a row spacing of 16-17 cm and a depth of 3-4 cm, with a sowing rate of 4-5 kg per mu. From mid to late October to early November, before the ground freezes, begin digging up the seedlings for storage. In early April of the following year, begin transplanting the seedlings, generally with a row spacing of 50-60 cm and a plant spacing of 7-10 cm, planted in single or double rows. A transplanting density of 12,000-15,000 plants per mu is suitable. Generally, about 60 kg of seedlings are used per mu.
3. Field management: After sowing or transplanting Bai Zhu, weed and loosen the soil regularly so that the soil surface is loose and free of weeds. In the rainy season, take care to prevent waterlogging. Fertilization should follow the principle of "apply sufficient base fertilizer, apply seedling fertilizer early, and apply heavy fertilizer at the bud stage." Apply the first topdressing after the seedlings have basically emerged or after transplanted seedlings have recovered; the amount applied should not be too much. For transplanted seedlings, the second fertilization is generally carried out 5-7 days after flowering (before flowering for those grown for seed), applying 75-100 kg of cake fertilizer per mu, or 1,000-1,500 kg of human and livestock manure and urine plus 25-30 kg of superphosphate, or 25 kg of diammonium phosphate. Before the flower heads open, remove the buds in time to promote nutrient supply to the rhizome.
4. Pest and disease control: Bai Zhu has many diseases, mainly rust, iron leaf disease, root rot, and damping-off. For iron leaf disease, spray 0.3 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture at the early stage of the disease, once every 8-10 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays; for root rot, damping-off and the like, at the early stage of the disease, drench the diseased plants with a 600-fold dilution of 50% carbendazim, or a 1,000-fold dilution of 50% thiophanate-methyl. To control the Bai Zhu borer pest, spray an 800-fold dilution of 50% dichlorvos, or a 1,500-2,000-fold dilution of 40% dimethoate, before the adults lay eggs at the early flowering stage of Bai Zhu, once every 7-10 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays.
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