How to grow Atractylodes for high yields? Detailed explanation of key cultivation techniques
Atractylodes is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Atractylodes in the Asteraceae family. Its rhizome is used as medicine and has the effects of drying dampness, resolving turbidity, and relieving pain. It has many commercial drug names, such as Han Cangzhu and Mao Cangzhu, etc., but these many commercial names can generally be divided into two major categories, namely North Atractylodes produced in the north and South Atractylodes produced in the south. Let's take a look at the high-yield cultivation techniques for Atractylodes below!
Growth habits of Atractylodes
Atractylodes is widely cultivated in medicinal gardens across China. It prefers a cool climate and often grows wild at the edges of sparse forests on shady slopes of low mountains, in shrub thickets, and among grass. It has strong vitality and can also be planted on barren hills, sloping land, and lean soil, but it grows best in sandy loam with good drainage, a low groundwater table, loose structure, and rich humus content. It is averse to waterlogging; after being waterlogged, the roots easily rot, so low-lying waterlogged land is not suitable for planting.
Propagation methods of Atractylodes
1. Division propagation: For division propagation of Atractylodes, in mid-to-late May when the buds are about to sprout, dig up the old seedlings with their roots, remove the soil, cut the rhizome into several small pieces, each with 1-3 buds, and then plant them in the field.
2. Rhizome propagation: For rhizome propagation of Atractylodes, dig up the rhizomes during harvest, cut off the rhizomes with buds, and use the rest for medicinal purposes. After the cut surfaces are dried, open holes at a row spacing of 20×20 cm and plant, placing one piece per hole, then cover with soil and press firmly.
3. Seed propagation: Atractylodes is usually raised from seed in late April. Choose a sunny area for the seedbed. It can be sown in drills or broadcast, using 3-4 kg of seed per mu. After sowing, cover with grass. After the seedlings emerge, remove the covering grass. When the seedlings reach 10 cm in height, they can be transplanted.
Cultivation techniques for Atractylodes
1. Land selection and preparation: For Atractylodes cultivation, choose loam, sandy loam, or humus-rich loam with deep soil layers, good drainage, loose fertility, and sufficient sunlight for making beds. Apply 2000 kg of farmyard manure per mu. Generally, the large-ridge high-bed technique is used.
2. Thinning and final thinning: For directly sown Atractylodes, thin the seedlings when they reach 5-6 cm in height. When the seedlings reach 10-15 cm in height, final thinning is done at a plant spacing of 15-20 cm and row spacing of 25 cm. For hole sowing, keep 2-3 strong seedlings per hole. For transplanted plants, the number of seedlings per mu is generally 12000-15000.
3. Intertillage and weeding: During the seedling stage of Atractylodes, weed frequently and loosen the soil appropriately and shallowly. After transplanting, intertillage and weeding should be carried out 3-4 times each year. Usually, loosen the soil once every two months, and topdressing can be done together with hilling.
4. Timely watering: Before and after emergence of Atractylodes, keep the soil moist regularly to facilitate emergence and seedling growth. Immediately after the soil thaws in early spring, water to protect the seedlings. When drought causes the soil to dry, water promptly. Generally, watering is stopped after the plants have grown.
5. Reasonable topdressing: During the seedling stage of Atractylodes, apply 2000 kg of decomposed dilute human and livestock manure water per mu. In June-July, apply 2500-3000 kg of decomposed human feces and urine plus 15 kg of superphosphate. In October, open furrows between rows and apply decomposed barnyard manure or compost, then water and cover with soil.
6. Bud removal and seed retention: In commercial fields of Atractylodes, remove flower buds promptly at the bud stage so that nutrients are concentrated for the growth of underground rhizomes. For seed fields, choose loose and fertile land and healthy, disease-free planting material, appropriately thin flowers and buds, and cultivate excellent seeds and seedlings.
7. Timely harvest: Atractylodes can be harvested 3-4 years after sowing or 2-3 years after transplanting. In spring or autumn in October-November, after the aboveground stems and leaves have withered, dig up the rhizomes on a sunny day. Shake off the soil from the dug rhizomes, remove the remaining stems, dry them in the sun or by heat, then remove the fibrous roots.
Pest and disease control of Atractylodes
1. Root rot
[Damage] The disease occurs in May and June, causing root rot. The function of absorbing water and nutrients gradually weakens, and finally the whole plant dies.
[Control] Pay attention to opening furrows for drainage. Immediately pull out diseased plants. Use 50% Tuzet wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, or pour with 1% lime water, or spray with 50% Thiophanate at 800 times dilution.
2. Aphids
[Damage] They damage leaves and tender shoots, especially severe in spring and summer. Chemical agents can be used, or 1:1:10 tobacco-lime water can be used for control.
[Control] Spray with 50% Sumithion emulsion at 1000 times dilution, or 50% Pirimicarb wettable powder at 3000 times dilution, or 2.5% Fenpropathrin emulsion at 3000 times dilution, or use 1:1:10 tobacco-lime water for control.
3. Cutworms
[Damage] Young larvae feed on cotyledons and tender leaves, while middle and older larvae feed on tender stems near the soil surface, causing the plants to wither and die.
[Control] Use 80% Dichlorvos or 50% Phoxim diluted with water to drench the roots, or mix 50% Phoxim emulsifiable concentrate with fine sandy soil and broadcast it.