How to Grow Chinese Water Chestnut? Planting Methods and Key Technical Points
Chinese water chestnut is also called "horseshoe". Its flesh can be eaten as a fruit, crisp and tasty, delicious and juicy. It can also be used as a medicinal herb, with many effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, removing dampness and stopping phlegm. It has a clear therapeutic effect on feverish patients. So how is Chinese water chestnut grown? Today, the editor will give you a brief introduction.
1. Site selection
Chinese water chestnut prefers moderate temperatures and high humidity but is not cold-tolerant. It is more suitable for planting in soil with a solid subsoil and a soft topsoil; the cultivated soil layer should be about 22 cm. This is because it not only allows Chinese water chestnut to grow and develop, but also prevents its stems from drilling deep, and the developed size will be more uniform. It is beneficial for harvesting and sales. If the soil is too sticky, it will affect normal growth and reduce the sugar content.
2. Raising seedlings
The specific time for raising seedlings still needs to be determined according to the transplanting time. Early-water Chinese water chestnut starts one month to one and a half months before early transplanting. Late-water Chinese water chestnut starts seedling raising half a month to one month before transplanting. For the corms, healthy, thick and long ones with plump edges and no disease or damage should be selected for raising seedlings. The seed corms should be arranged well, covered with rice straw, and watered twice a day; once lateral buds grow, they can be planted.
3. Dividing tillers
Before cultivation, the water chestnut seedlings should first be pulled out, the mud washed off with water, and some small seedlings removed. This is because after such seedlings are planted, the probability of tiller division will be reduced. If tiller division occurs, the mother plant should be divided into about 3 clumps. If the stems are too long, cut off the overgrown part to prevent them from being broken. If the seedlings carry seed corms, the corms should be sunk about 9 cm into the soil. If dividing tillers, the roots should be arranged neatly and buried several centimeters deep.
4. Fertilizing
For the base fertilizer of a Chinese water chestnut field, about 40,000 kg of farmyard manure and about 5,000 kg of superphosphate should be applied per mu. After planting, topdressing is done during the tillering and tiller-dividing stages to promote the growth of Chinese water chestnut. The main amount depends on the transplanting period and the soil fertility level. Early-water Chinese water chestnut mainly uses base fertilizer and organic fertilizer, and farmyard manure is applied once each at half a month after transplanting and at the flowering stage. However, the amount of fertilizer must not be excessive, to avoid excessive vegetative growth of the plants, which can cause pests and diseases and lodging. Late-water Chinese water chestnut requires a larger amount of fertilizer, with more quick-acting fertilizer applied.
5. Harvesting
Harvesting generally lasts from the Winter Solstice until the Spring Equinox of the following year. If harvested too early, the flesh is not sweet, the skin is also thin, and it cannot be stored. At the Winter Solstice, the flesh of Chinese water chestnut is at its sweetest and has the highest sugar content. Therefore, starting harvesting at the Winter Solstice is the most suitable. On the day before harvesting begins, drain the water from the field, then scrape off the upper layer of soil, dig out the soil together with the Chinese water chestnuts from the lower layer, and pick out the Chinese water chestnuts by hand.
The above is a brief introduction to how to grow Chinese water chestnut. Chinese water chestnut is actually a very easy crop to grow. It does not have great requirements for humidity or sunlight. You just need to pay more attention to pests and diseases during care, since pests and diseases are the pain of all crops. A careless moment can lead to a large reduction in yield or even total crop failure.