How to grow hornwort (Ceratophyllum) best? Cultivation methods and precautions
Hornwort is an algal plant that grows for many years in the still water of small lakes and has certain medicinal value. Hornwort can be used as feed for pigs, fish and poultry, and it also has certain harmful effects. However, hornwort is very difficult to cultivate, so let us take a look below at how to grow hornwort best!
How to grow hornwort
1. Hornwort planting should be dense rather than sparse. If growers want to achieve high yields and the basic seedlings are insufficient, then it is difficult to raise the yield. Generally speaking, to cultivate this aquatic plant, it is advisable to transplant 200 clumps per mu of water area.
2. During cultivation, the fertilizer should be rich rather than lean. If you choose those barren water surfaces that cannot be used to raise fish or shrimp to plant hornwort, these relatively poor-quality water areas should have the water moss and other weeds removed before planting, then apply 25 kg of superphosphate per mu of water surface as base fertilizer, and apply little nitrogen fertilizer to prevent green algae from taking over the water surface. Then plant the hornwort.
3. The water area for planting hornwort should not be too deep; generally keeping it within 1 m is most suitable. Because if the water is too deep, the stems will be thick and the leaves will be few, greatly reducing the yield, and the utilization rate of the aquatic plant will also decrease, thereby reducing the commercial value of planting hornwort.
In addition, under normal circumstances, from planting hornwort to the first harvest is generally 50 days. During harvesting, note that you need to lift the stick and shake it, turn it 4-5 turns in the water, then hold the stick horizontally and lift it up with both hands. The second harvest should be 30 days later, and the third harvest only needs an interval of a few days.
What are the harmful effects of hornwort?
1. Harm: Hornwort is distributed throughout China, especially in rice fields where the water is rich in organic matter, the water layer is relatively deep, and the field is submerged for a long time, where it is distributed more and causes more serious harm. In addition, it is also distributed in still-water ponds, lakes and ditches. Because hornwort has an extremely strong ability to absorb nitrogen and at the same time lowers the water temperature, it seriously affects rice tillering and growth and development.
2. Control: Prevention and removal should adopt a method combining agronomic measures and chemical weeding.
① Agronomic measures mainly include: first, establishing a rice production environment with level land, unobstructed ditches, good water retention and free irrigation; second, removing weed seeds in combination with seed treatment, and eliminating weed seeds on the soil surface in combination with ploughing and land preparation; third, implementing regular paddy-upland rotation to reduce the occurrence of weeds; fourth, improving sowing quality so that a single sowing gives full seedlings, using seedlings to suppress weeds.
② For chemical weeding, most places adopt a one-time sealed kill, that is, within 1-3 days after sowing (germination), use 60 g of 40% "Zhiboqing" wettable powder per mu, mix with 40-50 kg of water, and spray evenly, keeping the field surface moist when applying the pesticide. After 3 days, resume normal irrigation and field management. After chemical removal, if there is still a certain amount of weeds later, targeted supplementary removal can be adopted.
Alright, that is all the editor has to introduce about how to grow hornwort best. I hope it can help you. For more information about hornwort, please continue to follow Qiannong Network!