Detailed Explanation of Key Points and Methods of Chrysanthemum Cultivation Techniques

Chrysanthemum is a plant of the Asteraceae family, with its flower heads used as medicine. It is a major commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, with effects of dispersing wind and clearing heat, and soothing the liver and improving eyesight. It mainly treats externally contracted wind-heat, dizziness and headache, and other conditions. Regularly drinking chrysanthemum tea has the effects of preventing summer heat, relieving irritability, calming the mind, and improving eyesight. Chrysanthemum is cultivated throughout China, among which the famous ones include Bozhou chrysanthemum from Anhui, Hangbaiju from Zhejiang, Huaiju from Henan, and Qiju from Hebei, which are important export medicinal materials of China and are sold to Hong Kong, China, Macao, China and Taiwan, China. Chrysanthemum prefers a warm climate and a sunny environment, can tolerate cold, and fears waterlogging, but cannot lack water during the seedling and flowering stages. Chrysanthemum is a short-day plant and is very sensitive to day length. It can only form buds and bloom when light exposure does not exceed 10 hours per day.

Planting and Cultivation Techniques

1. Land selection and land preparation: The land for planting chrysanthemum has no strict requirements for soil, but it is best to choose well-drained, fertile, loose soil rich in humus for growth. Clay land and low-lying land are not suitable for planting, saline-alkali land is not suitable for planting, and continuous cropping should be avoided.

2. Propagation methods: There are division propagation and cutting propagation.

① Division propagation: After harvesting chrysanthemum in November, cut the chrysanthemum stems level with the ground, select robust and disease-free plants, dig out all their roots, replant them on a fertile plot, apply a layer of farmyard manure, and keep warm for overwintering. In March to April of the following year, uncover the manure and soil, water, and in April to May, when the chrysanthemum seedlings grow to 15 cm high, dig out the whole plant, divide it into several plants, and immediately plant them in the field. When planting, the row spacing is 40 cm. Dig holes, plant 1-2 seedlings per hole, cover with soil and press firm after planting, and water to settle the roots. Generally, old seedlings from one mu can plant about 15 mu of production field.

② Cutting propagation: In April to May or June to August, select thick, disease-free new shoots as cuttings. Take the middle section, cut it into small sections of 10-15 cm, treat the cuttings with plant hormones, then insert the cuttings into the seedbed with a row spacing of 20-25 cm and a plant spacing of 6-7 cm, press firm and water. Roots can develop in about 20 days. Apply human and livestock manure water once every month. When the seedlings are 20 cm high, they can be transplanted out of the nursery.

③ Transplanting: Division seedlings are transplanted in April to May, and cutting seedlings in May to June. Choose a cloudy day, after rain, or the evening of a sunny day. On the prepared ridge surface, dig holes at a row and plant spacing of 40 cm each, with a hole depth of 6 cm. Then dig up the seedlings with soil. Plant 1 plant per hole for cutting seedlings, and 1-2 plants per hole for division seedlings. After planting, cover with soil and press firm, and water to settle the roots.

Field Management During Planting

1. Cultivation and weeding: After the chrysanthemum seedlings survive transplanting, 4-5 weedings should be carried out before budding. Each weeding should be shallow rather than deep, and earthing up should be carried out at the same time to prevent the chrysanthemum seedlings from lodging.

2. Topdressing: Chrysanthemum likes fertilizer. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, 5 topdressings should also be carried out during the growth period. The first time is after transplanting and greening, apply 10-15 kg of urea to promote seedlings. The second time is when the plants branch, apply cake fertilizer and human manure per mu. The third fertilization is at the budding stage.

3. Bud removal: After the chrysanthemum branches, around Xiaoman, when the seedlings are 25 cm high, carry out the first pinching. Choose a sunny day and remove the terminal bud by 1-2 cm. After that, pinch once every half month, and stop after Dashu. Otherwise, there will be too many branches, poor nutrition, and the flower heads will become small and fine, which instead affects the yield and quality of chrysanthemum.

4. Pest and disease control: Common diseases of chrysanthemum include root rot, downy mildew, brown spot, and others. In rainy seasons, chrysanthemum is prone to wilting of the leaves of the whole plant. When pulled up, the root system is seen to be moldy and rotten, and there are root-knot nematodes, which seriously affect the growth of chrysanthemum. The control method is to treat chrysanthemum seedlings and planting holes with carbofuran before transplanting, which can avoid rot; in addition, diseased plants should be removed in time; and field water should be drained in time during the rainy season. Other pests and diseases can be handled by conventional methods.

Harvesting and Processing

Generally harvested from Frost's Descent to the Beginning of Winter. The suitable harvest time is when the flower center has opened 2/3. Chrysanthemum should be harvested on a sunny day, and after harvesting it should be processed in time to prevent rot and discoloration. Each production area has traditional processing methods. The processing method of Bozhou chrysanthemum is as follows: when the flowers are in full bloom and the petals are generally pure white, cut them together with the stems, tie them into small bundles, hang them upside down in a ventilated and dry place to dry. They cannot be exposed to the sun, otherwise the aroma will be poor. When they are 80% dry, the flowers can be picked off, placed in a fumigation room and fumigated with sulfur to whiten them, and after fumigation spread them thinly in the sun for 1 day to dry. Then pack them in boxes. The processing method of Gongju is: dry them directly in a drying room, using smokeless charcoal as fuel, with the drying room temperature controlled between 40-50°C. Spread the chrysanthemums on bamboo curtains. When the flower color is dried to ivory white, take them out of the drying room and then place them in a ventilated and dry place until completely dry. The yield of chrysanthemum per mu is generally about 100 kg. The best quality is large flowers, pure white or fresh yellow flowers, plump petals or many tightly packed petals, and a clear fragrance.