A Detailed Guide to the Planting Methods and Cultivation Techniques of Alisma
Alisma is an aquatic plant that can be harvested as a medicinal herb for many years, but the entire plant is toxic. In our daily lives we actually rarely come into contact with alisma, yet it is grown in most parts of our country and can be used to clear heat, inhibit bacteria, promote diuresis and drain dampness, and relieve difficult urination. Below is the planting method for alisma that the editor has brought to you. If any of you want to grow alisma, then you should take a good look at this.
1. Choosing and Preparing the Land
For this medicinal herb alisma, there is something rather special about choosing and preparing the land: its seedling bed and its planting field must be chosen and prepared separately. The seedling bed is generally chosen on slightly clayey soil with plenty of sunlight, nutrients and water, and soil with relatively clear silt is best. The choice of planting field, however, is more casual, as long as it is a rice-growing field close to a water source with good light. The seedling bed must be leveled flat, requiring only 300 jin of fertilizer per mu, while the planting field needs at least 4,000 jin of farmyard manure per mu; then deep plowing is carried out, and finally, once leveled, sowing can begin.
2. Sowing and Raising Seedlings
Alisma is generally sown and raised as seedlings around June or July each year. Before sowing, we need to soak the seeds in clean water, then soak them in a chemical agent for about five to ten minutes, take them out and rinse the agent off cleanly, mix the seeds into prepared plant ash for seed dressing, and finally scatter the seeds evenly over the prepared seedling bed, gently pressing the seeds into the soil with a rake, then wait for them to sprout.
3. Seedling Stage Management
Because alisma is sown in summer, when the temperature is relatively high and the sunlight is fairly strong, we need to take heat-dissipation measures. Generally, a shade shed is built around the seedling plot to avoid direct sunlight; next comes watering, which is used to lower the soil temperature so the seedlings grow normally. Another thing to watch is that when there is a lot of rainfall, drainage must be carried out promptly so as not to damage the seedlings. Then, once the seedlings have grown four or five leaves, the shade shed can be removed, and topdressing should be done reasonably according to the growth of the alisma seedlings to promote their growth.
4. Transplanting and Establishing
The seedling stage of alisma is basically about one month, so transplanting can be done in July or August, when the alisma seedlings have basically grown to about 10 cm. Transplanting is best done on an overcast day, as the survival rate of planting will be higher this way. In order to increase the yield of alisma, we need to establish the plants at a reasonable density; usually about 9,000 plants can be planted per mu, that is, with a row spacing of about 25 cm and a plant spacing of about 20 cm.
5. Field Management
About two to three days after transplanting, we should inspect the alisma seedlings in the field. If fallen or dead seedlings appear, then they must be promptly righted and replanted. For freshly planted alisma, the water level in the field basically only needs to be about 1 cm, but later on we can gradually deepen the water level in the field; however, the highest water level must not exceed 10 cm, and generally about 5 to 6 cm is best. Throughout the entire growth process of alisma, topdressing must be carried out at least three times: the first is mainly watering with manure and urine water, while the second and third are mainly phosphate fertilizer and cake fertilizer, applied together with intertillage. The last thing to note is that we should appropriately remove the side buds and early bolting shoots of alisma, which can reduce nutrient consumption and promote the growth of the tubers.
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6. Pest and Disease Control
The main pests and diseases of alisma include white spot disease, damping-off disease, as well as the corn leaf aphid and moth pests. White spot disease and damping-off disease are diseases caused by fungal infection. White spot disease can mainly be prevented through seed treatment, and treated with a 500-800 times dilution of wettable zineb, while damping-off disease can be prevented by controlling the planting density and treated with Bordeaux mixture. As for the pests of alisma, we can all use trichlorfon solution or dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate for treatment.