Detailed Explanation of the Key Field Management Techniques for Water Spinach
Water spinach is cultivated in various parts of China, but it is suited to growing in hot and humid regions, and is mainly distributed in the Lingnan area of China. It is a summer and autumn vegetable. Although growing water spinach is relatively simple, there are still many cases of planting failure. The main reason is poor management, so how should field management be carried out when growing water spinach? Below, the editor brings you the field management for growing water spinach. Let's take a look!
1. Fertilizer and Water Management
After water spinach is successfully transplanted, its demand for fertilizer and water gradually increases. At this time, we should strengthen fertilizer and water management and apply topdressing in a timely manner. After transplanting, control the fertilizer according to the planting area. In the early stage, topdressing should mainly be nitrogen fertilizer, with an amount of about 10kg/mu. Fertilizer should not be excessive, otherwise it will harm the seedlings and affect growth. During the growth of water spinach, the soil should be kept in a moist state to prevent water spinach from showing symptoms of water deficiency. In addition, in the later stage, topdressing should be applied once after each harvest to prevent the newly growing water spinach from lacking nutrients, having its growth hindered, and reducing yield.
2. Cultivation and Weeding
Cultivation and weeding is an important and necessary task in water spinach cultivation, because water spinach plants are relatively short, have shallow root systems, and are not strong in nutrient absorption. If cultivation and weeding are not done in time, it will not only affect nutrient absorption by the roots, but weeds will also compete with water spinach for nutrients, causing poor growth of water spinach. Therefore, we should regularly observe the field conditions. When the bed surface turns white, cultivation should be carried out in time. Cultivation should not be too deep, to prevent damage to the roots. When weeding, pay attention to the use of herbicides to avoid inhibiting the growth of water spinach.
3. Temperature Control
Water spinach is originally a plant that lives in the tropics and has relatively high temperature requirements, and it is suitable for living in a high-temperature environment. Therefore, temperature management should be done well during cultivation. The daytime temperature should be around 32 degrees, the difference between day and night temperatures should not exceed 20 degrees, and the lowest nighttime temperature should not be lower than 12 degrees. Suitable temperature is the key to ensuring the healthy growth of water spinach. To ensure the growth of water spinach, in seasons and weather with lower temperatures, heating equipment needs to be added in the planting greenhouse.
4. Timely Harvesting
Water spinach is a vegetable that can continue to regenerate, and it is usually harvested by pinching. When the water spinach plant grows to about 28 cm, it can be harvested, leaving about 10 cm on the plant. The main harvested parts are the upper tender stems and leaves. When the new shoots in the leaf axils grow to about 20 cm, it can be harvested again. This time, about 3 leaves should be left on the plant to promote the occurrence of new shoots and increase yield. When harvesting again, leaves need to be left on each harvested branch tip to inhibit the growth of new shoots and prevent excessive growth from causing premature aging of water spinach. Properly prune overly dense branches and tips to prevent planting density from being too high and affecting growth.
The above is a brief introduction to the field management techniques for water spinach. Water spinach has high yield, a short growth period, and is relatively simple to grow. However, everyone still needs to have correct management techniques to ensure the healthy growth of water spinach; otherwise, planting failure is very common. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you for reading and supporting.