Detailed Explanation of Field Management Techniques for Shepherd's Purse
Shepherd's purse is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant of the cruciferous family (Brassicaceae), and it is a relatively popular wild vegetable. Because shepherd's purse has high nutritional value, it is a high-fiber vegetable with an extremely high dietary fiber content. It also has diuretic and hemostatic effects, as well as heat-clearing and detoxifying properties. However, with people digging it up, shepherd's purse now also needs to be cultivated artificially to meet market demand, but cultivation requires a correct management method. Below, follow the editor to take a look at the field management of shepherd's purse cultivation!
1. Seedling Management
Shepherd's purse emerges relatively quickly. If nothing unexpected happens, spring-sown shepherd's purse generally germinates and emerges normally within one week. Before emergence, water appropriately to maintain soil moisture content, which is beneficial for seed germination. After emergence, irrigation work should also be done well to prevent soil drought, but attention should also be paid to drainage during rainy weather. When draining, prevent mud from splashing onto the leaves. If splashing occurs, pay attention to cleaning it off to prevent it from hindering the leaves' photosynthesis and affecting growth. If the shepherd's purse is autumn-sown, then water should be controlled well to prevent excessive water from causing excessive vegetative growth of shepherd's purse, and overwintering management should be done well.
2. Intertillage and Weeding
The shepherd's purse plant is relatively small and has weak nutrient absorption capacity, so weeds pose a relatively large threat to the growth of shepherd's purse. It also easily grows mixed with weeds, which limits weeding work in the middle and later stages. Therefore, we should choose a place with few weeds for cultivation, and after cultivation, we should also do a good job of intertillage and weeding. Intertillage can not only effectively remove weeds, but also improve soil permeability and promote the growth of shepherd's purse. When weeding, try to use manual weeding methods. Remove weeds early and thoroughly to prevent weeds from growing too large and affecting the growth of shepherd's purse, and removing large weeds also very easily damages the roots of shepherd's purse.
3. Timely Topdressing
Shepherd's purse planted in the first half of the year does not have a long growth period, but because the plant is short, it still has certain nutritional requirements. During the growth period of shepherd's purse, fertilizer should be applied at least twice: start when the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, and then apply topdressing again after about 2-3 weeks. For each application, decomposed farmyard manure or urea can be used, but attention should be paid to the concentration and amount of fertilizer to prevent excessive vegetative growth of shepherd's purse or root burn. Autumn-sown shepherd's purse has a long growth period, so the number of topdressings should also be appropriately increased. In addition to topdressing during the growth period, topdressing should also be applied once after each harvest.
4. Timely Harvesting
The harvesting time of shepherd's purse also has certain requirements. For spring sowing, it can be harvested 1-2 months after emergence, and generally it can be harvested twice. The growth period of autumn-sown shepherd's purse is also about one month, but the number of harvests is about 5. When harvesting, observe the plants. First harvest the plants with large leaves by digging them out with the roots, while medium and small plants can continue to grow. Also first harvest the overly dense plants to ensure that the remaining plants have enough space to grow. After harvesting, water and fertilize in time to promote the growth of the unharvested plants and increase yield.
The above is a brief introduction to the field management of shepherd's purse cultivation. What we need to note in cultivation is that the shepherd's purse plant is very short, almost entirely lying flat on the ground. It often mixes with various weeds and is difficult to distinguish, so the weeding work in shepherd's purse cultivation is very important, and everyone must pay attention to it. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you everyone for reading and supporting.