How to Grow Pinellia ternata? Detailed Key Points of High-Yield and High-Efficiency Cultivation Techniques

Pinellia ternata is a perennial herbaceous plant, and its tubers are used as medicine. Based on many years of planting in our area, the general benefit per mu is around 10,000 yuan. The key points of its high-yield and high-efficiency cultivation techniques are introduced as follows:

1. Land selection and preparation. In view of the growth habits of Pinellia ternata, which likes warmth, fertilizer, and moisture and fears drought, waterlogging, and high humidity, fertile sandy loam with relatively high terrain and good irrigation and drainage conditions should be selected for planting. In the winter of the previous year, deep plowing and freezing of the soil should be carried out to promote soil weathering. After the beginning of spring, level the land, apply 5000 kg of farmyard manure, 50 kg of superphosphate, and 10 kg of potassium sulfate per mu as base fertilizer, then plow and harrow to make beds for planting.

2. Sowing at the proper time. Pinellia ternata can be sown using tubers, bulbils, or seeds. When using tubers, drilling should be carried out in early to mid-March, with 75-100 kg of seed used per mu, a row spacing of 18-20 cm, a plant spacing of 5-8 cm, and a sowing depth of 5-10 cm.

3. Rational fertilizer management. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, after the seedlings emerge evenly, spray 1:500 Huimanfeng solution per mu to promote early seedling growth; in late May, when the bulbils gradually expand and turn reddish brown, combine with watering and apply 15 kg of urea per mu; in mid-July, when the daughter Pinellia ternata sprouts new buds and the mother Pinellia ternata grows new roots again, splash-apply 2000 kg of decomposed dilute manure water per mu to promote new seedling growth; in early to mid-September when the seedlings emerge evenly, mix 10 kg of urea, 20 kg of superphosphate, and 30 kg of cake fertilizer with moist soil per mu and apply it together with earthing up to promote tuber expansion.

4. Pay attention to irrigation and drainage. Pinellia ternata likes moisture and fears waterlogging, so during the growing period, the soil should be kept moist while water accumulation and waterlogging should be avoided.

5. Prevention and control of pests and diseases. Pinellia ternata plants are relatively small and their root systems are not well developed, so timely loosening of the soil and weeding should be noted. The main diseases of Pinellia ternata include leaf spot disease and viral disease. For leaf spot disease, in the early stage of the disease, spray 1:500 dilution of 20% chlorothalonil or 72% mancozeb for control, spraying once every 7 days for 2-3 consecutive sprays; for viral disease, measures such as soil disinfection before sowing, selecting disease-free mother plants for seed preservation, and immediately pulling out diseased plants during the growing period can be adopted for control. The main insect pest is the red hawk moth, whose larvae damage the leaves, and spraying 1:800 dilution of 90% trichlorfon at the young larval stage can be used for control.

6. Timely harvest. For those planted with tubers, the bulbils generally mature after Frost's Descent. Once the bulbils mature, they should be harvested in time. If harvested too early, yield and quality will be affected; if harvested too late, the underground tubers and bulbils will begin to sprout and grow again after a short dormant period, which will likewise affect yield and quality.