Detailed Explanation of Key Points for High-Yield Cultivation Techniques of Pinellia

Pinellia is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Araceae family, also known as Banzi, Sanxingcao, and Sanpianye. Its nature and flavor are pungent, warm, and toxic. It has the effects of drying dampness and transforming phlegm, harmonizing the stomach and strengthening the spleen, and descending adverse qi to stop vomiting. It mainly treats phlegm-dampness and water retention, chest and abdominal distension, headache, and insomnia. In our province, this medicinal herb is distributed in Tianshui, Longnan, Pingliang, and other places.

Its high-yield cultivation techniques are introduced as follows:

1 Morphological characteristics

Perennial herb, underground tuber spherical to oblate, 1-2 cm in diameter, with numerous fibrous roots at the lower part. The leaf of a 1-year-old plant is a single leaf, and the leaves of 2-3-year-old plants are deeply divided into three leaflets; the petiole is 6-10 cm long; the spadix is terminal; the lower part of the spathe is green, the inner part is dark purple, tubular, not opening, and the upper part is blade-like. The berry is green. The flowering period is June-August, and the fruiting period is August-September.

2 Growth habits

Pinellia originally grew wild on hillsides, in damp grassy places in stream valleys, under forests, and in fields. It prefers a cool and humid climate, is not drought-tolerant, not salt-alkali-tolerant, and fears waterlogging. It grows well in soil with deep soil layers, loose structure, good drainage and aeration, and rich organic matter. 3 Propagation methods Tuber propagation by direct sowing, sown from late August to early September. Before sowing, apply sufficient base fertilizer, applying 1500-2000 kg of high-quality barnyard manure per mu, level the field and make beds, open furrows 12-15 cm deep at a row spacing of 15-20 cm, evenly scatter the tubers in the furrows at a distance of 5-6 cm and cover with soil. The seeding rate per mu is 200-250 kg (fresh weight). Seedlings emerge in 15-20 days, and the seedlings are 10-25 cm tall.

4 Field management

4.1 Weeding: after emergence, remove weeds in the field at any time along with loosening the soil.

4.2 Topdressing: apply high-quality farmyard manure once during the mid-growth period, with 1000-1200 kg per mu, combined with a small amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer.

4.3 Watering: when drought is severe, water 1-2 times, each time moistening the soil layer to 10 cm as appropriate; after irrigation, loosen the soil promptly to eliminate soil compaction.

4.4 Disease control: the main disease of Pinellia is white star disease, which occurs in April-May. In the early stage of the disease, spray 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 500-fold dilution, or 50% carbendazim wettable powder 500-1000-fold dilution, or 50% Tuzet wettable powder 500-fold dilution, once every 7-10 days, for a total of 2-3 sprays.

5 Harvesting and processing

The medicinal part is the tuber. It can be harvested in both summer and autumn. During harvesting, sort the tubers; wash the large tubers clean of soil, remove the outer skin and fibrous roots, and dry them in the hot sun or by baking; after processing, they are used for medicinal purposes. Small tubers can be kept as seed.

6 Precautions

6.1 Strictly prevent trampling by people and livestock during the seedling stage.

6.2 Continuous cropping is not allowed.