What are the propagation methods for sweet wormwood? Understanding sweet wormwood seedling cultivation in one article
Sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb with extremely high medicinal value, capable of treating a variety of diseases. In addition, it is rich in artemisinin, which is the main medication for treating malaria, and it can also treat heatstroke, skin itching, hives, seborrheic dermatitis and repel mosquitoes. At present, it is already cultivated artificially on a large scale, but choosing a good propagation method can increase its yield and artemisinin content. Let's take a detailed look below.
1. Site selection
The main propagation methods for sweet wormwood are seed propagation, cutting propagation and tissue culture propagation, of which the first two require selecting a good plot of land. Sweet wormwood is a short-day plant, so the planting site should be sandy loam or loam with sufficient sunlight, guaranteed water supply, good drainage and relatively good fertility. However, poor, dry clay soil, sand dune land or plots with poor drainage are not suitable for planting. This point needs attention.
2. Seed propagation
Before sowing, prepare the planting land and apply fertilizer. Generally, 500 kg of decomposed farmyard manure is applied per mu. After raking fine and leveling, make raised beds. When sowing, select excellent varieties with relatively high artemisinin content, mix them evenly with fine soil at a ratio of 100:1, then evenly broadcast them on the ground and cover with a layer of plant ash or burnt soil. After sowing, an arched shed can be built and covered with plastic film. After seedlings emerge, if the temperature inside the shed exceeds 25 degrees, ventilate in time to lower the temperature, and close it in time at dusk. In drought, also remove the film in time, water thoroughly, and then cover again. In the rainy season, drain water in time. During the seedling stage, do a good job of intertillage, weeding, thinning and replanting. When the seedlings grow to 5-6 cm, apply thin fertilizer water in time to promote seedling growth.
3. Cutting propagation
In July-August, collect the top branches of robustly growing plants as cuttings, cut them to a length of 10-15 cm, and require that they have buds and leaves. When cutting, cut the lower end into a wedge shape, remove the basal leaves, keep 2-3 leaves at the top, and insert them into the ground at a plant-row spacing of 10 cm × 20 cm. The cutting depth is about 5-8 cm, that is, about half the length of the cutting.
4. Tissue propagation
When the plant grows to a height of 30-50 cm, separate the young pods from its lateral buds as explants. After washing the young pods clean, subject them to aseptic treatment. Soak them in 75% alcohol for 30 seconds, then soak them in a very low concentration mercuric chloride solution for 5-6 minutes, then rinse them several times with distilled water, and cut them into small bud-bearing segments of about 1 cm for tissue culture. This is a new propagation method from modern research that can effectively increase the artemisinin content of sweet wormwood, but it is not suitable for use in production and is suitable for medical research.
The above is an introduction to the propagation methods for sweet wormwood. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please keep following us.