Key points of adlay cultivation techniques, a full analysis of planting methods
Adlay has a wide range of uses and can be used both as medicine and food. It is a top-grade tonic, and one of the treasures in eight-treasure porridge is adlay kernels. Adlay is also a rare raw material for handicrafts. Adlay bead curtains strung from it are beautiful and elegant, a brilliant sight among hanging curtains.
1. Seed treatment. Before sowing, choose sunny weather, spread the seeds evenly on the floor to dry, and turn them often, drying them for 1-2 days. Put the dried seeds into cold water and soak them for 10-16 hours so they fully absorb water, which helps germination. Dress the seeds with 20% thiophanate at a rate of 0.4% of the seed weight, which can prevent smut and leaf blight.
2. Sowing. Adlay should be sown at the latest before late May; if too late, the fruits cannot mature after autumn, affecting yield. Open furrows 10 cm deep with a plow, then cover with soil and press down to keep the soil moist. If there is no rain after sowing, continuous flood irrigation can be used, and seedlings can emerge in about 15 days, with a sowing rate of 5-6 kg per mu. If water and fertilizer conditions are good, the sowing rate per mu can be increased, which is conducive to high yield.
3. Field management. During the adlay growing period, the four links of intertillage, weeding, topdressing, and irrigation should be handled well. Intertill after rain to keep the field free of weeds; fertilize when the seedlings are 30 cm high. The fertilization standard is the same as for corn, but adlay prefers nitrogen fertilizer, so 75-100 kg of ammonium bicarbonate should be applied per mu. Adlay is tolerant of fertilizer and water and has a relatively large water requirement, especially during the heading, flowering, and grain-filling stages, when it must not lack water, otherwise the yield will be seriously affected.
4. Harvest. Harvest when the adlay branches and leaves turn yellow and withered and the grains turn black-gray. The general harvest period is mid-to-late October. Cut the whole plant, organize into bundles, pile them for 1-2 days, then beat them hard, and the adlay grains will fall off by themselves. Finally, after drying, screening, and removing impurities, they become high-quality adlay grains.