Cultivation Techniques for Transitioning Wild Schisandra chinensis to Domestic Planting
Nowadays, wild resources of Schisandra chinensis are increasingly dwindling while market demand keeps rising. Research on transitioning Schisandra chinensis from wild to domestic cultivation has succeeded, achieving extremely high economic returns.
1. Site Selection and Planting
1. Site selection. Schisandra chinensis prefers slightly acidic soil. Large-scale cultivation is possible in areas with more than 115 frost-free days per year and an accumulated temperature above 2300°C. The site should be level ground or shaded slope land with good drainage and a low groundwater table. Trellis planting is used, with a spacing of 0.75 m x 2 m. 2. Preparatory work before planting. Before winter, dig holes 50 cm deep according to the determined row spacing. 3. Planting of seedlings. Plant in late April. Before planting, soak the seedlings in clean water for 12-24 hours, and cut off moldy, damaged and overly long roots (leave roots 15-20 cm). After planting, make a soil water basin 50-60 cm in diameter around the stem of each seedling, water thoroughly and then cover with soil.
2. Field Management
1. Intertillage and weeding. Carry out intertillage and weeding more than 5 times per year, to a depth of 10 cm, keeping the soil in the planting rows loose and free of weeds. 2. Deep plowing. After fruit harvest, deep plow the whole orchard to a depth of 20-25 cm, finishing by late September. 3. Intercropping and removal of root suckers. Before the Schisandra chinensis plants bud, remove the suckers produced at their base the previous year. 4. Topdressing. Apply topdressing twice a year. The first is before budding, with ammonium nitrate. The second is at the fruit coloring stage, with superphosphate and potassium sulfate. The fertilizer amount increases year by year. Ammonium nitrate 25-100 g per plant, superphosphate 200-400 g per plant, potassium sulfate 10-25 g per plant.
3. Overall Pruning
1. Erecting trellis poles. The vines of Schisandra chinensis are soft and cannot stand upright. Bamboo poles (or wooden stakes) can be inserted on both sides of the plants to guide them upward. Each bamboo pole can retain 2-3 permanent main vines. 2. Summer trellis management. During the young stage of the plants, promptly guide and twine the selected main vines onto the bamboo poles. New shoots produced by lateral vines of mature trees do not need tying; if too long, they can be pinched at about 10 nodes. Lateral vines must be tied to prevent breakage. 3. Winter pruning. (1) Pruning time. Winter pruning can be done from 2-3 weeks after the plants shed their leaves until before bleeding the following year. (2) Pruning method. Make cuts 2-2.5 cm from the bud. Keep the plant 30 cm above the ground with no lateral branches. When the vines have not yet covered the trellis surface, cut off the immature part of the extension vine, leave 6-8 buds on lateral vines with a spacing of 15-20 cm, and leave 10-15 medium and long branches per plant; do not prune leaf cluster branches. Timely shorten the medium and long branches left from the previous year's pruning, retaining only one leaf cluster branch and one medium-long branch at the base. Find a branch at the lower part of the previous year's extension vine that can replace it for renewal. When a main vine ages or its fruiting position moves upward, causing the lower part to become bare, select robust suckers emerging from the base of the plant to train as new main vines.
4. Pest and Disease Control
1. Powdery mildew and black spot. The two diseases have similar onset periods and can be controlled simultaneously. In late May, spray once with equal-amount Bordeaux mixture at 100 times dilution for prevention; if there is no disease, spray once more after 7-10 days. If disease appears, mix diniconazole and mancozeb at a 1:1 ratio and prepare an 800 times dilution for spraying. 2. Strengthen management. Distribute the vines evenly over the trellis surface for ventilation and light penetration. Before budding, clean up diseased branches and leaves in the Schisandra chinensis orchard, bury them deeply or burn them, and spray the whole orchard once with 5 degrees Baume lime sulfur mixture.