Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for High-Yield Cultivation of Schisandra chinensis

Schisandra chinensis is a medicinal plant. Its wild resources are increasingly dwindling, while market demand keeps growing. The key techniques for high-yield cultivation of Schisandra chinensis are as follows:

1. Seedling cultivation. Schisandra chinensis is suitable for growing in 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 cultivation site should be level ground or a shady slope with good drainage and a low groundwater table. Trellis cultivation is adopted, with a plant-to-row spacing of 0.75 m x 2 m to 1.0 m x 2 m. Planting is done in late April. Before planting, soak the seedlings in clean water for 12 to 24 hours, and cut off moldy, damaged and overly long roots (leaving roots 15 cm to 20 cm long). After planting, water thoroughly and cover with soil.

2. Field management. Plough and harrow more than 5 times each year to keep the soil in the planting strip loose and free of weeds. After the fruit is harvested, carry out deep ploughing of the whole orchard to a depth of 20 cm to 25 cm. Before the Schisandra chinensis plants bud, remove the shoots produced at their base the previous year, and apply ammonium nitrate as a top dressing. During the fruit coloring stage, apply superphosphate and potassium sulfate as top dressings. Generally, apply 25 g to 100 g of ammonium nitrate, 200 g to 400 g of superphosphate and 10 g to 25 g of potassium sulfate per plant.

3. Training and pruning. During the juvenile stage of the plants, promptly guide the selected main vines onto bamboo poles. The new shoots sprouting from the side vines of mature trees need not be tied; overly long ones can be pinched back leaving about 10 nodes. Side vines must be tied to prevent them from breaking. Winter pruning is carried out from 2 to 3 weeks after the plants lose their leaves until before the "bleeding" period the following year, with the cut 2 cm to 2.5 cm from the bud. No side branches are kept below 30 cm from the ground. Before the vines have covered the trellis surface, cut off the immature parts of the extension shoots, leave 6 to 8 buds on side vines at a spacing of 15 cm to 20 cm, keep 10 to 15 medium and long shoots per plant, and do not prune the leaf cluster shoots. Medium and long shoots left from the previous year's pruning should be promptly cut back, keeping only one leaf cluster shoot and one medium or long shoot at the base. On the lower part of the previous year's extension shoot, find a branch that can replace it and renew it. When a main vine ages or its fruiting position moves upward, causing the lower part to become bare, select and keep vigorous buds emerging from the base of the plant and train them into new main vines.

4. Pest and disease control. In late May, spray Bordeaux mixture (100-fold dilution) once as a preventive measure; if no disease occurs, spray once more after 7 to 10 days. If disease appears, mix fenaminosulf and mancozeb into an 800-fold dilution and spray; the effect is relatively good. Take care to distribute the vines evenly over the trellis surface and maintain ventilation and light penetration. Before budding, clear diseased branches and leaves from the Schisandra chinensis orchard, bury them deeply or burn them, and spray the whole orchard once with lime sulfur mixture at 5 degrees Baumé.