A Detailed Explanation of the Difficulties in Artificial Cultivation of Schisandra chinensis and the Solutions
Northern Schisandra (Liaoning Schisandra) is a genuine northern medicinal herb. Modern research has proven that Schisandra can regulate the cardiovascular system, improve blood circulation, excite the central nervous system, and also has a good effect on treating hepatitis. Schisandra is also used for brewing wine, seasoning, extracting essences and pigments, and making food preservatives.
At present, with the continuous harvesting of Schisandra, wild resources are constantly decreasing, and the cost and difficulty of harvesting are gradually increasing. Moreover, the environmental damage caused by harvesting wild resources has attracted great attention. Therefore, artificially cultivated Schisandra will gradually replace wild resources. In Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang, artificial cultivation is showing a trend of expansion, but some difficulties have also emerged in cultivation, such as herbicide phytotoxicity and late frost damage, which affect the development of artificial cultivation of Schisandra. Below we discuss our experience.
I. Hidden phytotoxicity from herbicides
In farmland soil, people generally apply herbicides continuously for many years, and due to years of deposited residues, hidden phytotoxicity appears. This causes, first, difficulty in the germination of new roots of transplanted Schisandra, thereby inhibiting growth, and even leaf withering. In the year of transplanting, the growth of Schisandra should generally exceed two meters; whenever growth is only about one meter high, it is inhibited by herbicide phytotoxicity, and Schisandra is especially most sensitive to atrazine; second, Schisandra absorbs herbicides from the soil, which remain in Schisandra and reduce quality. Therefore, in farmland soil, especially plots where atrazine has been applied for many years, the new soil conditioner Wotu'an must be applied to eliminate hidden phytotoxicity in the soil before Schisandra can be transplanted. There are two application methods: first, use 750 grams of Wotu'an diluted with water at 1000-2000 times and evenly spray it on one mu of soil, then plow 2-3 times to mix it evenly with the soil; second, after transplanting Schisandra, irrigate each plant with 2 kg of Wotu'an solution at 1000-2000 times dilution.
II. Drift damage from herbicides
When people carry out pre-emergence weed control in farmlands such as corn and soybean fields, due to the drift of pesticides such as atrazine and acetochlor, adjacent Schisandra plots suffer phytotoxicity, with symptoms of wrinkled leaves, curling, and yellow withered edges. If Schisandra is found to have suffered phytotoxicity, Luda should be sprayed immediately at 750 times dilution, that is, each 20-gram bag diluted in 15 kg of water, at an interval of 5 days, sprayed on the leaves twice, and the harm from herbicides can be eliminated.
III. Harm from late frost
After Schisandra sprouts in early spring, it encounters late frost, causing damage to young and tender tissues. On April 27, 2003 and May 8, 2004, late frost in two consecutive years caused frost damage to Schisandra, and there was almost no yield that year. Therefore, when selecting a site for cultivating Schisandra, areas prone to late frost damage should be avoided as much as possible.
1. Smoke to remove frost damage. Pay attention to weather changes, listen to weather forecasts, and before the frost comes, use the method of piling grass and smoking to eliminate frost damage. Every ten meters, pile a heap of firewood, grass, straw, sawdust, rice husks, etc. Before the frost comes, generally after 1 a.m., light the grass piles, press a layer of soil on top, release smoke slowly, and use smoking to drive away frost.
2. Increase cell sap concentration. After Schisandra sprouts and unfolds leaves in early spring, spray antifreeze solution or Luda foliar fertilizer on the leaves to increase cell sap concentration, increase cell pressure, and enhance resistance to frost.