How is tending and management of young Taxus chinensis (yew) plantations carried out?

Taxus chinensis is currently the most important anti-cancer plant, and it is planted on a large scale in various places. Here is a concise introduction to the methods for tending its young plantations.

1. Shading. Taxus chinensis seedlings and young trees are extremely intolerant of strong light and sun exposure, so after afforestation, shading must be a key priority.

1. Mountain afforestation. Apart from afforestation under the canopy of sparse woodland, for ordinary conventional barren hill afforestation or regeneration afforestation on cutting sites and burned sites, fast-growing shading trees need to be interplanted at the same time as planting Taxus chinensis or in the first year for shade. The interplanting method can be scattered planting, horizontal strip planting, or inter-row planting. Tree species can be selected from fast-growing eucalyptus, acacia, tung tree, and so on.

2. Flatland planting. This refers to planting on hilly wasteland, abandoned remote dry land, or paddy fields. These places have abundant sunlight, long sunshine duration, and high intensity, so shading must be carried out.

Shading methods:

① Installing shade sheds with shade nets for shading: the net height should preferably be above 3 m. A higher net is beneficial for ventilation and air permeability, and the shading effect is also relatively good. However, this method has relatively high costs; generally, the cost for one mu of woodland is about 900 yuan or more.

② Planting shade trees for shading: that is, interplanting certain fast-growing broadleaf trees or fruit trees in the Taxus chinensis woodland.

③ Planting tall-stalk crops for shading.

2. Drainage. Drainage is mainly aimed at planting on abandoned remote paddy fields, because paddy fields are very flat and, together with the obstruction of field ridges, rainwater is difficult to drain away, and deep muddy fields are even worse. There is a lot of rain in spring and summer. Taxus chinensis often suffers root rot and death due to long-term waterlogging. Drainage methods: 1. Change flatland planting to high-ridge planting, with ridge height above 20 cm. 2. If shade nets are used for shading, change large connected nets to small-block shading, with one shade net per box or one shade net per two boxes. 3. Deepen and widen the walkways and surrounding drainage ditches, and open more drainage outlets. 4. When necessary, according to the terrain, break up the field block system and cut through the field ridges from top to bottom. Cut 1 to several larger drainage ditches directly to facilitate the discharge of rainwater.

3. Intertillage. The number of intertillage operations depends on the woodland conditions; in principle, 1-3 times per month. After rain, if the soil becomes compacted, intertillage should be carried out promptly. During intertillage, try to avoid damaging roots or damage them as little as possible. The root systems of 1-2 year old young plantations are not well developed, so intertillage should not be too close to the roots, so as to avoid excessive root damage affecting their growth. The intertillage depth should be kept at about 3-6 cm. As Taxus chinensis grows, the intertillage depth can be increased year by year. After the plantation is established, reclaiming 1-2 times per year is sufficient.

4. Weeding. Weeding can generally be combined with intertillage and carried out at the same time. According to the growth of weeds, carry out 2-3 times per month (except in winter), and ensure that weeds are removed as soon as they appear, removed early, removed when small, and removed completely. Climbing and twining weeds must be removed, so as to prevent them from twining around young Taxus chinensis plantations and affecting their growth.

5. Irrigation. The number of irrigations depends on weather conditions and the water content of the woodland. In principle, irrigate when the soil is dry. Keep the soil in a state that is neither dry nor wet.

6. Fertilization. Fertilization is mainly based on compound fertilizer, supplemented by urea. If conditions permit, fully decomposed organic fertilizer can also be applied, such as cake fertilizer, human excrement and urine, poultry and livestock manure, and so on. Fertilization can be done by water application or dry application, but neither should be too concentrated. For dry application, fertilizer can be buried into the woodland in combination with intertillage.

7. Pest and disease control. No large-scale pests or diseases have been found in Taxus chinensis, but there is a small amount of termite damage, which can be controlled with termite insecticide, and the effect is quite good. As for diseases, the main one is root rot in 1-3 year old young plantations, mostly occurring in the rainy spring and summer seasons. In addition to high-ridge planting and opening good drainage ditches, chemical control can use carbendazim and jinggangmycin, and the effect is also very good when applied according to the instructions.