Planting Techniques and Cultivation Management Points for Honeysuckle

In recent years, China has made breakthrough progress in the development and utilization of the Chinese herbal medicine honeysuckle. Not only has medicinal use increased, but demand is also strong in fields such as fresh consumption, spices, chemicals, and health foods, and the market is short of goods with rising prices. At present, the national annual output of honeysuckle is about 5 million kg, and the price per kg has risen from 18-20 yuan to 30-40 yuan, while in the next few years the annual social demand will reach 17 million kg, leaving a large gap between production and demand. It can be seen that developing artificial cultivation of honeysuckle not only has a broad market, but also offers good economic returns. Honeysuckle was originally wild and is an evergreen trailing shrub. Its flower buds are fragrant and have the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. It has strong vitality, wide adaptability, and tolerance to drought and barren conditions. It can grow well in slightly acidic and slightly alkaline soils, and can also be planted on barren wasteland with serious soil erosion. It can not only conserve soil and water and green the environment, but also increase income. Artificial cultivation of honeysuckle requires little investment, takes effect quickly, and involves extensive management, and once planted it yields benefits for many years. The annual income per mu can reach 7,000 yuan, making it a good project for developing diversified operations in poor areas.

The key points of planting and harvesting techniques are introduced below for reference by developers.

I. Cultivating strong seedlings: The propagation method of honeysuckle can mainly be seedling raising. First prepare the seedbed, and neutral or slightly acidic or slightly alkaline fertile soil can be selected as the seedbed site. Deeply plow the land 30-40 cm, break up the soil and rake it level, then compact it slightly, and form beds 1 m wide. Open furrows at a row spacing of 15-20 cm, and place a layer of farmyard manure in the furrows as base fertilizer. Then, select vines and cut cuttings. Choose vines from the current spring's growth that are vigorous, highly disease-resistant, produce many flowers, and have thick stems as seed vines. Use scissors to cut them into sections every 3 buds (about 20 cm long), cut the end that goes into the soil into a slanted surface, treat it with rooting powder or seed nutrient agent and plant ash, and then, according to the requirement of a plant spacing of 4 x 15-20 cm, insert the seed vines into the soil just like planting sweet potato slips, at a depth of about 7-8 cm (one bud must be buried in the soil), then cover with soil and compact it, level the furrow, water once, and take care to shade and protect from the sun. Next, manage the seedbed well. After new seedlings emerge, remove the shading material in time and keep the soil moist. When the seedlings are 10 cm tall, apply a thin dressing of manure water or nitrogen fertilizer once, and pay attention to pinching off the growing tips to promote well-developed roots and thick main stems, laying the foundation for transplanting.

II. Timely transplanting When the seedlings are one year old, they can be lifted and transplanted from the Spring Equinox to Grain Rain. The density depends on the soil quality, generally with a spacing of 2 x 2.5-3 m per hole. Before transplanting, first dig holes 60-70 cm wide and 40-50 cm deep, and apply sufficient base fertilizer mainly of farmyard manure, 30-50 kg per hole. It is best to plant 1-2 plants per hole in fertile soil, and 3 plants per hole in lean soil, arranged in a triangular pattern, with the number of holes per mu controlled at about 120 to 140.

III. Field management After transplanting, water in time to ensure the survival rate. One month later, apply dilute manure urine water or 1:300 nitrogen fertilizer water once every 15 days or so. When new buds grow to more than 2 nodes, pinch off the growing tips in time to encourage side branches to develop early into a clump, and set up trellises as appropriate according to the length of the vines to facilitate the twining growth of new vines. After harvesting flowers, promptly prune diseased, dead, and weak branches, and hoe weeds and loosen the soil, and apply additional fertilizer to ensure a bumper harvest the following year.

IV. Pest and disease control The main problems are aphids and powdery mildew. The basic control medicine can be a colloidal sulfur mixed preparation, namely 100 g colloidal sulfur, 10 g trichlorfon, 15 g dimethoate, plus 30 kg clean water, mixed and sprayed, generally once every 15 days.

V. Flower harvesting and processing In May-June, flowers must be harvested and processed in time. The processing methods can be drying in the shade, drying in the air, or fumigating by burning sulfur, then sun-drying, or drying with a low fire or an electric oven, but the appropriate temperature should be controlled so that the color and degree of dryness are just right, to prevent blackening. After drying, it should be sealed and stored to prevent moisture and discoloration and to prevent insect damage.