Detailed Explanation of Water Dropwort Seed Saving Methods and Technical Key Points

Select robust mother plants, requiring characteristics such as medium height, thick stems, short internodes, and relatively concentrated tillering. Once the mother plants are selected, transplant them into the seed-saving field immediately after pulling. The water dropwort seed-saving field should be a paddy field that is warm and sunny, easy to drain, and convenient for roguing. Cultivate finely, applying 1 ton of decomposed human and animal manure and 50 kg of plant ash per mu as base fertilizer. In mid-November or late March to early April of the following year, choose warm and sunny weather, pull selected seed plants from the main field, arrange them in clumps of 3-4 stems, and transplant them neatly. After spring planting, the plants that survive grow relatively small, so planting before winter is generally better. The row spacing for winter planting is 30 cm, and for spring planting it is about 15 cm. When seed plants are planted in winter, maintain a water layer of 3-6 cm, and deepen the water layer before freezing, just enough for the leaf tips to remain above the water surface, to keep warm and prevent frost damage. If planting in spring, because the temperature rises, a shallow water layer of 3-6 cm can be maintained. The seed-saving field generally does not receive topdressing, to prevent the plants from becoming tender and causing rot. Around Grain Rain, when the plants reach 30 cm in height, remove overly dense tillers, inferior plants, off-type plants, and weeds, to promote ventilation and light penetration and keep the plants robust.