High-Quality, High-Yield Cultivation Techniques for Large Ginger 'Fuyu No. 1'

"Fuyu No. 1" large ginger is a new ginger variety successfully bred in recent years by the Laiwu City Institute of Agricultural Sciences. It was derived from Laiwu large ginger using a method combining conventional mutation breeding and biotechnology: after radiation treatment with a CO60 radioactive source to induce variation, tissue-culture rapid propagation techniques were used to accelerate its reproduction. Target individual plants were selected from the radiation-treated Laiwu large ginger planting field for planting and re-selection. After 5 years of continuous screening trials, a new ginger variety with excellent and stable traits was successfully bred and named "Fuyu No. 1" large ginger.

Compared with Laiwu large ginger, the main advantages of this variety are:

1. High per-unit yield and a large yield increase. The yield per mu reaches as high as 4252.1 kg (fresh ginger 5002.5 kg), an increase of 18.7% over Laiwu large ginger under the same conditions.

2. Good commercial traits and strong market competitiveness. The ginger rhizomes are large and mainly single-piece, with plump "nipples," few ginger fibers, fine and crisp flesh, and a moderate pungent taste. In contrast, Laiwu large ginger has many multiple pieces, small "nipples," and relatively more ginger fibers.

3. Fewer but stronger ginger shoots. Under the same cultivation conditions, the aboveground stems have only 10-15 branches, while Laiwu large ginger generally has 15-20. The aboveground stems are thicker and stronger than those of Laiwu large ginger.

4. Leaves are spreading, dark in color, and highly stress-resistant. This variety's leaves are flat and open, and the leaf color is dark green. The upper leaves are concentrated, giving a large effective photosynthetic area. It has strong cold resistance; after entering October, the upper leaves of Laiwu ginger obviously turn yellow, while this variety still remains green.

5. Fewer but stronger ginger roots. Under the same cultivation conditions, the underground fleshy roots are fewer in number than those of Laiwu large ginger, but the roots are thick and strong.

This variety has promising development prospects: the ginger rhizomes are large, the "nipples" are few and plump, single pieces predominate, and commercial quality is good, meeting the needs of the international market and having important value for developing foreign trade. In addition, this variety has strong cold resistance, allowing earlier planting and delayed harvest, which helps increase yield and accumulate nutrients, and helps improve quality. The promotion and application of this variety play an important role that cannot be underestimated in increasing yield, enhancing market competitiveness of the product, expanding exports, raising the output value per unit area of land, and increasing farmers' income, and it has bright prospects for promotion and application. Its cultivation techniques are as follows:

1. Land preparation and fertilization

Choose loose and fertile soil, that is, choose sandy loam or medium loam plots rich in organic matter, soft and breathable, and with good drainage and irrigation. The soil pH should preferably be neutral or slightly acidic (pH 5-7).

Ginger has a long growth period and requires soil with good water and fertilizer retention. Usually, after the previous crop is harvested, autumn plowing is carried out, with deep plowing of 25-30 cm. After the soil thaws the next year, harrow finely 1-2 times, and make the ground fine and level. Before sowing, open furrows and make ridges. Generally, furrows are opened in an east-west direction, with a furrow spacing of 60 cm, a furrow width of about 25 cm, and a furrow depth of 10-12 cm.

Apply fertilizer in a concentrated way. The specific method is: use a narrow hoe to open a small fertilizer furrow along the south half side of the ginger furrow, then apply the base fertilizer in the fertilizer furrow. Use 6000 kg of fully decomposed barnyard manure, 100 kg of plant ash, and 25 kg of superphosphate per mu, mix the manure and soil thoroughly and evenly, then level the ginger furrow and sow.

2. Cultivating strong buds

The methods for cultivating strong buds can be divided into three steps: sunning ginger and resting ginger, seed selection, and sprout forcing:

1. Sunning ginger and resting ginger. Around Qingming, take the ginger seed out of the well cellar, wash off the soil on the ginger rhizomes with clean water, and air-dry for 1-2 days. The purposes of sunning the seed are: on one hand, to raise the temperature of the ginger rhizomes and promote rapid sprouting; on the other hand, to reduce the moisture in the ginger rhizomes and prevent them from rotting. After air-drying, pile the ginger rhizomes indoors for 3-4 days and cover the ginger pile with a straw curtain to promote nutrient decomposition; this is called resting ginger. After 2-3 rounds of sunning ginger and resting ginger, sprout forcing can begin.

2. Seed selection and treatment. Select larger ginger rhizomes that are disease-free and undamaged as seed ginger, each weighing about 100 g and having 1-2 strong buds. After sunning until the cut surfaces whiten, soak them in a 100-fold solution of 40% formalin for 6 h, then remove them, and dip the wounds in plant ash to prevent ginger blast disease. Any ginger rhizomes with discolored flesh, water-soaked appearance, or easily peeling skin are already diseased and cannot be used as seed ginger.

3. Sprout forcing. Use a plastic sunken bed for sprout forcing. Spread a 10 cm thick layer of wheat straw at the bottom and around the bed, which keeps it dark, loose, breathable, and warm. During the day, cover the bed with plastic film, and at night add straw mats. Control the sprouting temperature at 21-25°C. When the ginger buds grow to 0.5-2 cm and are 0.5-1 cm thick, stop sprout forcing and sow.

3. Timely sowing

Ginger prefers warmth and is not tolerant of drought or frost, so it must be cultivated in a warm, frost-free season. Spring sowing is generally used, and sowing can begin when the 10 cm soil temperature stabilizes above 15°C. Generally sow in early May. Before sowing, split the ginger that has already been sprout-forced into small pieces weighing about 100 g, and select plump and full ginger rhizomes with strong buds as seed. Water thoroughly before sowing, and once the bottom water has infiltrated, arrange the seed ginger. Use the flat sowing method, that is, place the seed pieces horizontally in the furrow at a row spacing of 60 cm and a plant spacing of 20 cm, with the ginger buds facing south or southeast, then press the seed pieces into the soil so that the ginger buds are level with the soil surface. As you arrange the seed pieces, cover the ginger buds and seed pieces with moist fine soil. Use about 500 kg of ginger seed per mu, generally planting about 5500 plants per 667 sq m.

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