Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for High-Quality and High-Yield Cultivation of Honeysuckle
Growth Habits
Honeysuckle has deep roots and lush leaves, can prevent soil erosion, purify the air, and as a garden and potted flower, it can beautify the environment and cultivate character. It is an excellent plant that combines ecological, economic value and ornamental value. It generally yields about 100 kg of dried flowers per mu, and about 5 kg to 6 kg of fresh flower buds can be processed into 1 kg of dried product. Calculated at 28 yuan per kg, its income per mu is about 2,800 yuan. Plant once, benefit every year.
Honeysuckle has strong adaptability to climate and soil. It prefers a warm and humid climate, with an optimal growth temperature of 15°C to 30°C. Generally, as long as the temperature is not below 5°C and there is a certain degree of humidity, it can grow throughout the year. It is tolerant of saline-alkali soil, drought and waterlogging. It can grow on hillsides, field ridges, sandy beaches, and barren hilly land. When planted in loose, fertile soil, its root system is well developed, branches and leaves are luxuriant, silver flowers cluster together, and the yield is relatively high.
Cultivation Techniques
Honeysuckle propagation uses seed propagation or vegetative propagation. To obtain high quality and high yield, both must select excellent varieties.
1. Seed propagation, also called sexual reproduction, is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and growth is slow. In addition, since honeysuckle is mainly used medicinally for its flowers, most plants are not allowed to set seed. It is mostly not used in production.
2. Vegetative propagation, also called asexual reproduction, has three methods: cutting, layering and division. Among them, the cutting method is simple and easy, easy to survive, and is most used in production. The layering propagation method and division propagation method are mostly not used in production, and will not be described in detail here.
Cutting method. It is divided into direct cutting and seedling cutting.
Direct cutting. Flower growers in the main production area of Pingyi, during the rainy seasons of summer and autumn, select healthy 1-year to 2-year-old branches free of pests and diseases, cut them into 30 cm lengths, remove the lower leaves, and according to a hole spacing of 1.3 m, place 10 to 15 cuttings per hole, exposing about 10 cm above the ground, fill with soil and press firmly, water, and plant directly on hillsides, field ridges and other places. Keep the soil moist, and new roots will grow in about half a month.
Cutting seedling propagation. It can be carried out throughout the year except in severe winter. Choose fertile, moist sandy loam with convenient irrigation, use farmyard manure as base fertilizer, plow, level and harrow fine to make a seedbed. Open furrows at a row spacing of 25 cm to 30 cm, with a furrow depth of 15 cm to 20 cm, arrange the cut cuttings evenly in the furrow, leaving gaps between cuttings. Fill with soil and firm it, expose about 5 cm above the ground, and immediately water thoroughly. If the temperature is above 20°C, keep the soil moist, and in about half a month, they can take root and sprout. Seedlings raised in autumn and winter, because they are in the dormant period, will not take root before the end of the year, but they must not lack water, otherwise they will dry up and die. Seedlings raised by cutting should be transplanted after they produce thick adventitious roots.
Transplanting. Honeysuckle transplanting should be chosen in early to mid-March in spring, and from early August to early October in autumn. Choose loose soil, good drainage, and fertile soil close to a water source. Apply 3,000 kg of barnyard manure per mu, deep plow more than 30 cm, make flat beds, and dig holes at a row and plant spacing of 1.5 m x 1.5 m. The depth and width of the holes depend on the size of the seedlings. Mix fertilizer and soil at the bottom of the hole. For half-year to 1-year-old seedlings, place 5 to 8 plants per hole scattered within the hole and plant in a circular arrangement. For about 2-year-old large seedlings, place 1 to 3 plants per hole scattered within the hole and plant in a half-moon arrangement, then fill with soil, press firmly and water. In addition, it can also be planted beside ditches, on field ridges, wasteland, and open spaces in front of and behind houses.
Field Management
Pruning. Reasonable pruning is a major measure to increase honeysuckle yield. Pruning in winter and spring is for shaping and increasing the yield of the first crop of flowers. For honeysuckle transplanted for 1 to 3 years, the upper part of the branches can be cut off, leaving thicker branches as the main trunk to promote their thickening and upright growth. Cut off the upper parts of branches at all levels, retaining only 2 to 4 pairs of buds, to promote new branches. For flower clusters more than four years old, prune long branches, diseased and weak branches, dead branches and overly dense branches to reduce nutrient consumption. Gradually make the honeysuckle branches evenly spaced, with clear internal and external layers, round on top, clear at the base, and hollow inside, so that the whole plant forms an upright umbrella-shaped flower cluster, facilitating ventilation and light penetration and producing more flower buds. After each harvest, immediately prune the top of the flowering branches so that buds on the nodes branch and grow, forming new flowering branches.
Topdressing. In early winter, open a ring-shaped furrow about 15 cm deep around the flower cluster and apply human feces and urine into it. After the first crop of flowers, mainly apply urea or compound fertilizer as topdressing. For strong clusters more than four years old, apply about 10 kg of human and livestock feces and urine per cluster, or apply about 100 g of ammonium sulfate and 200 g of superphosphate, sprinkle the fertilizer into the furrow beside the flower cluster, and cover well with soil. Water after each topdressing to promote the growth of new flowering branches and produce more flower buds.
Loosening soil and weeding. After planting, weed and loosen the soil frequently so that no weeds grow around the flower cluster. After the cluster is formed, branches and leaves spread over the ground, making intertillage inconvenient. It is sufficient to carry out one time each when sprouting in spring and when leaves fall in winter. Around the root zone of the flower cluster it should be shallow, and farther away it can be slightly deeper.
Flowering period management. Spring drought and summer waterlogging easily cause a large amount of flower drop and flower rotting. According to local conditions, do well in irrigation or drainage.
Pest and Disease Control
Brown spot disease. The disease is severe from July to August. Leaves show round lesions, yellow-brown, with gray mold on the back when humid. In severe cases, leaves wither, yellow and fall off.
Control method: In winter, remove diseased branches and leaves to reduce sources of the pathogen. In the early stage of the disease, spray with Bordeaux mixture at 1:1.5:200, once every 7 to 10 days, spraying 2 to 3 times continuously.
Aphids. They begin to occur around Qingming. Affected leaves and flower buds curl and stop growing.
Control method: Before Qingming, spray once with 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2,000 times dilution or 10% imidacloprid at 3,000 times dilution.
Honeysuckle looper. It generally causes serious damage when the first crop of flowers is finished harvesting. Larvae can eat all the leaves within a few days. Young larvae damage the underside of leaves, feeding on the lower epidermis and mesophyll tissue, leaving the upper epidermis, causing white transparent spots on the leaf surface. In severe cases, they can eat all the leaves of entire flower clusters.
Control method: In winter, prune branches and clear clusters to destroy the overwintering environment of the pest and reduce the source of insects. In the early stage of occurrence, spray with 90% crystalline trichlorfon at 1,000 times dilution, or spray with 40% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 1,000 to 1,500 times dilution.
Leopard moth. Larvae mostly bore into the stem from branch forks or leaf axils of tender shoots and feed inside, causing new shoots to wither and plants to die.
Control method: In mid-to-late July, during the peak hatching period of larvae, evenly spray 50% fenitrothion at 1,000 times dilution onto the branches, to the extent that they are wet but do not drip.
Coffee tiger longhorn beetle. It is an important stem-boring pest. It first damages beneath the epidermis, gradually bores into the xylem, causing affected branches to wither and the entire flower cluster to gradually die.
Control method: In winter, prune branches, peel off the old bark of old branches and trunks, and promptly remove dead branches to destroy the egg-laying conditions of adults. In late June, before newly hatched larvae have bored into the xylem, spray with 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate at 1,500 times dilution.
Willow carpenter moth. It is a trunk-boring pest. Adults lay eggs in the middle and lower parts of old stems. After hatching, larvae migrate downward along the phloem, enter the xylem to feed, making the base trunk hollow, and in severe cases causing death.
Control method: In winter pruning, remove dead branches together with roots and burn them in a centralized manner. From July to September, dig a pit 10 cm to 15 cm deep at the root-stem part of the flower cluster, pour in 20 ml of 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate at 2 times dilution, then cover with soil and press firmly.
Harvesting and Processing
In production, harvesting should be done when the upper part of the flower bud expands, the base is green, and the color is bright and glossy. At this time, the accumulation of chlorogenic acid in the flower is highest. Generally, the first crop of flowers is picked in mid-to-late May, and thereafter the 2nd, 3rd and 4th crops are harvested about every 1 month. Place the picked flower buds on reed mats. When sunlight is strong, spread them thicker; when sunlight is weak, spread them thinner, so that they can be sun-dried the same day. At the beginning of sun-drying, they must not be turned arbitrarily, to avoid the flower color turning black. After sun-drying, store sealed in a dry place, but the flower center is not yet fully dry. After a few days it will absorb moisture again, then sun-dry again until dry.
Storage and Preservation
Honeysuckle should be stored in a dry, cool place, moisture-proof and protected from light, to prevent discoloration, mold and insects. Flower growers in the main production areas mostly fully dry it and then put it into plastic film, tie the opening tightly and store it.
Honeysuckle commodity grades can be divided into four grade standards based on appearance indicators such as shape and size, degree of opening, color, impurities, insect damage and mold. Among them, the best is dry, with large unopened flower buds, yellow-white color, mild taste, delicate fragrance, and no mold, insect damage or branches and leaves.