A Detailed Guide to Lily Cultivation Techniques and Propagation Methods
As an important and valuable cut flower, lilies are the focus here as we introduce their cultivation techniques and propagation methods:
1. Cultivation techniques:
(1) Selection of planting site: The planting site should be chosen with high, well-drained terrain, loose soil, rich in humus, and deep, loose soil layers. Most species prefer slightly acidic soil. Avoid continuous cropping.
(2) Soil treatment: Since cultivating lilies does not require the vast land area of field crops, the soil environment can be improved by replacing soil locally. First, dig out the original soil from the rows where lilies are to be planted, mix leaf mold, peat, fermented sawdust, vermiculite, perlite and other media with soil in certain proportions and fill them into the planting furrows. Alternatively, mix the above materials at a ratio of 1/3 to 1/2 with ordinary soil before planting lilies, which is also a very ideal soil medium. A single brick wall 30 cm high can also be built. If conditions permit, a raised planting bed can be built, using cement boards, bricks and other building materials to build a trough-style planting bed 50-80 cm above ground, filled with artificially prepared nutrient substrate, which facilitates drainage, aeration and ventilation, makes soil disinfection easier, and also cuts off the connection with the ground soil to reduce the chance of underground pathogen infection. However, this kind of facility is relatively expensive, so growers should act according to their means. After the substrate is placed in the planting bed, use sulfur powder or lime and other substances to adjust the pH to between 5.5-6.5, or adjust the pH according to the soil requirements of different lilies. A soil depth of 40 cm is appropriate. Lilies are sensitive to salts; high salinity hinders growth, and total salt content must not be too high. If too much saline organic fertilizer or chemical fertilizer is applied, it can easily exceed the limit. Therefore, soil analysis should be carried out at least 6 weeks before planting, and if salinity is too high, it should be leached. The soil should be free of pests and diseases, and can be disinfected with steam or fungicides and insecticides such as dexon and phoxim.
(3) Planting: 3 days before planting, the soil should be watered thoroughly, which helps lilies establish roots. If the soil temperature is high, watering with cold water is better. The planting time can be spring or autumn. Heat-sensitive lilies should avoid the hot summer, and cold-sensitive lilies cannot overwinter in open fields in severe cold, so plastic greenhouses or glasshouses should be built for protected cultivation. When planting, open small furrows 15 cm deep in the bed, perpendicular to the long direction of the bed. Or after setting up a net, dig holes according to the plant and row spacing for planting. Soak the bulbs in a 500-800 times solution of fungicides such as carbendazim for half an hour, then dry them before planting. Plant and row spacing varies with variety and bulb size, generally 15 cm x 15 cm or 15 cm x 20 cm, with depth based on the bottom of the furrow; after planting, cover with 8-10 cm of soil, and finally irrigate. After the water drains, cover the soil surface with pine needles, rice straw, fir leaves or peat to keep warm and moist, and remove the covering after the buds have all emerged. Abroad, to save labor, seeding machines are often used for planting.
(4) Fertilization: Do not fertilize within 3-4 weeks after planting lilies. After the bulbs sprout and emerge, topdress promptly, adding 1000 g of calcium nitrate per 10 sq m of soil. If slight yellowing occurs later in the planting period, it is caused by nitrogen deficiency, and 1000 g of urea or ammonium nitrate can be applied per 100 sq m. Lilies need multiple nutrients, while most chemical fertilizers contain only one nutrient element. To meet the growth needs of lilies, several chemical fertilizers often need to be mixed and applied. A compound fertilizer with N:P:K of 5:10:5 can be used, applied at 30 g per sq m. During the growing period, topdress per sq m with 15 g ammonium sulfate, 45 g superphosphate, and 15 g potassium sulfate, which can be applied with water. Alternatively, dissolve 3000 g potassium nitrate + 1000 g potassium sulfate + 5000 g superphosphate and dilute 1000 times, plus 30 g ferric citrate + 10 g boric acid + 5 g sulfate + 0.5 g copper sulfate + 0.5 g zinc sulfate + 0.5 g ammonium molybdate dissolved and diluted 1000 times as a topdressing for lilies, with good results. Foliar spraying can also be carried out when necessary.
(5) Watering: Watering is very important for lily cultivation. Water should be applied before planting, and also fully after planting depending on the stage. Lilies are shallow-rooted plants and highly dependent on water, so it is best to have a sprinkler or drip irrigation control system. Flood irrigation causes the surface soil to crust, causing the plants to lack oxygen and turn yellow.
(6) Ventilation: Ventilation is important for regulating temperature and humidity inside the greenhouse. In Yunnan, the temperature inside a greenhouse can reach 45°C, which is unfavorable for lily growth, so ventilation is necessary. Fans can be used to create air convection and the plastic greenhouse film can be opened for ventilation. Generally, greenhouses with roof windows have a good cooling effect. However, when cooling, air humidity must not drop too quickly, otherwise leaf scorch is likely to occur. Using a computer-controlled greenhouse to cultivate lilies is the most ideal.
(7) Shading: From March to October, when light is strong, light energy converts into heat energy and raises the temperature, or direct strong light is unfavorable to lily growth and causes cut flower quality to decline, so a 50% shade net can be used to reduce light. However, in autumn and winter the shade net should be removed to prevent insufficient light from causing flower buds to drop.
(8) Heating: In cold winter regions, lily cultivation should also have heating equipment so that cold-sensitive lilies do not suffer low-temperature damage in the cold season. Electric heating is both effective and clean, but the cost is relatively high. In the north, cultivation in solar greenhouses can also produce good results.
(9) Setting up supports: Some lily varieties have poor upright growth, so supports can be set up to prevent the stems from bending and reducing quality. Bamboo or wood can be used as supports, and steel bars with nylon netting can also be used. When using netting, it should be pulled tight,
(10) Main pests and diseases: viral diseases, leaf blight, gray mold, root rot, anthracnose, stem rot, phytophthora blight, cotton aphids, root mites, etc. Prevention and control should be strengthened.
2. Propagation methods: The first is seed propagation, generally used in crossbreeding; the second is bulbil propagation, carefully removing the small bulbils on the underground part or near-ground stem nodes of lilies and planting them separately to become new plants; the third is bulbil propagation, in which some varieties can spontaneously produce bulbils in the leaf axils, and when mature they can be collected for propagation; the fourth is stem segment and leaf cutting propagation; the fifth is scale cutting propagation, using healthy, plump, disease-free scales in spring and autumn, soaking them in a 1:500-800 times carbendazim solution for 20-30 minutes, drying them in the shade, treating them with rooting agent, and inserting them into coarse sand, perlite or granular peat; under conditions of 15-201°C, in about a month rooted bulbils form at the wound, and when broken off and planted they can become independent plants; the sixth is natural division propagation of bulbs; the seventh is propagation from the center of the bulb; and the eighth is tissue culture propagation. The quality of bulbs used for planting is very important, and they are generally produced by specialized enterprises.