Detailed Explanation of Pollution-Free Lily Cultivation Techniques (Part 1)

Lily is the general term for all species in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, subclass Monocotyledoneae, and is a perennial herbaceous crop with fleshy roots. Because its underground bulb is formed by many scales clasped together, it is named "lily."

The lily is not only a specialty vegetable of our country, but also has high medicinal value; since ancient times it has been a good medicine for treating illnesses. It has the effects of clearing the lungs and moistening dryness, nourishing yin and clearing heat, tonifying the spleen and strengthening the stomach, calming the heart and soothing the nerves, promoting urination and relieving constipation, resolving unnamed swellings and toxins, and stopping bleeding, and it has good health benefits for the human throat, lungs, stomach, intestines, and so on. According to research, the lily alkaloids in lily such as lily glycoside A and glycoside B can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, and in clinical use they have shown obvious efficacy against leukemia, breast cancer, cervical cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and acute gout, and so on; at the same time it is also an auspicious flower.

There are nearly one hundred lily varieties in the world, and our country is the country with the most lily species and is also the center of origin of lilies in the world. According to surveys, there are about 46 species and 18 varieties, accounting for more than half of the world's total lilies.

The main places where lilies are cultivated more extensively in Jiangxi Province include Wanzai, Taihe, Yuanzhou, Gao'an, Fengcheng, Fenyi, Xinjian, and other counties (cities, districts), among which Wanzai County and Taihe County have the largest cultivation area and the longest history.

Wanzai County had a cultivation area of nearly 20,000 mu in 2001. The main lily types cultivated are: Longya lily, Juan Dan lily, and single-core lily, among which Longya lily has varieties such as Zhongpian, Gaopian, large willow leaf, and small willow leaf.

I. Growth Habits

The most widely planted locally is Longya lily, planted in autumn (the following description mainly refers to Longya lily). It likes a cool, humid climate and a semi-shaded environment, and prefers fertile, humus-rich, well-drained, loose-structured sandy loam soil, with slightly acidic soil being better. The temperature requirements at each growth stage are: monthly average temperature during the growth period of 10-28°C; the seedling emergence stage requires a daily average temperature stably passing 10°C; when the daily average temperature is 16-24°C, the aboveground stem grows fastest; when the daily average temperature is 24-29°C, it is the suitable temperature for bulb enlargement; when the daily average temperature is below 5°C or above 30°C, it is basically in a stagnant state. From sowing to harvest, lily requires 280-330 days, and can generally be divided into five growth and development stages:

1. Sowing and seedling emergence stage: from sowing (September-October) to seedling emergence (February-March of the following year) is called the sowing and seedling emergence stage. The length of the sowing and seedling emergence stage varies with variety, sowing time, cultivation conditions, insulation conditions (plastic film, greenhouse, etc.), and temperature recovery. It generally takes 140-170 days.

2. Seedling stage: from emergence to the budding stage is called the seedling stage. The length of this stage also varies with variety and cultivation conditions, generally 50-80 days.

3. Flower bud stage: from the opening of the first flower to the withering of the last flower (if cultivation is aimed at harvesting bulbs, then the flower buds generally need to be removed) is called the flower bud stage. Due to differences in variety, cultivation, and climatic conditions, the flower bud stage varies greatly, generally about 30 days.

4. Rapid bulb growth stage: from after the flowers wither to before harvest, this period is called the rapid bulb growth stage. Because after the full flowering stage, the growth of the aboveground part reaches its peak, and the underground bulb also rapidly expands and grows; this is the yield formation period, generally 30-60 days.

5. Harvest period: when the aboveground stems and leaves grow until they naturally turn yellow and wither, they can be harvested. However, because uses differ, the time for harvesting bulbs also differs.

① Fresh eating: can be dug at any time;

② Processing: generally from late July to early August;

③ Seed preservation: mainly refers to dry land, generally digging and planting at the same time in September-October.

II. Key Points of Pollution-Free Cultivation

1. Carefully select disease-free seed bulbs. When selecting seeds, pay attention to removing bulbs with spots, mildew spots, insect damage, as well as dirty black scales, dry-rotted base plates, and no root system. Bulbs that are fresh, white in color, with intact base plates and good root systems should be selected as seed bulbs.

2. Store seeds properly. After digging up the bulbs for planting, air-dry them naturally at home for 2-3 days, then place them in sand (the humidity of the sand should be such that it can be formed into a ball when squeezed by hand and will scatter when dropped naturally from a height). Quicklime can be placed at the very bottom, and they should be kept in a cool room or cave. During continuous high-temperature weather, avoid excessive dryness, and an appropriate amount of clean water can be sprayed on the surface of the sand layer to retain moisture. A cellar can also be chosen for storage: place one layer of lilies and cover with one layer of yellow soil or fine sand, and 2-3 layers can be stacked; the first layer has roots facing down, the second layer has roots facing up, and the third layer has roots facing down again. The thickness of the covering soil or sand should preferably not expose the lilies. Do not place them on cement floors that may become damp, and at the same time prevent damage from rats and livestock (poultry).

3. Scientifically choose the land. Choose plots that have not grown lilies, peppers, eggplants, onions, chives, scallions, garlic, and other crops for more than 3 years, and that are well-drained and not prone to drought or waterlogging, which can reduce the occurrence of diseases. Low-lying land with difficult drainage and easy water accumulation is not suitable for planting. Lilies planted in sandy soil grow bulbs rapidly, and the bulbs are white in color and of good quality, but the bulbs are not compact and tend to wilt after harvest, so they are not suitable as seed bulbs; lilies planted in clay soil have compact bulbs and good quality, but grow slowly and the yield is not ideal; lilies planted in soil with too much humus have bulbs that grow large and fast, but the scales often develop dirty spots and the flavor is poor. In short, according to the characteristics of lily, which likes shade and moisture, fears both drought and waterlogging, it is ideal to choose land with higher terrain, convenient drainage and drought resistance, facing south with the back to the north, and loose, fertile black sandy loam.

4. Apply heavy organic base fertilizer. Lily has a long growth period and a relatively large fertilizer requirement, and topdressing in the later stage can easily induce pests and diseases. Therefore, applying heavy (sufficient) base fertilizer is an important measure to achieve high lily yield. The base fertilizer is mainly organic fertilizer, mainly fully decomposed pig and cattle pen manure, plant ash, oil cake, and so on. Apply 30-50 dan of composted and decomposed pig and cattle pen manure per mu, 10-20 dan of plant ash, and where conditions permit, add 50 kg of oil cake fertilizer, evenly deep-plow into the soil, and prepare the land into a tile-back shape. Old pit soil or river (pond) mud (sun-dried and finely prepared) can also be applied. Generally, chemical fertilizers cannot be applied. For poorer soil, 50 kg of phosphate fertilizer can be added.

5. Reasonable deep plowing and land preparation. Lily is an underground bulb crop, so the plowing depth of lily land is required to be more than 25 cm. The plowing time is generally after the previous crop is harvested, choosing a sunny day to immediately plow and sun the land. Especially for paddy fields, it is even more necessary to seize the time for deep plowing and exposure to the sun. Before planting, combine base fertilizer application and soil treatment to level and finely prepare the soil, and remove weeds and rice stubble, and so on.

Soil treatment: generally spread about 50 kg of quicklime per mu to prevent damage by ants and @#@254@#@, and so on; before sowing, soil can also be fumigated with Basamid, using 10-15 grams of the chemical per square meter, evenly mixed into the deep soil layer of 10-20 cm, stirred evenly, watered to retain moisture (soil relative humidity about 40%), immediately covered with plastic film for 3-4 days, and after removing the film, loosen the soil layer; after 2 days, sowing can be done.

Bed making: for dry land, the bed width is preferably about 133 cm; for paddy fields, the bed width is preferably 100-120 cm, the ditch width is 33 cm, and the depth is 25-30 cm. The bed length can be determined according to the terrain, but overly long beds should have additional waist ditches. The waist ditch is 40-50 cm wide and about 30 cm deep; the surrounding ditch is 45-50 cm wide and about 33 cm deep. In short, the width and depth of each ditch should be flexibly controlled according to the type and location of the field, and drainage must be smooth, with no water remaining after rain stops, and no internal waterlogging during heavy rain.

6. Strictly disinfect seed bulbs. Whether they are seed bulbs carefully selected during the lily harvest period (late July to August) or seed bulbs dug during the lily sowing period (late September to October), all need chemical disinfection treatment. The available chemical treatment methods are:

(1) Soak seeds in 39-40% formaldehyde 50-fold solution for 15 minutes;

(2) Soak seeds in 75% Zhiweiling 500-600-fold solution for 25 minutes;

(3) Soak seeds in 10% Shuangxiaoling 500-fold solution for 25 minutes;

(4) Soak seeds in Baijuntong 500-fold solution for 15 minutes;

(5) Spray seed bulbs with carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl 800-1000-fold solution. In addition, 70% dexon powder can be used at 1:300 for seed dressing.

(6) Soak seed bulbs in 55% Ridomil-mancozeb 200-fold solution, or 12% copper green 200-fold solution, or 5% Junduqing 50-fold solution for 25 minutes, then dry in the shade before planting.

7. Sow at the right time. Choose a sunny day and split open the seed bulbs. If the inside of the seed bulb is found to have turned brown and there are many disease spots, it should be discarded. The sowing time is from mid-September to late October. Idle land can be appropriately advanced to early September for sowing, and paddy fields should finish sowing by the end of October.

The sowing plant and row spacing is generally 15-25 x 26-36 cm. Under normal circumstances, the seed rate is generally 200-225 kg per mu, each kg of seed bulbs contains 40-50 bulbs, and 7,000-9,000 plants can be sown per mu. Lily seed bulbs are preferably one bulb with one core. If a seed bulb has more than 2 cores, it should be cut open along the natural bud core shape with a thin and sharp bamboo strip. The sowing depth is 2-3 times the diameter of the bulb; sandy soil should be appropriately deeper, and clay soil should be sown shallowly. Generally, first dig sowing furrows according to the determined plant and row spacing (some farmers also use hole sowing), then place the seed bulbs in the sowing furrows (note that the seed bulbs should have the core facing up and the roots facing down), and then cover with soil 7-10 cm thick. Finally, clean the field and clear the "three ditches." Farmers with conditions can cover with plastic film in late November; ordinary growers can cover with straw, and so on, which has the effect of keeping warm and preventing weeds.

III. Field Management

The focus of lily field management is to do a good job in "health cultivation" as the center, with "pollution-free" production as the goal, and effectively manage fertilizer, water, chemicals, and so on.

It is required that the amount of base fertilizer applied account for more than 70% of the fertilizer requirement of the entire growth period. Topdressing is mainly based on splashing decomposed human and livestock manure and urine, and a small amount of oil cake fertilizer and so on can also be applied. This is beneficial to the growth of lily and improves its ability to resist pests and diseases. At the same time, throughout the entire growth period of lily, careful work must be done on clearing ditches and drainage, so that all ditches are connected, and there is no standing water after rain stops. When the field is dry, only "horse-running water" can be slowly irrigated in the ditches; water must absolutely not be allowed to reach the bed surface, and the principle of "better drought than waterlogging" must be observed. This can not only increase yield and ensure quality, but also reduce the occurrence of diseases.