Detailed Explanation of Cultivation Techniques for Oriental Lily Cut Flowers
When it comes to the production of Oriental lily cut flowers, for growers it is both easy and difficult. The easy part is that no matter who it is, anyone growing Oriental lily cut flowers for the first time will get some harvest and will be able to cut flowers; the difficult part is that producing high-quality Oriental lily cut flowers is truly hard. Many growers who are just starting lily cut flower production feel this most keenly. In fact, as long as growers master a few key cultivation techniques, lily cut flower production is not that difficult. Below are several key points for everyone's reference.
Key Point One: The Root System Must Grow Well
The quality of Oriental lily cut flowers, apart from the factors of the bulb itself, depends mainly on how well the bulb's basal roots and stem roots develop and grow during the lily's growth process. In other words, if the lily's root system is well developed, the plant will grow vigorously. To produce high-quality lily cut flowers, the main thing is to make the bulb's root system develop well. As long as the bulb's basal roots and stem roots grow well, the quality problem of the cut flowers is solved. Although this principle is well known, many growers overlook it during the growing process. In short, making the bulb's root system well developed and growing well is extremely crucial.
Key Point Two: Soil Improvement
Good or poor soil plays a decisive role in cut flower production. Since every plant has different soil requirements, improving the soil becomes the primary task, and the soil must be improved to meet the special external conditions required for plant growth. In other words, the soil must be improved to create external conditions suitable for the growth of lily bulb roots. As is well known, the physical and chemical properties of soil have a very important influence on plants. Only by improving the soil into a state of water-air balance with strong water and fertilizer retention and strong water and fertilizer supply capacity can the respiration and rapid growth of the plant root system be promoted. In good soil, microbial activity is strong, and organic matter in the soil can be transformed into usable substances for absorption by plant roots, while also increasing root activity. A well-developed root system can enhance the plant's ability to absorb inorganic phosphorus.
Overall, a well-developed root system can absorb more nutrients from the soil and, at the same time, further promote root growth. What kind of soil does lily bulb root growth require?
In principle, the soil is required to be loose and well aerated. The soil should have sufficient air (note that it should not be too porous either, because air and water in the soil exist simultaneously in the soil pores; when there is more air there is less water, and when there is more water there is less air, so maintaining a water-air balance is best). To achieve this, soil improvement is needed, because existing soil can hardly meet this requirement. Although lilies can grow in soil of any structure, to make lily roots grow well, the requirements for soil structure are stricter.
The more successful improvement methods are: first, 2 parts loam mixed with 1 part peat soil, or 3 parts loam mixed with 1 part peat soil; second, 2 parts loam mixed with 1/2 part peat soil plus 1/2 part rice hulls, or 3 parts loam mixed with 1/2 part peat soil plus 1/2 part rice hulls. The depth of soil improvement should preferably be about 20 cm; for such a soil structure, ordinary soil disinfectants and fungicides are sufficient. When replanting on the same land, if conditions permit, rotate the crop once after every two plantings, or physical disinfection is even better. However, it is not enough for the soil's physical conditions to meet the requirements for lily root growth; the required soil chemical conditions also need to be adjusted.
People generally believe that the pH value for normal lily root growth is 5.5 to 6.5, but actually this is not accurate enough. The pH value truly suitable for lily root growth is 5.5. If the pH value can be controlled at this point, Oriental lilies grow best and the root system grows most vigorously. Of course, lilies will also grow if the pH value is slightly higher or even higher, but to be precise, the higher the pH value, the worse the lily grows, because the growing environment is unfavorable for root growth. For example, in Lingyuan and Kazuo in western Liaoning, China, the soil pH value is as high as about 7.6, and the water pH value is also relatively high; in some areas the water pH value is as high as about 8.0 (in summer, due to rainfall, the pH value is slightly lower). Seed China reminds you: soil improvement must be carried out. During soil improvement, add materials that can lower the pH value; acidic fertilizers can be used when fertilizing, and acidic materials can also be added when watering. After such improvement, growers can obtain better cut flower quality.
Specific methods for adjusting pH value: mixing a certain amount of lime material into acidic soil can raise the pH value; mixing a certain amount of sulfur powder or gypsum into alkaline soil can lower the pH value. Using sulfur powder works better than using gypsum, because a certain amount of sulfur powder can promote plant rooting. If the water pH value is too high, a certain amount of sulfuric acid and nitric acid solution can be mixed in to adjust the water pH value to about 5.0.
Key Point Three: Rational Fertilization
Compared with other flowering plants, lilies do not need a large amount of fertilizer, but lilies are fertilizer-loving plants. During soil improvement, adding more decomposed barnyard manure is very beneficial to lily growth. Barnyard manure contains large amounts of organic matter and microorganisms. When decomposed in the soil, it can not only supply lilies with major elements but also trace elements, and it can promote the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, producing large amounts of carbon dioxide for lilies to carry out carbon assimilation. Barnyard manure can not only supply lilies with inorganic nutrient elements but also supply soluble organic compounds. Because barnyard manure can promote microbial activity, it produces biological substances that promote lily root development and enable the roots to absorb nutrients better.
Overall, barnyard manure plays a very important role in improving soil fertility. It can improve the physical, chemical and biological activity of the soil, and can also bring water, fertilizer and air in the soil into coordination, better meeting the needs of lily root growth. Seed China reminds you: according to actual cultivation results, applying 2 cubic meters of barnyard manure per 100 sq m of soil is best; this can be done simultaneously with soil improvement by spreading it evenly and turning it in.