A Complete Analysis of the Key Cultivation Techniques for Abrus cantoniensis (Chicken-Bone Herb)

Abrus cantoniensis has strong adaptability and is not demanding about soil; it can generally be planted on dry land (flat land or sloping land), with sandy loam being the best. It is drought-tolerant and afraid of waterlogging, so the planting site must have good drainage and plenty of sunlight.

1. Raising seedlings (sowing from March to April on the Gregorian calendar is best). The seed coat of Abrus cantoniensis is smooth and hard, so the seeds must be treated before sowing, otherwise the germination rate will not be high. Treatment method: mix the seeds with twice their volume of fine sand, place in a mortar or bamboo tube and pound with a round-headed wooden pestle for 20 minutes, or rub by hand for 30 minutes, then sift out the sand, soak the seeds in hot water at about 40°C for 12 hours, place the seeds that have absorbed water and swollen in a cloth bag or a piece of worn cloth, cover top and bottom with rice straw to hasten germination for 2 days, pouring hot water over them once every 8 hours. For the seedling bed, choose land with a good soil texture near a water source (half a fen of seedling land for every mu of planting land). Make raised beds, break up and level the soil, mix the germinated seeds evenly with a small amount of fine sand and sow them on the surface of the bed, cover with a layer of fine soil, then cover with a layer of rice straw or leaves (the straw cover should be thin, so that the surface is just not visible). It is best to build a frame over each bed, about 2 chi high, and cover it with tree branches or weeds on top to prevent sunscald or heavy rain from breaking the seedlings. The seedling bed should be watered frequently to keep it moist. After the seedlings emerge evenly, gradually remove the weeds on the frame to let light through. When the seedlings are 2-3 [units] tall, apply human and livestock manure water once.

2. Transplanting: when the seedlings are 4-5 cun tall, choose a cloudy and rainy day to transplant. Either open furrows or make raised beds; move the seedlings into the furrows or holes, fill in soil and press firm, water with rooting water. Spacing: 20 x 30 cm.

3. Management: 15 days after transplanting, loosen the soil and fertilize once, applying 10 dan of human and livestock manure water or 10 jin of urea (dissolve 1 jin of urea in every 100 jin of water and pour it on). Fertilize again one month later, preferably with compound fertilizer applied deeply. When the main shoot grows to 7-8 cun tall, pinch off the terminal bud to encourage more branching and increase yield. In dry weather, water or irrigate as much as possible; in rainy weather, pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging and root rot. In August-September, it is best to spray foliar fertilizer 2-3 times. If conditions permit, it is best to insert a stake between every two plants to let the vines climb up, because Abrus cantoniensis is a light-loving, heavily branching vine, and trellising helps its growth and increases yield.

4. Pest and disease control: the main disease is leaf blight; when it occurs, spray thiophanate-methyl or kangkuoning. For insect pests, spray dimethoate (do not use other highly toxic pesticides, especially near harvest).

5. Harvest: harvest around the end of November, digging out the whole plant with the roots, tying into small bundles and winding them into a figure-8 shape, then sun-drying. Generally the yield is 200-300 kg of dried medicinal material per mu.

Note: if conditions permit, it is best to treat the seeds with sulfuric acid. Method: take half a jin of seeds (500 ml of 95% sulfuric acid, put them in a plastic container and mix, stir constantly with a wooden stick for 6-8 minutes (be careful not to let the sulfuric acid splash onto skin or clothing), filter off the sulfuric acid, pour the seeds into clean water and rinse thoroughly, then soak in hot water at 40°C for 8-24 hours, and then sow. In this way the germination rate is high and germination is fast.