How much does a daylily seedling cost per plant? Planting time, methods and pest and disease control

Daylily is also known as golden needle vegetable, brain-boosting vegetable, forget-your-worries grass, etc. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with fleshy roots in the Liliaceae family, Hemerocallis genus, and is cultivated throughout both northern and southern China. So how much does a daylily seedling cost per plant? What are the planting time and methods? What should be done if pests and diseases appear?

I. How much does a daylily seedling cost per plant?

The price of daylily seedlings is about 0.05 to 0.10 yuan per plant, but it varies depending on the quality, specifications, place of origin and market of the seedlings. Daylily is tolerant of poor soil and drought, has no strict requirements for soil, and can be cultivated on field edges or hillsides. It adapts to a wide range of light conditions and can be intercropped with relatively tall crops. The above-ground part is not cold-tolerant, while the underground part tolerates low temperatures of -10°C. It dislikes overly wet or waterlogged soil. The commonly used propagation methods in production include division propagation, cutting propagation and seed propagation.

II. When is the best time to plant daylily?

Daylily is still a seasonal vegetable on the market, and daylily is only produced in certain seasons. The production period of daylily is generally from June to August. Daylily can generally be planted in two seasons, so spring and autumn are the normal planting times for daylily. Its growth period is divided into seven stages, namely the sprouting stage, leaf-expanding stage, bolting stage, flowering stage, leaf-withering stage, leaf-expanding stage of the following year, and dormant stage. This also shows that planting daylily allows harvesting to continue for several years, which is very economical.

III. How is daylily planted?

1. Selecting and preparing the land

Daylily does not have very strict requirements for soil. Its ability to resist poor soil and drought is extremely strong, and its lifespan is relatively long, generally growing for five to eight years. Therefore, it is quite suitable for sole planting on hillsides, mountain areas and other regions, but if it can be planted in places with relatively loose and fertile soil, it will grow better, the yield will be higher, and its service life can also be extended. When preparing the land, try to plow deeply, which can help avoid the threat of some pests and diseases as much as possible and also prevent lodging.

2. Planting methods

There are two planting methods for daylily. The first is raising seedlings by sowing, placing daylily seeds into a seedbed for seedling raising, and transplanting after the seedlings grow. However, this method has two drawbacks: the yield is not high and the quality is not good. In addition, after planting, it only blooms in the third year and reaches normal yield in the fourth year, so the first method is generally not recommended. The second method is propagation by division. After harvesting daylily in autumn or after dormancy, the newly grown young roots on the old plants are separated for planting. In this way, they can bloom and be harvested the following year after planting, and the efficiency is much higher. If there are no old plants, they can also be bought from others.

3. Field management

Daylily should be planted at a reasonable density, generally with a spacing of 35 to 40 cm per plant. The most suitable temperature for daylily growth is around 15 to 20°C, so temperature regulation is needed during its flowering period, which can promote flowering and improve quality and yield. The most important thing for daylily is fertilizer management. Generally, we apply fertilizer three times. The first fertilization is at the time of sprouting, applying a mixed fertilizer of nitrogen fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer, potassium fertilizer and urea to promote sprouting and shorten the sprouting period. The second fertilization generally uses urea and potassium fertilizer to promote the growth of new branches. The last fertilization is at the time of flowering, which helps shorten the flowering period for harvesting.

4. Disease prevention

Daylily has relatively few diseases, with only occasional aphids or leaf spot disease. Therefore, when few aphids are found, they can be removed manually; when there are many, dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate should be sprayed, and harvesting must not be carried out within half a month after spraying. Next is leaf spot disease, for which chlorothalonil is generally sufficient.

5. Harvesting and processing

Daylily generally blooms at night, so it is usually harvested every morning. Once noon arrives, it withers. If rainy weather occurs, harvest as early as possible one day in advance, because at that time it grows very quickly, and if the previous schedule is still followed, it will be useless. After harvesting, daylily must be processed. Generally, it is first steamed dry, then sun-dried, and finally packed.

IV. What should be done if pests and diseases appear on daylily?

1. Rust disease

When daylily is affected by rust disease, the infected leaves and flower stems develop some spots, and the surface also curls. Generally, the entire leaf turns yellow, and even the leaves on the plant may wither and die. The solution is to fertilize reasonably and drain water after rain to avoid water accumulation or overly moist soil. Once rust disease is found, carbendazim solution can be sprayed once every 7 to 10 days, 2 to 3 times in total.

2. Leaf blight

Leaf blight generally harms the leaves of the plant. At first, white round spots appear, and later they gradually dry up. If it is too humid, black mold-like substances will form. The specific treatment method is to spray chlorothalonil on the leaf surface, with the same number of applications and frequency as above.

3. Anthracnose

The parts harmed by anthracnose are also mainly the leaves. The leaf tips gradually change from dark green to dark yellow and produce small black spots. The leaves may even wither and die. The specific control method is to spray Bordeaux mixture at 1:1:100 or chlorothalonil solution in time at the beginning for prevention and control.

4. Red spider mite

When red spider mites harm daylily, they suck sap on the leaf surface, causing gray spots, and in severe cases can also cause the plant to wither and die. It can be controlled by spraying 73% propargite 2000-fold solution.

5. Aphids

Aphid damage usually occurs in May. From leaves to flowers, they suck sap, causing flowers to fall off. It is recommended to spray dimethoate.