What are the cultivation benefits and prospects of the herbaceous plant blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis)? Seed price per jin and how to grow it

Blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) is also called wushan, wupu, huangyuan, wusha, yegan, wusha, wuchui, caojang, guishan and fengyi. Its rhizome is used medicinally; it tastes bitter, is cold in nature and slightly toxic. So what are the cultivation benefits and development prospects of blackberry lily? How much is the seed price per jin? How do you grow it? According to Manager Li of a Jiangxi seed company, the price of blackberry lily seeds is about 80-120 yuan/jin, but prices vary greatly depending on seed quality, variety, place of origin and the market. Blackberry lily is mostly propagated by rhizome, and because propagation is fast it can also be propagated by seed. The seed germination rate is up to 90%. Seeds begin to germinate at 10-14°C, with 20-25°C being the optimum temperature, and germination decreasing at 30°C. However, seed propagation produces slow, uneven emergence lasting about 50 days. The sowing rate is 4-5 jin per mu.

What are the cultivation benefits and development prospects of blackberry lily?

1. Blackberry lily is a commonly used bulk variety in the Chinese medicinal materials market and has sold well for many years. Because of its long production cycle, herb farmers mostly choose other varieties and abandon growing this one. As annual usage keeps increasing, market supply has gradually become scarce and stocks are thin, causing prices to keep rising. Developing blackberry lily is imperative to supply the market's shortfall.

2. Blackberry lily is highly adaptable and can be grown in ordinary soil, growing in all regions, and it does not occupy good land. It can be sown on hillsides, hills, intercropped in tree gaps, and on sandy beach land, and it grows even better in plain areas. However, the sowing period is very long, from early to mid-October to mid-to-late November; as long as the ground has not frozen, it can be planted. It does not emerge that year, and sprouts when all things revive in early spring of the second year. It is not afraid of severe cold and overwinters safely at minus 20-25 degrees.

3. Direct sowing of blackberry lily in the field is just like growing beans and is very easy to grow. Generally, with a row spacing of 25-30 cm, 5-6 kg of seed per mu and a depth of 2 cm. In actual practice, the vast majority of blackberry lily is harvested after two years of growth, in autumn. Its rhizome is about 6-8 cm deep, and it can be picked out after a shallow pass with a tractor. Actual dry yield per mu is 200-250 kg, with benefits per mu exceeding 10,000 yuan.

4. Cultivation benefits of blackberry lily:

1. Cost per mu: land rent 500 yuan, fertiliser 200 yuan, seed (3 kg) 360 yuan, machine ploughing 40 yuan, machine sowing 20 yuan, machine harvesting 150 yuan, plastic mulch 40 yuan, labour 200 yuan, herbicide (2 applications) 60 yuan, total 1570 yuan.

2. Output value per mu: blackberry lily yield per mu 150 kg, unit price 70 yuan/kg, total 10,500 yuan.

3. Profit per mu: output value per mu 10,500 yuan - production cost 1570 yuan = 8930 yuan.

How do you grow blackberry lily?

1. Good soil directly determines how much blackberry lily is produced. If the soil quality is especially good and the growing environment is especially good, then management will be much simpler and output will increase accordingly. Blackberry lily is not strict about soil; sandy gravel soil, loess, slag soil and soil with high sand content are all fine. Blackberry lily is not afraid of cold, drought or waterlogging. The planting base is limited to relatively flat terrain, and the land must drain smoothly. When the dog days come, water volume increases, and rainwater must be able to drain away as quickly as possible, otherwise seedlings will die in patches. The key is that the terrain must be conducive to draining accumulated water; average soil quality is sufficient, with plenty of light.

2. Ploughing: Blackberry lily is especially sensitive to nutrients. With sufficient soil nutrients it grows vigorously and dark green, with robust plants. However, the soil in a very few medicinal fields is basically of terrain with only average nutrients, so for high blackberry lily yields, sufficient farmyard manure must be spread before sowing, broadcasting 4.5-6.5 tonnes of cow dung and pig manure per mu. After fertilising, plough the land once and harrow it finely once. Only in this way will the soil and fertiliser be evenly mixed with moisture, with no large clods, which favours sowing and improves the germination rate.

3. Making beds: To facilitate the necessary management measures throughout blackberry lily's entire growing period, such as watering, clearing weeds and spreading fertiliser, Changjing Landscape recommends making the land into standard beds 1.4 m wide, with a total length of 12-22 m, depending on the actual field.

4. Blackberry lily seeds are of average size and have fairly good soil-penetrating ability. Before sowing, some simple pre-germination treatment can be done; some of the steps are actually very simple. Soak in warm water for 1 day, then take them out and drain them before sowing. The sowing depth should be moderate or shallow, with the covering soil no more than 5 cm thick. Drilling is generally used. Choose a low-wind environment, mix the blackberry lily seeds into damp sand, then broadcast them onto the ground. After sowing, soil can be raked over by hand or machine to cover them. After covering with soil, irrigate once, and in about 6-12 days the germination rate can be improved.