How are edible fungi cultivated? Good returns from growing broccoli with soil testing and formulated fertilization
Broccoli is a new vegetable variety promoted in Guigang in recent years. It is rich in nutrients, has a good flavor, and has anti-cancer effects. It features vigorous growth, light pest and disease damage, two crops a year, and significant economic benefits. When promoting new varieties, vegetable growers should apply the soil testing and formulated fertilization method and correctly master techniques such as broccoli seedling raising, transplanting, field management, and pest and disease control.
1. Seedling raising
1.1 Seedling raising time
For the spring crop, raise seedlings in open fields, small arched sheds, or plug trays in mid-March; for the autumn crop, raise seedlings in open fields or plug trays in mid-June.
1.2 Variety selection
According to the cultivation season, choose resistant varieties suitable for local planting. Excellent broccoli varieties such as Youxiu, Yuguan, Wanlu, Longlu, and Shanshui should be selected, with vigorous plant growth, dark green flower buds, few browned buds, arc-round heads, few side shoots, large heads, disease resistance, heat tolerance, cold tolerance, and wide adaptability.
1.3 Seedbed preparation
Choose fertile garden soil where cruciferous vegetables have not been planted in recent years as the seedbed. 7-10 days before sowing, carry out moderate deep plowing, rotary tillage, and sun-drying of the soil. According to the soil testing fertilization card, apply 15 kg of decomposed sieved organic fertilizer and 30 g of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per 1 sq m of seedbed, and use chemicals such as 50% thiophanate-methyl or 50% carbendazim and 5% fipronil 1500-fold solution to prevent underground pests, ensuring sufficient nutrient supply during the seedling stage. Level the bed surface and prepare for sowing. Before sowing, prepare nutrient soil: mix 50% carbendazim wettable powder with sieved fine soil. When sowing, spread 2/3 on the bed surface and cover 1/3 over the seeds. Each mu of field requires 10 sq m of seedbed.
1.4 Sowing
Before sowing, disinfect the seeds, that is, dress the seeds with 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 0.4% of the seed amount used before sowing. They can also be soaked in warm water for 3-4 h. The amount of soaking water is 3-4 times that of the seeds. After soaking, germinate for 24 hours, and sow once the seeds show white sprouts. Before sowing, water the seedbed thoroughly once, mix the treated seeds evenly with an appropriate amount of sand, and broadcast them evenly in the seedbed, cover with fine soil, then press moderately with a shovel, and lay double-layer shade netting to raise seedlings while preserving moisture and lowering temperature.
1.5 Seedling stage management
After emergence, do not water too much, otherwise it is very easy to cause seedling legginess and damping-off disease. The most suitable growth temperature for the seedling stage is 15-20°C. When the seedlings grow to 1-2 true leaves, thin them 1-2 times, removing thin, weak, and overly dense seedlings. When they have 2-3 true leaves, transplant the seedlings (prick out) once. When transplanting seedlings, give sufficient water. During seedling raising, water according to soil dryness and wetness. Generally, no fertilizer is applied during the seedling stage, but according to seedling condition, appropriate topdressing may be applied. For topdressing, use 0.5% compound fertilizer water or foliar fertilization with potassium dihydrogen phosphate, Aiduoshou, etc., to promote growth. When the seedlings grow to 4-6 true leaves, they can be transplanted. 5-7 days before transplanting, remove the covering to harden the seedlings. On the evening before lifting the seedlings, water the seedbed thoroughly to help lift the seedlings with soil.
2. Transplanting
2.1 Transplanting period
Generally, transplanting is carried out about 1 month after sowing, when 4-6 true leaves have grown.
2.2 Land preparation, fertilization, and transplanting Choose loam and sandy loam with good drainage and irrigation, deep plow layer, loose and fertile soil texture, and strong water and fertilizer retention for planting. 3-5 days before transplanting, promptly clear field residues and weeds. Apply 1200 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer, 1 kg of boron fertilizer, 40 kg of imported compound fertilizer, or 70 kg of special vegetable fertilizer per mu. Mix the base fertilizer into the plow layer by rotary tillage, then level and make beds after deep plowing. Bed width is 1.3-1.5 m (including ditches), with small high ridges 15 cm high. Plant in double rows, with row spacing of 50-60 cm and plant spacing of 40-50 cm, planting 2300-2700 plants per mu.
3. Field management 3.1 Topdressing
According to the fertilizer requirements of broccoli and in combination with soil testing and formulated fertilization technology, in addition to sufficient base fertilizer, generally 2-3 topdressings are needed. The first topdressing is 10 days after transplanting, applying 10-15 kg of urea per mu, followed by watering to wet the soil, which helps plant absorption and prompts the seedlings to close rows early; the second topdressing is when the flower bud diameter is 2-3 cm, applying 25-30 kg of high-quality compound fertilizer and 5-10 kg of potassium chloride per mu. At the beginning of the budding stage, apply the third topdressing, using 30 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per mu, combined with 1-2 foliar sprays of 0.1% boron fertilizer, to improve head quality and reduce the occurrence of yellow buds and browned buds.
3.2 Watering
Broccoli has relatively high water requirements. After transplanting, water well to establish the plants. After each topdressing, water in time. After the rosette stage, leaf transpiration is large, so the amount of water should be appropriately increased. During the budding stage, the principle in the field is to keep the soil moist. Stop watering 7 days before harvest.
3.3 Removing side branches
After broccoli revives, side buds begin to grow from the leaf axils and should be removed in time to prevent nutrient loss. In particular, the seedling hardening stage and rosette stage are also periods of vigorous side branch growth. Generally, remove them promptly when they are 1-2 cm long. The earlier the side branches are removed, the better. However, in order to carry out the 2nd-3rd harvest, when the main head has just appeared, 3-5 vigorous side branches can be retained on the upper middle part of the main head to form side-branch heads. 7-10 days before harvesting the main head, apply an appropriate amount of topdressing together with watering, so as to harvest larger side-branch heads, extend the harvest period, and increase yield.
3.4 Harvest
When the top flower bud head has fully expanded, the flower buds are relatively neat, the color is uniform, the whole head remains compact and intact, and it is bright green, it is the suitable harvest period. The suitable harvest period for broccoli is very short, so it must be harvested in time. If harvested too early, the bud head has not yet fully developed and grown, resulting in reduced yield; if harvested too late, the bud head has become loose, the head surface is uneven, and the buds are coarse and loose, even revealing yellow petals, and freshness will decline rapidly, quality will deteriorate, and thus commercial value will be reduced. When harvesting, cut the top bud head with 10 cm of stem, remove the outer leaf stalks (2 small leaves may be retained), and then it can be packaged and shipped to market for sale. Broccoli grown using soil testing and formulated fertilization technology increased yield by nearly 20%, and quality also improved. The output value rose from about 4000 yuan per mu to about 8000 yuan.
4. Pest and disease control 4.1 Pest control
The main pests of broccoli are diamondback moth, cabbage caterpillar, aphids, etc. The control methods are: rational layout, avoiding long-term continuous cropping of cruciferous vegetables, and clearing field residues. For biological control, use black light lamps to trap and kill adults, yellow boards to trap aphids, and other traps to kill insects. For chemical control, use 5% pyrethroid emulsifiable concentrate 1000-fold solution, BT powder wettable powder 1000-fold solution spray, Abamectin, and other pesticides for spraying. A small amount of washing powder can be added to the pesticide. If green leafhoppers occur heavily, use leafhopper powder.
4.2 Disease control
Disease types: mainly downy mildew, soft rot, damping-off, seedling blight, black spot, bacterial black rot, etc. Control methods: choose varieties with strong disease resistance, deeply plow and sun-bleach the soil, and apply an appropriate amount of lime for improvement. For chemical control, use 70% mancozeb wettable powder 600-800-fold solution, or metalaxyl 400-600-fold solution for spraying, or 72% agricultural streptomycin wettable powder 3000-4000-fold solution, or new streptomycin 4000-fold solution and other agents applied alternately or mixed. Spray 2-3 times continuously.