Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Sowing and Raising Lotus Root Seedlings

I believe everyone is familiar with lotus root. It has high nutritional value and good taste, and its planting area has been expanding in recent years. However, growing lotus root is not simple. Below, let me walk you through the sowing and seedling-raising techniques for lotus root.

1. Seed Selection

There are many varieties of lotus root. You should choose seeds of varieties that are suitable for local growing conditions and local consumption habits. When selecting, choose healthy buds of the same variety; lotus roots with disease should preferably not be used, or used as little as possible. After selecting, disinfect the seeds with a medicinal solution before use; you can use carbendazim diluted with water at 500-800 times for disinfection. After selecting seed lotus roots with healthy buds, cut the seed lotus root at a point 2cm from the bud point, disinfect the cut, and place it in a cool, ventilated place to dry off the solution until ready for planting.

2. Sowing

The seedbed should be a field plot that is sheltered from the wind, faces the sun, and is convenient for irrigation and drainage. Before sowing, apply 2000-3000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu to help the plot retain heat and promote seedling growth. Sowing can be carried out once the local temperature is stable above 10 degrees, generally in February to March. When sowing, pay attention to classification: place large-bud lotus roots together in one field and small-bud lotus roots together in another field, with a plant and row spacing of 5cm×10cm to make later management easier. After planting, maintaining a suitable greenhouse environment is the key to ensuring seedling survival. In the early stage, growth is relatively slow at excessive temperatures; cover with film to keep warm at low temperatures, and ventilate at high temperatures to prevent leaf scorch.

3. Field Management

When the seedlings grow to the stage of one leaf and one whip, they can be transplanted to the main field. Before transplanting and emergence, spray the seedbed once with a disease-prevention solution; you can use 1 kg of 50% carbendazim powder mixed with soil and broadcast, or spray a 1000-times solution of 70% thiophanate-methyl. After transplanting, when the first standing leaf emerges, apply 15-20 kg of urea per mu; when the leaves stop emerging, apply 30-40 kg of urea and 30 kg of potassium fertilizer per mu, or apply 50-60 kg of compound fertilizer. During the lotus root formation stage, appropriately spraying foliar fertilizer and potassium dihydrogen phosphate can promote lotus root enlargement. In the early growth stage, when temperatures are low, the water layer should be shallow to help the ground temperature rise. Before the standing leaves emerge, keep the water layer at 5-10 cm; during the vigorous growth stage, gradually deepen the water layer to 20 cm. In the late growth stage, the water layer should be controlled at about 5 cm to promote lotus root enlargement.

The above is an introduction to lotus root sowing and seedling-raising techniques. I hope it helps you. For more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.