Motherwort Planting Techniques and Management Methods
Motherwort, also known as: tui, chongwei, kuncao, jiuchonglou, yunmucao, sendi , Latin scientific name: Leonurus artemisia (Laur.) S. Y. Hu F, is a plant of the Lamiaceae family, genus Leonurus, flowering in summer. Its dried aerial parts are a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, produced in most regions of China, used raw or boiled into a paste. This annual or biennial herb is distributed in most regions nationwide, growing in mountain wastelands, field ridges, grasslands, and other places. It is harvested in summer when it grows luxuriantly and the flowers are not yet fully open. Its taste is pungent and bitter, cool in nature; it invigorates blood, removes stasis, regulates menstruation, and reduces water retention. It treats irregular menstruation in women, threatened miscarriage and difficult labor, retained placenta, postpartum dizziness, blood stasis abdominal pain, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, hematuria, bloody diarrhea, and carbuncles and sores.
Motherwort Planting Conditions
Motherwort prefers a warm and humid climate and sunlight. It has low requirements for soil; general soil and barren hillside land can both be used for planting, with relatively fertile soil being better. It needs sufficient water conditions, but should not be waterlogged, as it fears waterlogging. It grows in various environments, at altitudes up to 3400 m, and is distributed in wild wastelands, roadsides, field ridges, hillside grasslands, riversides, and other places, mostly in sunny spots.
I. Motherwort Planting Techniques:
1. Seed preparation: Motherwort is propagated by seed, planted by direct sowing. Before sowing, mix the seeds with wood ash or fine soil mixed fertilizer, then treat the seeds with human and animal manure and urine plus Xin Gaozhi Mo (New High-Fat Film), to repel underground pests and diseases, isolate viral infection, strengthen respiratory intensity, and increase the seed germination rate. Select fresh seeds of the current year with a germination rate generally above 80%. For hole sowing, generally prepare 400-450 g of seeds per mu; for drill sowing, prepare 500-600 g per mu.
2. Land preparation: Prepare the land before sowing. Apply 1500-2000 kg of compost or decomposed barnyard manure per mu as base fertilizer. After application, plow and turn, then harrow fine and level. For drill sowing, make high beds 130 cm wide; for hole sowing, beds may be omitted, but in both cases, large and small drainage ditches should be opened well according to the terrain and local conditions.
3. Sowing: After preparing the land and sowing, spray the soil surface with Xin Gaozhi Mo at 600-800 times dilution, which can preserve soil moisture, prevent water evaporation, protect against sun and drought, prevent soil compaction, suffocate and isolate pest and disease sources, and increase the emergence rate. Also thin and fill in seedlings in time, cultivate and weed, topdress and water. During the rainy season when rainwater is concentrated, prevent waterlogging and pay attention to timely drainage. Also spray Xin Gaozhi Mo on the plant surface to enhance fertilizer efficiency, prevent pathogen infection, improve resistance to natural disasters, improve photosynthetic efficiency, and protect seedlings as they grow strong. Also spray Shucai Zhuangjing Ling (Vegetable Stem Strengthening Spirit) at the appropriate time to make plant stems thick and strong and the plants lush. At the same time, it can improve disaster resistance, reduce the amount of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and lower residual toxicity. At the same time, strengthen integrated control of pests and diseases, following the principle of treating disease when present, killing insects when present, and preventing when absent, and spray Xin Gaozhi Mo to enhance control effects.
II. Field Management of Motherwort:
1. Thinning and filling in seedlings: Begin thinning when seedlings are about 5 cm tall, then carry out 2-3 more thinnings successively, and finalize the stand when seedlings are 15-20 cm tall. For drill sowing, keep seedlings in a staggered pattern with a plant spacing of about 10 cm; for hole sowing, keep 2-3 seedlings per hole. If missing seedlings are found during thinning, transplant and fill in promptly.
2. Cultivation and weeding: For spring sowing, cultivate and weed 3 times, respectively when seedlings are about 5 cm, 15 cm, and 30 cm tall; for summer sowing, carry out timely according to plant growth; for autumn sowing, carry out the first cultivation and weeding in the current year when seedlings have grown 3-4 true leaves, and in the following year cultivate and weed three more times, with the same method as spring sowing. When cultivating and weeding, do not plow too deep, so as not to damage the roots; when cultivating during the seedling stage, protect the seedlings well, prevent them from being pressed by clods, and do not bruise the seedling stems; after the last cultivation, mound soil to protect the roots.
3. Topdressing: After each cultivation and weeding, topdress once and water. Nitrogen fertilizer is best, using urea, ammonium sulfate, cake fertilizer, or human and animal manure and urine, all of which are acceptable. When topdressing, pay attention to watering, and by no means use fertilizer that is too concentrated, so as not to damage the seedlings. Especially when applying cake fertilizer, it is emphasized that it should be broken up, thoroughly decomposed with water, diluted with water, and then applied. During the rainy season when rainwater is concentrated, prevent waterlogging and pay attention to timely drainage.