What are the uses and cultivation techniques of sphagnum moss?
Sphagnum moss is also called water moss or peat moss; it is actually a type of bryophyte, but many people do not know what this plant is good for. So what are theuses of sphagnum moss? What are itscultivation techniques?
1. Uses of sphagnum moss
Sphagnum moss is very soft in texture and has extremely strong water absorption capacity, absorbing 15--20 times its own weight in water; it has the characteristics of retaining water for a relatively long time while still being breathable. It is mainly used as a culture medium for precious flowers and plants, and can improve the breathability and moisture retention of the medium; it can be placed on top of the medium of potted flowers and trees to retain moisture, or placed at the bottom of the pot to prevent fine particulate medium from being lost, improve the moisture retention of the medium, and enhance the breathability of the bottom of the pot. It is widely used in the cultivation of various orchids and is one of the excellent materials for growing and cultivating precious flowers. In addition to being used in military first-aid kits and as a substitute for absorbent cotton, it is also used in the transport of live aquatic products and refined into food preservation materials.
2. Cultivation techniques for sphagnum moss
1. Introduction of planting material
Choose mainly local wild seed sources; using foreign sources will cause the seedlings to fail to adapt to environmental changes and reduce the survival rate. For every 667 sq m (1 mu), introduce 1000-1500 jin of live seed, or after harvesting sphagnum moss, leave small seedlings to continue growing.
2. Site selection
It is advisable to choose cool mountainous areas at an altitude of 800—1300 m, with a year-round water temperature in the range of 8 degrees C-15 degrees C, and a pH value of 5.5-7.5, for cultivation in acidic sandy cold waterlogged fields; it should be ensured that the water source of the cultivation site is pollution-free, that is, there is no industrial wastewater or domestic sewage, and there are no villages, rice fields, or vegetable fields above the field plots.
3. Ditching and bed division
In order to facilitate bed shaping, drain all the water before opening the beds, and wait until the bed ditches are finished before irrigating the field. The bed ditches are required to be 30 cm wide and 30 cm deep, and the bed surface width is 1.2-1.5 m. When digging the ditches, scoop out the thin mud from the bed ditches and place it on the bed surface to level it. When preparing the field, make sure the bed ditches and side ditches are connected, the beds are level and the ditches are straight, so that good irrigation capacity is achieved.
4. Sowing
Evenly scatter collected wild sphagnum moss seedlings on the bed surface; longer ones can be cut with a knife into small sections of about 5 cm and evenly scattered on the bed surface, then lightly pressed with a wooden roller so that the sphagnum moss stem sections are in full and close contact with the soil. After planting is completed, irrigate immediately, so that the ditches are full of water and the bed surface is moist. Keep the field filled with water year-round without interruption; lack of water will cause yellowing and death of seedlings or stop growth.
5. Field management
Water and fertilizer: generally no fertilizer at all is applied when growing sphagnum moss; the bed ditches should be kept full and the beds moist year-round to prevent the bed surface from drying out and cracking, which would affect the growth of sphagnum moss.
Manual weeding: field weeds are removed manually two to three times a year. Two months after sowing, when the sphagnum moss seedlings have grown to 5 cm, weeds can be cut manually with a sickle; be sure not to pull them by hand, as hand weeding can easily remove the seedlings together with the weeds. When the seedlings have grown to more than 15 cm, when cutting weeds manually with a sickle, cut level with the sphagnum moss; for fields planted for many years, the number of weedings depends on the growth of the weeds.
Chemical weeding: in the second year of sphagnum moss cultivation, when the weeds are taller than the sphagnum moss, irrigate to submerge the sphagnum moss on the bed surface; when the seedlings are about 3-5 cm tall, glyphosate can be sprayed on the foliage of the weeds exposed above the water surface, so that the weeds absorb the pesticide through their leaves to achieve the weeding effect. Chemical weeding is generally carried out only once.
6. Harvesting
After about 1 year of sowing, the sphagnum moss (peat moss) has grown to maturity. Harvest by manual pulling, or by cutting with a knife the parts more than 1 cm above the ground. You can harvest the commercial moss and leave short small pieces as seed seedlings, or harvest everything and replant. After the first harvest when small seedlings are left, immediately clean the bed ditches and side ditches, and strengthen water management and weed management, so that it can be harvested every year.
High-altitude, shady and cold-water areas are the most suitable areas for growing sphagnum moss. As long as field management is done well, the planting returns are also relatively good, and growers can choose whether to plant according to their own circumstances.