Planting technology and cultivation management of Fritillaria cirrhosa

Fritillaria cirrhosa is one of the precious medicinal materials with a wide range of medicinal effects and is well-known both at home and abroad. It is mainly distributed in large areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, Tibet and Gansu on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. However, due to long-term reliance on wild resources, resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Now more and more people are beginning to artificially cultivate Fritillaria cirrhosa, and the prospects for its cultivation are good. Let’s learn about the planting techniques and cultivation management of Fritillaria cirrhosa.

1. Site selection and land preparation

Site selection: Choose a shady or semi-shady mountain that is sheltered from the wind. The soil should be deep, loose, and rich in humus, with loam or oily sand being preferred.

Land preparation: Before freezing, remove weeds from the ground, plow deeply and harrow finely, and make 100 cm wide beds. Apply 1,500 kg of compost and manure, 50 kg of superphosphate, and 100 kg of oil cake per 667 square meters. After the compost is fermented, spread it on the bed surface and turn it shallowly, making the bed surface into a bow shape.

2. Seedling cultivation and sowing

Seedling cultivation: Fritillaria cirrhosa is mainly propagated by seeds. Select bulbs with a diameter of more than 1 cm, free of disease and damage as seeds.

When digging Fritillaria from June to July, plant them according to large, medium and small grades, using 100 kg of bulbs per 667 square meters. Starting from the second year after planting, spray Zhencaoning before seedlings emerge in March every year. Pull out weeds in time and apply diluted human and animal manure after seedlings emerge in early April. Apply fertilizer again from late April to early May.

From July to August, the fruit is full and swollen, the shell is yellow-brown or brown, and the fruit is cut off when the seeds are dry and pulpy for after-ripening.

Sowing: Sow before snow in late September to October. You can use row sowing, broadcast sowing or capsule petal sowing.

Row sowing: dig horizontal furrows on the bed surface, 1.5 to 2 cm deep, spread the seeds mixed with fine soil or wood ash evenly in the furrows, cover with 3 cm of finely sieved humus soil, and cover the bed surface with mountain grass or leafless branches . Use 2 to 2.5 kg of seeds per 667 square meters.

Broadcasting: Spread the seeds evenly on the bed surface, 3000 to 5000 seeds per square meter, and the covering method is the same as row sowing.

Spot sowing: Do it before the fruit dries up. Divide the undried fruit into 3 petals, dig holes with a plant spacing of 5 to 6 cm, add 1 petal to each hole, and cover with 3 cm of soil.

3. Cultivation and management

Building a shed: Fritillaria cirrhosa needs appropriate shade during its growing period. After sowing and before seedlings emerge in spring, remove the covering on the bed surface and build sheds to provide shade. The shade degree is 50% to 70% in the first year, reduced to 50% in the second year, and 30% in the third year. No shading is required in the harvest year.

Weeding: The seedlings are delicate, so weeds should be removed frequently without damaging them. Use chlorpyrifos to weed once every spring before seedlings emerge and once in autumn after seedlings fall.

Top dressing: After transplanting seedlings in autumn, use humus and farmyard manure for every 667 square meters, add 25 kg of superphosphate and mix them to cover the bed surface with a thickness of 3 cm, then cover the bed surface with scaffolding branches, bamboo shoots, etc. to keep the Fritillaria from overwintering.

Irrigation and drainage: 1-2 year old Fritillaria is most afraid of drought, especially in spring when there is no rain for a long time. Watering should be done in time to keep the soil moist. After prolonged rain or heavy rain, attention should be paid to drainage and waterlogging prevention.

4. Prevention and control of pests and diseases

Diseases:

Rust: The main disease, mostly occurs in May and June. Prevention and control methods : Select an area far away from wheat crops for planting, remove diseased and damaged tissues when preparing the land, apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizers or reduce field humidity.

Damping-off disease: harms seedlings and occurs in the rainy season in spring. Prevention and control methods: Pay attention to drainage, adjust the shade, remove the shed cover on rainy days, and spray with Bordeaux liquid.

Root rot: occurs in May and June, and the roots turn yellow and rot. Prevention and control methods: pay attention to drainage, adjust shade, remove diseased plants, and irrigate with 5% lime water .

Pests:

Wireworms and white grubs: damage plants from April to June. Prevention and control methods: Use water boiled from tobacco leaves for irrigation, or use chlordane emulsifiable concentrate mixed with soil or poured into the soil for prevention and control.

Cutworms: eat stems and leaves. Prevention and control methods: capture in the morning and evening or kill with 90% crystal dichlorvos mixed with poison bait.

5. Harvesting and Processing

Harvesting: Both cultivated and wild Fritillaria cirrhosa are harvested in June and July. For domestic Fritillaria, those propagated by seeds can be harvested in the 3rd or 4th year after sowing. Those propagated by bulbs can be harvested after the seedlings fall down in June or July of the second year after sowing.

Processing: Fritillaria should not be washed with water. After being dug out, it should be spread out on a drying mat in time. It is best if it can be half-dried in one day and completely dry the next day. Avoid drying on stone dams, cement or ironware, and avoid piling up to ferment. If it rains, you can store the Fritillaria bulbs in sandy soil with less moisture and wait until a sunny day to dry them quickly. You can also use anthracite fire to heat the kang, and control the temperature below 50℃.

6. Shape of medicinal materials

Pine shell: It is conical or nearly spherical, with a yellow-white surface. The outer scale leaf has two petals, which are of different sizes. The large petal tightly embraces the small petal, and the unembraced part is crescent-shaped, commonly known as "the moon in the arms".

Green mussel: It is in the shape of a flat sphere, with two outer scales of similar size, relatively embraced, cracked at the top, containing a heart bud and 2 to 3 small scales and a thin cylindrical residual stem.

In general, Fritillaria cirrhosa is a precious medicinal plant, and its cultivation and management require delicate operations. The above are the key points of cultivation and management of Fritillaria cirrhosa to ensure its healthy growth and high-quality harvest.