Cultivation techniques of dandelion

Dandelion, alias mother-in-law, milk grass, etc., is an annual herb of Compositae. The whole herb can be used as medicine, with the effect of clearing away heat and detoxification, eliminating carbuncle and dispersing knot. In addition to medicine, dandelion seedlings and leaves can be eaten raw, salad, fried food, soup, salted pickles and so on. Dandelion is widely distributed, mainly produced in Hebei, Henan, Anhui and other places, and can be planted in most other areas of our country.

Dandelions are generally 15-25cm tall and have vertical roots. Leaves spreading, rosette-shaped, leaf blade narrow and long, wide 3cm. There is a head at the top of the flower stem, with yellow ligulate flowers, and when the fruit is ripe, it forms a white fluffy ball, and the fruit with crown hair can drift away with the wind.

First, the growth characteristics of dandelion has strong adaptability, like light and cold resistance, heat resistance, cold resistance and barren resistance, strong disease resistance, less occurrence of diseases and insect pests, which can be cultivated in most areas of our country.

Soil preparation and fertilization dandelion is not strict on soil conditions, but it still likes fertile, moist, loose and high organic matter content soil. Therefore, when planting dandelion, apply sufficient base fertilizer combined with soil preparation: 3000-5000 kg of farm fertilizer and 50 kg of compound fertilizer per 667m2. Dandelion should be turned over to make a bed before sowing, with a width of 80-90 cm. Shallow trenches are opened in the border, 12 cm apart and 10 cm wide.

Third, sow dandelion and reproduce with seeds. Mature dandelion seeds have no dormancy period. When the temperature is above 15 ℃, the seeds can be sown in moist soil. It can sprout after about 90 hours. Seeds germinate quickly when the soil temperature is about 15 ℃, and slowly when the soil temperature is above 25-30 ℃, so seeds can be sowed from early spring to midsummer. Sowing immediately after the seeds were harvested at the end of May takes 10-12 days from sowing to emergence, and 15 days from sowing to emergence from July to August in summer. The sowing rate is generally about 3 grams per square meter, and there are 700-1000 seedlings that can be protected. Sowing requires moist soil, such as dry soil, and water thoroughly two days before sowing. Then sow the seeds in the ditch and cover the soil after sowing. The soil is 0.3-0.5 cm thick. Spring sowing is best covered with plastic film, summer sowing Rain Water is sufficient, but not covered.

Fourth, field management after sowing, if the soil surface is not covered, it should be often watered to keep the soil moist to ensure the whole seedling. After emergence, the soil should always have proper moisture. In the growing season, topdressing should be done 1-2 times. Dandelion has strong resistance to disease and insect pests, generally does not need to carry out pest control, the focus of field management is mainly fertilizer and water.

5. Once harvested or not harvested in the first year of harvest and processing, the outer large leaves can be picked and eaten in batches at the seedling stage or the leaves other than the heart leaves can be cut with a knife. Since the second year, it will be cut every 15 to 20 days. When the leaf base reaches 10~15cm, the whole plant can be cut at one time, tied up and listed on the market. It can be harvested two or four times a year, that is, two times in spring and two times in autumn. If it is sold as a medicinal material, the whole grass with roots can be picked in late autumn and the soil can be shaken to dry.