Standardized and High-yielding planting techniques of Coix

Coix, commonly known as Coix rice, Coix seed and medicinal corn, is an annual or perennial herb of Gramineae. It has the functions of clearing heat, diuresis, removing dampness, expelling pus, tonifying the lung, strengthening the spleen and stomach, strengthening muscles and bones, relieving spasm, lowering blood pressure and so on. Recently, it has been known that Coix seed contains coixenolide and coixenol, which has good anticancer effect. It is not only the most ideal tonic for both medicine and food, but also the raw material for making cool drinks in summer.

I. growth habits

Coix prefers a warm and slightly humid climate, but it is very adaptable. The requirement to the soil is not strict, the general soil can be planted, but the sunny and fertile sandy loam is suitable. According to the actual situation of agricultural production in China, Coix, as a unique cash crop, because of its short growth time, low technical content, extensive management and tight market, it is especially suitable for large-scale mechanized planting and production of large-scale wetlands, barren hills, barren slopes, ridges and lakes, and has good economic and social benefits.

Second, "thin shell red clothes" Coix varieties

The medium-ripe Coix varieties for export to Japan and South Korea, selected from wild Coix in 2004, are characterized by thin shell, 65% rice yield, light red or light white inner seed coat, strong stem, strong lodging resistance and high yield. The fruit is ovate, the surface is light brown or brown, there is a dark brown style at the top, the base is slightly concave and the 1000-grain weight is 132 grams, which is suitable for large area standardized base planting, machine harvesting, extensive management and wet planting.

3. Seed treatment

Put the seeds in the sun for two days before sowing, then soak them in water for 24 hours, remove and drain the water, and treat them with 20% strychnine and 0.4% of the seed amount, which can 100% prevent the harm of Coix smut to Coix in recent years.

4. Sowing method

The seeds can be sowed when the average temperature is stable at 15 ℃, either in spring or in summer, and the effect of seedling raising and transplanting is better if sowing in summer. Direct seeding or hole sowing can be used if planting in a small area. Hole sowing according to plant spacing 27 cm, row spacing 30 cm, 4-5 seeds per hole, 4 kg per mu; direct seeding according to row spacing 50cm shallow trench, ditch depth 3cm, ditch bottom required flat, seeds are evenly scattered into the ditch, covered with fine soil, in order to cover the seed for the degree, and then cover the soil flat and trample. Spring sowing in late April, summer sowing in late May to early June, no later than late June at the latest. Planting in a large area should be sown with caution, according to the row spacing of 50 cm, 2 kg of seeds per mu, and more than 100 mu of seeds can be sowed every day.

V. Field management

1. Seedling colonization. When the seedlings had 2-3 true leaves, the seedlings were interspersed for the first time, the dense seedlings and weak seedlings were removed, and the plant spacing was kept at 4-7 cm. When the seedlings had 5-6 true leaves, the seedlings were fixed according to the plant spacing of 13-16cm.

2. Ploughing and weeding. Generally ploughing and weeding twice. The first time was carried out when the seedling height was 6-7cm to promote more tillers; the second time when the seedling height was 16-20cm; and then combined with fertilization to loosen the soil.

3. Fertilize and cultivate the soil. Topdressing is carried out in two stages. For the first time, when the seedling height was 4-7cm, rare human fecal urine 1000kg was applied per mu to promote seedling growth, more tillering and early tillering. The second time was carried out at about 35cm of seedling height or at booting stage, applying human feces and urine 1500kg per mu to promote plant growth and benefit booting. If there is no human feces and urine, urea 10kg plus superphosphate 20kg can be selected for topdressing. Soil cultivation is carried out in combination with fertilization when the seedling height is about 35cm, which is beneficial to root growth in order to prevent lodging.

4. Watering to promote growth. Water management is the key to obtain high and stable yield of Coix. Coix is similar to corn and sorghum, people are used to think that it is a dry land crop, and it is also cultivated in dry land, so the yield per mu is low. Through years of planting in our institute, it has been proved that Coix is not only a dry field crop but also a swamp crop. In order to obtain high and stable yield, we must jump out of the misunderstanding of dry land cultivation and adopt wet cultivation method. If planting in dry land, attention must be paid to watering, and the scientific method of "wet at both ends and dry in the middle" can be used when watering. That is to say, the soil is required to be moist in the early stage of growth, so that the seedlings are full and strong; in the later stage of tillering, the field should be drained and shelved to control invalid tillers; at booting stage, irrigation should be timely and sufficient water should be irrigated (several droughts in this period, the number of heading decreases greatly, the number of empty grains increases, and the yield decreases obviously). No water can be irrigated 10 days before harvest to facilitate harvest.

5. Remove the foot leaves. After the end of the jointing of Coix, the leaves below the first branch and invalid tillers were picked together, which was beneficial to ventilation and heat dissipation, made the stem stout, and had a certain effect on preventing lodging.

6. Auxiliary pollination. Coix is generally pollinated naturally by wind, but the pollination rate is low, the yield is unstable and there are many empty seeds. We have adopted artificial pollination measures in recent years, and the effect is good. The specific method is to vibrate the plant with sticks or ropes at 9: 00 noon every day during the flowering period of Coix, so as to make the pollen fly, which has an obvious effect on improving the fruit rate. If possible, the blower can also be used for artificial wind pollination, and the effect is better. 

VI. Harvest and processing

Coix has strong branching and inconsistent seed maturation. It can be harvested when the leaves in the middle and lower parts of the plant turn yellow and 80% of the seeds are mature. The harvest will be carried out on a sunny day, stand the plant for a few days after harvest, and use a threshing machine for threshing. If planted in a large area, it can be harvested at one time with a combine harvester through a variety of trial machines, and the harvested seeds will be exposed to the sun in a clean field until all are dry. Then put it in a ventilated place to remove the shell and impurities, separate the fuller Coix shell in the upwind and the thinner one in the downwind, and then sell it. If the quantity is large, the air separator can be used for classification, and the ones with better quality can be directly exported to Japan and South Korea with higher economic benefits.