The value and cultivation techniques of Lycium barbarum

Lycium barbarum is a deciduous shrub of Lycium barbarum in Solanaceae. It is not only a good tree species for soil and water conservation, but also an important traditional Chinese medicine. It is covered with treasures, and its leaves, fruits and skins can be used as medicine. The fruit is called Chinese wolfberry; the root bark is called ground bone bark; its tender stems and leaves can be used as vegetables. "Compendium of Materia Medica" said that Chinese wolfberry "thorns such as wolfberry thorns, stems such as barbs, so also known as". It is distributed all over our country, mostly wild. There are two cultivated species in China: one is Ningxia Lycium barbarum, which is used for food or medicine, which is mainly distributed in Gansu, Ningxia, Hexi Corridor and North China, Tianjin, Shandong, Henan and other places; the other species is Chinese wolfberry, which uses tender stems and leaves for food. Alias Chinese wolfberry vegetable, Chinese wolfberry head, Chinese wolfberry tip, Niu Jili and so on, mainly distributed in Guangxi and Guangdong.

1 characteristics of Lycium barbarum L.

1.1 Botanical characteristics. The horizontal root of Lycium barbarum plant is well developed, and the taproot is weak; the cutting plant of 1-year-old and 2-year-old has no main root and has many but shallow whisker roots. The adult plants are generally 1.5-2m tall, with drooping, vertical or spreading branches, with needles and short internodes. The leaf shape is lanceolate, long lanceolate, broad-leaf needle-shaped or ovate, all green, simple, alternate, petiole short. The varieties that harvest fruit have finer leaf shape, larger leaf shape and larger leaf shape. Leaf varieties can be divided into fine leaves and large leaves, fine leaf varieties have thicker mesophyll, strong taste and high quality, while large leaf varieties have thinner mesophyll and lighter taste, but higher yield. Flowers are complete, axillary, usually 2-8 fascicled, but also solitary. Corolla purplish red, tubular. The fruit is a berry. Bright red when mature, some orange-red or orange-yellow. The Chinese wolfberry harvested can blossom and bear fruit in the same year and last for as long as 50 years. Chinese wolfberry leaves are propagated by cuttings every year and generally do not blossom and bear fruit.

1.2 growth habits. Light-loving, drought-tolerant, cold-resistant and alkali-tolerant, it can grow on loess cliffs and the edge of sand wasteland, mainly distributed in hills, hillsides, roadsides, ditches or ridges, suitable for all kinds of soil cultivation. South of Liaoning, north of Yunnan, east from Taiwan, west to Gansu, it is a widely distributed tree species, which is the most famous and has a long history in Zhongning area of Ningxia.

2 the utilization value of Lycium barbarum

2.1 function of soil and water conservation. Lycium barbarum is a kind of excellent soil and water conservation shrub on the steep slope of arid steep bank, its aboveground part grows rapidly, the upper end of the plant has dense branches and leaves, and the lower end of withered branches crisscross, close to the slope wall, which can slow down the surface runoff. The root system of the underground part is strong, the depth of the main root is more than 10 meters, the lateral root is developed, it is concentrated at the depth of 1 m in the soil layer, and the horizontal root width can reach 6 m. The effect of soil consolidation is great, which can effectively prevent the slope from collapsing.

2.2 Medicinal value. Chinese wolfberry is often used in traditional Chinese medicine, and the root bark (bark of ground bone) is an antipyretic and antitussive drug, which can solve tuberculous damp-heat. Fruit (Chinese wolfberry) for nourishing strong medicine, tonifying liver and blood, tonifying essence and helping yang, moistening lung and relieving cough, has the effect of treating diabetes, pulmonary tuberculosis, weakness, thinness and eyesight.

2.3 rich nutritional value. Edible, vegetable or fodder. Chinese wolfberry has a sweet and bitter taste and has a unique flavor. It is determined that Chinese wolfberry contains 14 kinds of amino acids and a large amount of carotene, alkaloids, acid lycopene and linoleic acid. It also contains betaine, niacin, taurine, vitamin B, vitamin C, as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron and other substances. There are many ways to eat Chinese wolfberry, such as chewing directly, soaking tea and wine, porridge, soup and so on. Chinese wolfberry leaves are edible and produce vegetables in early spring. The cooking methods of Chinese wolfberry leaves are simple and diverse: they can be fried, salad and soup, especially suitable for shabu pan. It is an ideal ingredient for eating hot pot in winter. As a forage grass, its nutritional value is higher than that of sweet clover.

2.4 the function of beauty and health care. Often eat Chinese wolfberry can be cosmetic, because Chinese wolfberry is tonifying the kidney, the kidney is the congenital foundation, is the source of life of the human body, kidney function is good, all parts of the body can function normally, the complexion will be ruddy and white. In addition, Chinese wolfberry can improve the ability of skin to absorb nutrients and play a role in whitening and beauty care. For modern people with a fast pace of life and great competitive pressure, the most practical effect of Chinese wolfberry is to enhance the body's immunity, resist fatigue and lower blood pressure. In addition, Chinese wolfberry can protect the liver, reduce blood sugar, soften blood vessels, reduce the level of cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood, and has a certain curative effect on patients with fatty liver and diabetes. According to clinical medicine, Chinese wolfberry can also treat chronic renal failure.

2.5 squeeze oil. Chinese wolfberry seeds can be squeezed oil, oil is semi-dry, can be used as the raw material of lubricating oil.

3 main points of cultivation techniques

3.1 methods of reproduction. Propagate by cutting or dividing roots with seeds or branches. Cutting propagation is the easiest.

3.1.1 Cuttage propagation. After April every year, Chinese wolfberry is no longer harvested when it enters the slow growth stage. After all the plants have fallen leaves, bundle up the branches, stop fertilizing and watering, and inhibit the growth over the summer. It began to grow again after August, when the robust one-year-old branches were cut into 10~15cm cuttings with 3 to 5 buds, and the lower end was cut into a slope, which was inserted into the soil or substrate, and the insertion depth was about 2 times of that of cuttings. It can take root in about 10 days, and transplant after survival, and the row spacing of the plant is 15~20cm.

3.1.2 split root propagation. In the northern part of China, the seedlings sprouting near the mother plant can be dug out by the roots in November or the middle of March next year, and planted in the ditch, and planted in the first ten days of April. There are 1-3 seedlings per hole with row spacing of 40cm × (500.60) cm. After planting, the cave soil should be firm and fully watered.

3.1.3 seed reproduction. Chinese wolfberry is easy to bear fruit, and the yield is very high, but open harvest, there will be natural cross variation, so it must be isolated. The ripe fruit was dried in the shade after harvest and stored in a dry and frozen room. in the middle of February of the following year, the fruit was mashed, rinsed with water to select seeds, mixed with 2 times of fine sand, piled in a cold chamber, often turned and kept moist. Seed propagation is mainly used when it is introduced from a long distance and it is inconvenient to carry cutting branches. Two kinds of strip sowing or hole sowing can be adopted and sown in late March to April after soil thawing in spring, the earlier the better. Sowing depth 1~3cm. In the seedling stage, the aboveground part of Chinese wolfberry is low, and it is easy to be eaten by livestock and uprooted by roots, so grazing must be banned after sowing.

3.1.4 Seedling transplantation. Seedlings can be raised in four seasons, but spring and autumn are the best.

3.2 key points of cultivation and management. The cultivation of Chinese wolfberry is relatively easy, the planting method is simple, easy to manage, not easy to occur diseases and insect pests. Can be directly cut in the cultivation border, or you can first cut seedlings, and then transplant. This can reduce the cost of production. During cultivation, the application of organic fertilizer in 667m2 should not be less than that of 2500kg and compound fertilizer 50kg.

3.2.1 cultivation depth. Due to different soil conditions, it can be 1.5m in barren land, 2m in flat land and 2m in fertile land.

3.2.2 soil and water and fertilizer management

Like other fruit trees, deep ploughing can loosen the soil and make the deep soil well ventilated. The planting of Lycium barbarum for 2-5 years is the initial fruiting stage, and deep turning can truncate the main root of Lycium barbarum, which is beneficial to the germination of new branches. Timely ploughing and weeding to prevent weeds, compete with plants for fertilizer and spread diseases and insect pests. Chinese wolfberry should be fertilized twice a year, and the fertilization time should be controlled from defoliation to pre-germination, topdressing during flowering and fruit setting period, and it is best to combine fertilization with irrigation when there are conditions. Lycium barbarum bogey multi-wet and poor drainage, but too dry and affect its growth and development, timely drainage and irrigation should be carried out according to local conditions.

3.2.3 plastic pruning. Lycium barbarum entered the full fruit stage from the fifth year, so its plastic surgery must be completed before the fourth year of planting. All the branches were cut short in the same year, and 4-5 well-developed buds were left on each branch, and the lateral branches and extended branches were thinned and cut in the second and third year. Make the branches grow sturdy, dense and uniform, well ventilated and transparent. Pruning is very important for increasing yield and cultivating Lycium barbarum. Pruning should follow the following principles: ① culture and maintenance of 15-20 backbone branches, good light conditions, and cutting off overdense branches. ② cut off the full length of the basal branch and cultured it into the backbone branch, and cut off the tip 3 buds and 5 buds according to the growth potential of the elongated branch and the new shoot. In order to cultivate long-lived and strong backbone branches, ③ must control the basal branches, so the basal buds should be erased during pruning, but the updated buds should be retained. ④ should remove insect pests, injured or weak branches as soon as possible, and leave new branches to supplement them.

3.2.4 Disease and pest control. Anthrax: harms fruits and leaves. The diseased fruit turns black and stiff and falls early. There are small black spots on the disease spots of the leaves, and some of them are ruptured and perforated. From July to August, the disease was serious when it was hot and humid. Lycium barbarum gray spot: harmful to the leaves, there are round, central gray-white, brown edges on the diseased leaves, and then a light black poison appears on the back of the leaves. Lycium barbarum root rot: harm to the root and stem, at the beginning of the disease, the whisker root turns brown and rotten, then spreads to the main root black and rotten, and in serious cases, the outer skin decays and peels off, leaving only xylem, and finally the whole plant dies. Lycium barbarum negative mud worm, also known as golden flower bug, flesh worm. It is a small beetle with a black head and chest and a pair of yellowish-brown sheath wings. Both adults and larvae are harmful leaves, causing many holes. In severe cases, all the mesophyll is eaten up, leaving only veins. Corresponding pesticides can be used to control diseases and insect pests.

4 harvesting and processing

4.1 harvesting and processing of Chinese wolfberry. The harvest of Chinese wolfberry should be between Grain in Beard and the Autumn Equinox. When the fruit is crimson or orange, soft and juicy, the fruit stalk is loose, harvested in batches and spread out to dry. Dry or dry in the shade, should not be exposed to the sun, so as not to be too dry, and be careful not to rub it with your hands, otherwise it will turn black and affect the quality. Just sun until the skin is dry and the pulp is soft. When the moisture drops to 12%, put it away and store it. If possible, it can also be dried, and the effect is better. The dry rate of fresh fruit is 3-4 ∶ 1, and the yield of dried fruit is about 300kg per 667m2. Commercial Chinese wolfberry with large grains, thick meat, bright red color, sweet taste, soft quality is the best.

4.2 the processing of ground bone bark. When the Beginning of Spring is freezing, the quality is good and easy to peel, but the quality of the bone skin is poor after the Qingming Festival. Peel off the root bark and dry it or cut it up while it is fresh. The merchandise of ground bone bark is good for those with large blocks, strong gas and no wood heart.