Water-saving irrigation technology of flowers

(1) the effect of water on the growth and development of flowers

Water is vital to all living things. Flowers are no exception. 40% and 95% of the fresh weight of common grasses and woody flowers is composed of water. Water, like temperature and light, is an indispensable basic living factor for the survival and reproduction of flowers. Water conditions have a great influence on the growth, development, reproduction, dormancy of flowers, and even the changes of temperature and humidity in the site environment, as well as the occurrence and harm of diseases and insect pests.

(1) Water is the main raw material for photosynthesis of flowers and plants. It takes about 0.6 kg of water to synthesize 1 gram of organic matter.

(2) Water is a solvent. All the nutrients needed for flower growth and reproduction must be dissolved in water before they can be absorbed by flower roots.

(3) Water is the medium for respiratory oxidation in flowers and the biochemical promotion of various complex enzymes can only be carried out in a water environment and with the participation of water.

(4) Water is the medium of transport and power flowers rely on water transpiration to maintain normal temperature and maintain water balance in plants. About 98% of the water absorbed by plants is used for transpiration, and only 2% is left in the body, which is used to build the plant itself. no wonder a medium-sized annual flower consumes about 50 kilograms of water during its short life cycle of 4 to 5 months. Water is an important guarantee for the maintenance of normal life activities of cell protoplasm. the continuous renewal and exchange of water can maintain the normal osmotic pressure of plants and make flowers in a state of swelling and pressure, such as the erection of pedicels, the extension of leaves, the opening of flower buds and so on. can't do without water. The content of water also directly affects the growth status of flowers, such as too much water will cause overgrowth of plants, inhibit the differentiation of flower buds, and lead to rotten roots and diseases; too little water will destroy the water balance in plants and wilt flowers. Flower seeds can only germinate in a humid environment. Water content less than 13% is a necessary condition for safe storage and stable dormancy of most seeds. There are three different suitable states of soil water content for any cultivated flower. when it is in the most suitable state for survival, the soil water content can effectively maintain the dynamic balance of water budget in the plant and promote healthy growth. When the soil water content is higher than the maximum water content that flowers can bear, the root system will rot or suffocate to death due to excessive soil moisture and hypoxia. If it is lower than the minimum water content that flowers can bear, the growth will stagnate and the buds will fall off because the roots can not absorb enough water, and eventually lose water and dry up and die.

The amount of soil water content has a great impact on air humidity, so it also indirectly affects the growth of flowers. Excessive humidity in the air has a bad effect on flowers, which often causes branches and leaves to grow and become the cause of falling flowers. And due to the weak growth of plants, the resistance to diseases and insect pests is reduced. In the mature stage, due to excessive humidity, it hinders the flowering of plants and affects fruiting. But in the greenhouse plants, there are many species like to have a larger air humidity. For example, many tropical leafy plants, if the humidity is too low, but affect their growth, this kind of plants like humidity, but also require an appropriate temperature, such as temperature can not match, the humidity should not be too high.

Water content not only affects the normal growth of flowers, but also affects the flower bud differentiation and flower color. In flower cultivation, measures such as reducing water and cutting off water are often used to promote flower bud differentiation. For example, Dendrobium (Orchidaceae) cultivated in greenhouse should be cut off for a short period of time in mid-October to promote flower bud differentiation, otherwise it often cannot be civilized. For bulbous flowers, water is often the main factor that determines flower bud differentiation sooner or later. For example, the flower bud differentiation of tulips, according to experiments, the less water content, the earlier differentiation. The bulbs produced in sandy land germinated and differentiated earlier because of less water content. The differentiation period of early dug bulbs was delayed because of its high water content.

Flower color is closely related to moisture, and only the appropriate humidity conditions can show the inherent color of each variety. Generally speaking, the flower color thickens when there is a lack of water. For example, rose-covered white and light peach varieties, in the case of lack of water, often become milky yellow or thick peach color; the same is true of chrysanthemums. According to experiments, when there is a lack of water, due to the formation of more pigments, so the color becomes thicker.

(2) the law of water demand of flowers

Due to the differences of water environment in the place of origin, all kinds of flowers have different water requirements, different environmental conditions for growth, and formed different ways of adaptation in morphology and physiological structure. For example, the cactus plants native to the American desert region, in order to adapt to the dry environment where local precipitation is extremely scarce and reduce water evaporation, their leaves are strongly degraded and become prickly in the process of long-term evolution. and covered with a thick layer of horny and wax, thus helping to keep the water in the body from evaporation, even if there is no water supply for several years, it can still survive tenaciously. On the other hand, most evergreen flowers from warm and humid areas have large and thin leaves, tender tissue, no dense and thick wax layer and stratum corneum protection, and stomata are often open, so the transpiration of water is very large. therefore, it is very disadvantageous to the water storage of stem and leaf organs, in order to maintain the water balance in the plant, it is necessary to provide sufficient water regularly.

According to the water demand habits of flowers and their ability to adapt to different water environments, common flowers can be divided into the following categories:

1. Aquatic flowers. They must grow in water. Its vegetative organs have highly developed ventilatory tissue, which can continuously transport oxygen, such as lotus, water lily, Acorus calamus and so on.

two。 Wet flowers can grow in the soil where the water is often saturated or in the environment with high air humidity, and they have great anti-waterlogging ability. This kind of flowers, such as daffodils, flowers, ferns, tortoise bamboos, umbrella grasses, sea taros, Guangdong evergreen, he's impatiens, duckweed, and so on, because their leaves are large and thin, tender and succulent, the cuticle is thin, the wax layer is not obvious, and the root system is shallow and less branched, so they often have poor appearance or even die in an environment of drought and low humidity, which is suitable for growing in an environment with sufficient water supply and very humid. The watering principle of wet rather than dry should be mastered in maintenance.

3. Mesophytic flowers are suitable to grow under the condition of moist soil and good drainage, too dry and too wet environment are disadvantageous to their growth, and their drought tolerance is between xerophytic and wet, and varies with different species and varieties. For example, sweet-scented osmanthus, magnolia and crabapple flowers are more resistant to drought, while wax plum, oleander and Yingchun are more resistant to moisture, so they are not exactly the same in water management and can generally maintain 60% soil water content. And like the flowers with lower soil moisture and higher air humidity, they should constantly spray into the air or increase the humidity of the surrounding ground during maintenance.

4. Most of the xerophytic flowers are native to the arid desert, forming a unique morphological structure adapted to the dry climate and ecological environment, such as leaflet or leaf degeneration, or stomatal subsidence, or succulent stem, developed root system and so on. This kind of flowers include cactus, stone lotus, tiger thorn plum and so on. The watering principle of dry rather than wet should be grasped in cultivation management. Excessive watering and excessive air humidity can easily cause rotting roots, anthrax, Fusarium wilt and so on.

The requirements of flowers for soil moisture are different in different growth stages. Generally speaking, high soil moisture is needed after sowing in order to moisten the seed coat and expand the seed coat, which is beneficial to the germination of radicle and germ; after seed germination, the root system is shallow and the seedlings are very thin, so the topsoil should be kept moderately moist; later, in order to prevent seedlings from growing and promote plant maturity, soil moisture should be reduced, that is, the so-called squatting seedlings, squatting seedlings at seedling stage, is one of the effective measures to cultivate strong seedlings. When growing to a certain time, relative drought (called buckling water or making water in flower cultivation) can also stop the branches from growing faster and accumulate nutrients to supply flower bud differentiation. Flower bud differentiation is a turning period from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. At this time, proper water control of plum blossom, peach blossom, stolen leaf plum, kumquat, crape myrtle and bauhinia can inhibit or delay the growth of stems and leaves. Early and promote the formation and development of flower buds, so as to achieve the purpose of blooming luxuriantly and fruitful. However, during the flowering period of flowers, the supply of soil water should be maintained at an appropriate level. If there is less water, the flowering will be bad, and the flowering period will be shortened. Too much water will also cause falling flowers and buds. In addition, air humidity also has an effect on flowering, humidity is too small to shorten the flowering period, can not show a variety of inherent colors. However, excessive humidity will also cause moldy petals and spread of diseases and insect pests.

On the whole, the water requirement characteristics of flowers are as follows: the water demand of seed germination and seedling growth stage is increased, there must be enough water in the vegetative growth stage of stems and leaves, the water supply should be properly controlled in the flower bud differentiation stage, and the most water is needed in the bud gestation and flowering stage. less water is needed in the late fruit and seed ripening stage. Therefore, it is necessary to water flowers according to the requirements of each stage of development, so that flowers thrive, luxuriant branches and leaves, green want to drop, a school of beautiful.

(3) rational irrigation of flowers and plants

Most of the water needed for flower growth is absorbed from the soil. Keeping proper soil water content is a necessary condition for the normal development of flowers and higher ornamental quality. Due to the different cultivation methods of flowers, there are some differences in irrigation quantity and irrigation time.

1. Reasonable watering of ground-planted flowers the watering of ground-planted flowers is relatively simple, and attention should be paid to drainage in production in rainy areas, especially timely drainage after rain. If there is no rain for a long time, proper irrigation is needed to keep the soil moist and not make the soil surface tortoise, so as not to damage the root system. When planting on the ground, flood irrigation must be avoided. Sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation can be used in gardens with conditions.

In the north of drought and water shortage season, in addition to drought-resistant measures, appropriate irrigation must be carried out in time according to rainfall to meet the water needs of flowers and trees in the process of growth.

The amount of irrigation and irrigation times of flowers and trees planted in the ground mainly vary according to the variety, growth stage, weather and soil quality of flowers. To master irrigation according to the dry and wet condition of the soil, we should pay attention to the following points in the specific operation:

(1) Irrigation should be carried out according to the growing season of flowers for the whole year. It is necessary to irrigate more water because of high temperature and evaporation in summer. Plants planted on the ground generally stop growing in winter, and the temperature is relatively low, so there is less irrigation and no dry irrigation. As far as a day is concerned, irrigation is usually carried out in the morning, but in summer, water evaporates quickly and needs to be irrigated again at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. when the temperature is low in winter morning, irrigation is disadvantageous, preferably at 10: 11 am.

(2) the amount of irrigation and the times of irrigation should be determined according to the soil quality. The sand has large porosity, strong water storage capacity, easy to be waterlogged, and should be irrigated more. Clayey soil is a mess when wet and a knife when dry. While paying attention to waterlogging prevention, we should also pay attention to drought prevention, timely ploughing and loosening the soil, appropriately reduce the number of irrigation, and increase the amount of water each time. The humus soil rich in organic matter has loose texture and large water storage capacity, which is neither easy to dry nor easy to be waterlogged. Under the same circumstances, the amount of irrigation and times can be reduced accordingly.

(3) according to plant species and growth period, broad-leaved and wet-loving plants should be irrigated more, while leaflets, conifers and cactus should be irrigated less. There should be less irrigation in seedling stage, more irrigation in peak growth period and flowering stage (need to watch fruit), less irrigation in seed maturity, and control irrigation in dormant period. In addition, the leaves of paulownia, African violets and the flower buds of African chrysanthemum are all perishable after being irrigated with water, which should be paid attention to.

two。 Rational watering of potted flowers the watering of potted flowers has something in common with ground-grown flowers. Both should consider the water quality and water temperature, and also according to the temperature-loving requirements of various plants and the growth stage, as well as the growth, appearance, and weather changes at that time, look at the sky irrigation, watch the flower irrigation, and choose the appropriate watering time and quantity. The root growth of potted flowers is limited to a certain space, so watering is more complicated than soil planting. Potted flowers should also pay special attention to pot watering.

(1) Sky watering mainly depends on the changes of seasons and weather to determine whether irrigation and water demand are needed. In the specific operation, we should pay attention to the following points:

① look at the season: the temperature rises in spring, flowers and trees wake up from the dormant state, leaf buds germinate rapidly, some flower buds begin to grow, and the water demand of potted flowers begins to increase, especially in northern spring drought and windy, the first water after potted flowers comes out of the room must be watered thoroughly, and then with the gradual increase of spring temperature, plant nutrients expand, transpiration and evaporation are strengthened, that is, watering times should be gradually increased. The interval between two watering days can be shortened from watering every 2-3 days in early spring to 1-2 days. Spring sowing annual flowers and trees, so the fashion is in the stage of sowing and emergence, the seedlings are small, the growth is slow, the consumption of water is small, usually watering more, on the contrary, it will reduce the soil temperature in the basin and affect the growth of seedlings. The summer weather is sunny and hot, the sunshine is strong, and it is the most exuberant season for the growth and development of most flowers. at this time, foliar transpiration and soil evaporation increase sharply, and only by further increasing watering times and watering water can we meet the water requirements of flowers. water at least once a day on a sunny day. The human ambush weather is even more.

Hot, and often appear sunny, high temperature and dry weather, so that the basin surface strong evaporation, a sharp decline in soil moisture in the basin, at this time is the annual pot flowers need the most water, the largest water consumption of the season. Drought is a serious threat to potted flowers over the summer. If you are not careful, you can wilt or even die because of drought. Therefore, it should be watered once in the morning and evening on a sunny day. Under special circumstances, when the basin soil turns white and dries, it also needs to replenish water at the right time. But potted flowers in dormant or semi-dormant state in summer, such as cyclamen, should reduce watering times and water quantity. Try to keep moderately dry, but not too dry, which is also disadvantageous to dormant flowers and trees over summer. Autumn is the turning period from summer to winter, the sunshine weakens, the air temperature drops gradually, and the potted flowers and trees turn to the slow growth period again, at this time, the leaf transpiration and soil evaporation are significantly less than those in summer, generally watering once every 2-3 days is enough. Winter is the season with the lowest temperature of the whole year, most potted flowers are transferred to overwintering indoors, and the aboveground leaves of deciduous flowers and trees are withered and are in a dormant state. At this time, plant transpiration is negligible. Generally, if the pot soil is not too dry, it does not need to be watered. Appropriate preference is beneficial to most flowers and trees in winter. The flowers in the greenhouse are generally watered once a week or twice a week, and once every 4 or 5 days at most, they can basically meet their needs. Do not water too much and too often.

② look at the weather: take different watering methods for different weather, and carry out timely and appropriate amount according to the changing trend of the weather. In case of dry and windy weather, it should be watered more and thoroughly, and when it is predicted that there will be rain on cloudy days, it should be stopped, less or slowly watered. In case of continuous rainy weather, stagnant water in the basin should be removed at any time, and attention should be paid to withdrawing water after the rain has stopped. The weather with high relative humidity should be watered less to make the basin soil drier, while in the early stage there is less rain and the relative humidity is small, and it is predicted that there should be more watering in the future when there is no rain.

(2) watering flowers is to choose the appropriate watering time and quantity according to the wet requirements of all kinds of flowers, the growth stage and the growth and appearance at that time. In the specific operation, we should pay attention to the following problems:

① should determine the watering time and amount of water according to the type and variety of flowers: flowers that like dampness and need more water; flowers that like drought and need less water. In general, the stems and leaves of herbaceous flowers are tender and require more water; the stems of woody flowers are hard and require less water. Cactus and other succulent plants would rather be dry than wet; bulb and bulb flowers should not be too wet for a long time; peony and other fleshy roots like dryness and hate dampness and should not be watered more; aquatic flowers like water and fear drought. Broad-leaved and leafy flowers with large crown diameter should be watered more, while narrow leaves and leafy flowers with small crown diameter should be watered less.

② should determine the time and amount of water according to the growth stage of flowers: the flowers in the vigorous growth stage should be watered more, and the flowers in the slow growth stage should be watered less. Most flowers do not need much water in the seedling stage, and watering should be properly controlled in the squatting seedling stage, the basin soil should be kept moist in the peak growth period, and some woody flowers should be properly controlled until the end of flower bud differentiation. When entering the flowering period, the dry soil between the pots is wet, and the pots should not be too wet after flowering. The basin soil should be slightly dry in the seed and fruit ripening stage, and the watering times and water quantity should be reduced in the dormant stage so as to keep the soil from being too dry. Whether potted flowers need watering is often reflected from the external morphology, such as new leaves, young buds and young flowers wilting indicates that flowers begin to lack of water, and the degree of wilting can roughly reflect the amount of water needed; on the contrary, overgrown plants, thin and tender stems, thin and yellow leaves and sparse buds indicate that they are overwatered. Sometimes the common symptoms of yellow leaves, fallen leaves and fallen flowers will appear after being damaged by dampness. it is necessary to distinguish whether to water them or not. if the plants do have serious wilting symptoms such as leaves and young branches drooping due to drought, it is best not to water them immediately. instead, the potted flowers should be moved to a cool place and watered a little, and after the branches and leaves basically return to normal, they can be watered enough to restore vitality. If there is too much water in the basin for a long time, the potted flowers should be moved to a well-ventilated shelter in time, fertilization should be stopped, watering should be strictly controlled, drainage holes should be dredged, and deep and middle ploughing should be carried out in time to loosen the soil. in order to promote water evaporation and improve the air permeability of the root zone, spraying a small amount of water fog on the withered branches and leaves is also conducive to the healing and recovery of the root system and maintaining the water balance in the plant. If the plant wilting is caused by excessive fertilization, it should be shaded immediately and watered repeatedly to reduce the excessive concentration of soil solution and raise the basin bottom to promote the rapid overflow of excess water from the basin bottom hole. In particular, it should be noted that some drought-loving potted flowers have no abnormal external morphology at the beginning of the drought, but once there is an obvious wilting phenomenon, it will inevitably affect the ornamental effect of the plant. it is obviously too late to water again. Therefore, it is sometimes not completely reliable to judge whether potted flowers need watering from the external shape.

(3) special attention should be paid to pot watering when watering potted flowers, and the following points should be paid attention to in specific operation:

① Look at the texture of the flowerpot: the commonly used clay pot texture is relatively rough, there are countless fine pores in the wall of the pot, these pores have strong water permeability, and the water lost through these pores every day is considerable. And purple sand pottery basin, color glazed porcelain basin, texture is very delicate, basin wall pores are few, permeability is too poor. The flowerpot with coarse texture needs to be watered more frequently, and the amount of watering each time needs to be larger, while the use of ceramic pots to raise flowers should not be watered too much, otherwise it is easy to cause rotten roots to die. The old clay pots are mostly blocked by mud due to the gaps in the basin walls, and the watering times and watering amount should also be reduced as appropriate.

② Look at the size of the flowerpot: the small pot has limited capacity, less water storage, and a larger surface area, more water loss than the large pot, and faster drying. Therefore, the number of small pots should be watered more, and the amount of watering should be less. However, the number of large pots watered each time should be slightly more than that of small pots, otherwise it is easy to appear waist water phenomenon. If the basin is too small to meet the needs, it should be replaced in time.

③ Look at the color and weight of the pot soil: When the soil is dry, the color becomes lighter, the weight becomes lighter, and the hardness increases. Wet soil is the opposite. Therefore, if your pot soil color white, light weight, feel hard, indicating that the pot soil has been in, should be timely more water, the pot is still dark gray or dark brown, heavy weight, soft feel, indicating that the soil is wet, temporarily do not need watering.

④ Look at the soil quality in the basin: the soil with heavy sand quality, coarse texture, large porosity, fast leakage, small water storage capacity, weak water holding capacity, easy to waterlogging, should increase the watering frequency appropriately. The sticky pot soil is a mess when wet and a knife when dry. While paying attention to waterlogging prevention, we should also pay attention to drought prevention. Cultivate and loosen the soil in time to break the hardening of the pot soil surface. The watering frequency can be reduced appropriately. The amount of water should be increased as appropriate for each watering. The evaporation of the pot surface is low, the texture is loose, the water storage capacity is large, and the water supply amount and frequency are reduced appropriately.

5 Listen to the sound of the pot: When you tap the flower pot gently with your fingers, if the pot wall makes a crisp sound, it indicates that the pot soil is dry and should be watered; if the pot wall has a low and dull dullness, it indicates that the pot soil is wet, and there is no need to water it temporarily.

6. See if there are any abnormal conditions that need to be dealt with: for example, when the soil moisture is insufficient, the newly potted flowers often appear the phenomenon of pot and soil separation. At this time, if a large amount of water is directly watered, it is bound to cause rapid loss of water along the separated cracks through the bottom holes. In this case, it is best to plug the cracks around the pot wall with culture soil, and then slowly inject a small amount of water, and then water the pot soil according to the conventional method.