What are the characteristics of Vitex negundo?

The original plants are Vitex rotundifolia and Vitex trifoliate, also known as Amomum villosum, Populus alba, lotus seeds and Vaccaria seed. It is a deciduous shrub of Verbenaceae. The former is mainly produced in Shandong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, while the latter is mainly produced in Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces. If the fruit is used as medicine, leaves and shoots can also be used as medicine. Vitex simplicifolia fruit contains volatile oil, mainly camphene and α-pinene, and contains trace alkaloids and vitamin A, in addition to Vitex negundo flavonoids. Vitex trifoliata fruit contains vitexin; The twigs contain 0.11-0.12% of volatile oil, and the leaves contain volatile oil, Vitex negundo flavonoids, etc. Bitter, pungent, slightly cold. It has the effects of expelling wind and clearing heat, clearing the head, calming the liver and cooling blood, and is mainly used for treating wind-heat cold, migraine, dizziness, red eyes and swelling, night blindness, muscular neuralgia and other diseases. Leaves have the functions of relieving swelling and pain, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, and are often used to treat traumatic injury, rheumatic pain, knife wound bleeding, head wind and other diseases.

I. Morphological characteristics

(1) Vitex simplicifolia

The plant height is about 3m, and it has fragrance. Voldemort grows obliquely, and adventitious roots are born on the nodes; Young branches quadrangular, densely pilose. Single leaf opposite, petiole 5- 10 mm; Leaf blade obovate or ovoid, 2.5-5 cm long and 65438 0.5-3 cm wide, with blunt apex, wedge-shaped to round base, whole margin, green top, grayish white bottom, and sparse pilose and glandular spots on both sides. Cymes arranged in panicles, terminal; Calyx campanulate, 5-lobed, densely white pubescent outside; Corolla is lavender, with a length of 1-1.5 cm, with 5 petals in the upper part and the largest petal in the middle1. Pistil 4, protruding from corolla tube, anthers forked into zigzag; Ovary superior, spherical, densely glandular, stigma 2-lobed. Drupe is spherical, gray-black, 5-7 mm in diameter, and the lower part is surrounded by enlarged gray persistent calyx (Figure 15-74 (a)).

Figure 15—74(A) Morphological diagram of Vitex negundo L.

1. Fruit branch 2. Preface 3. Cut flowers, showing females and stamens.

(2) Vitex trifoliata

The main differences from the previous species are: the leaves are usually trifoliate and compound; Leaflets are ovoid or obovate, 3-7 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, with sharp or obtuse apex, wedge-shaped base, green top, black after drying, and densely gray-white pilose bottom. The flower is slightly smaller than Vitex simplicifolia, and the top of calyx is nearly truncated; Corolla blue-purple, long 1 cm. Drupe is spherical and brown, slightly longer than persistent calyx (fig. 15-74 (b)).

Fig. 15—74(B) Morphological diagram of Vitex trifoliata.

1. Fruit branch 2. Cut flowers 3. Leaf villi 4. Stem segment 5. fruit

Second, biological characteristics.

Vitex simplicifolia is distributed in the north and south of China, and its phenological period is different because of the great difference in climatic conditions: in Jiangxi producing areas, it usually sprouts in early April and sends out new branches; Flowering began in early June, and the flowering period was extended to late July; Fruiting began in late June, and the fruit matured in early and middle July, which lasted until 10. The leaves turned yellow from June 65438+1October, and fell off one after another, and all of them fell off in early June165438+1October.

Wild beaches in Yu Haibin, Huze and He Jiang have strong adaptability and developed roots. The taproot length is 10m, and there are many upper and lateral roots, which are widely distributed. Stems are often inclined to the ground, and there are many adventitious roots on the nodes, which have strong wind-proof and sand-fixing effects and are ideal plants for managing, transforming and utilizing beaches and wasteland.

The requirements for environmental conditions are not strict. The annual average temperature 16.3- 19.5℃, the extreme minimum temperature 10℃, the extreme maximum temperature 40-44℃ and the annual average precipitation 1350- 1940 mm in the main producing areas of Jiangxi province can be used on the wasteland. It was observed that short-term high temperature above 44℃ and low temperature below-10℃ had no effect on its growth and development. During the whole growth process, different growth stages have different demands for water. The seedling stage is neither drought-tolerant nor afraid of waterlogging. Therefore, in the seedling stage and early planting stage, we should pay attention to water management and keep a moist soil environment. Adult plants have strong drought tolerance and can still grow normally under long-term drought conditions. However, in the flowering and fruiting period, in case of special drought, a large number of flowers and fruits will fall, which will affect the yield. In the growing period, it needs plenty of sunshine, grows well in the shelter from the wind and the sun, grows thin in the shade, and has few flowers and fruits.

Saline-alkali tolerance is an indicator plant in alkaline soil, which does not grow well in acidic soil. Generally speaking, the requirements for soil are not strict, and beaches, sand dunes and barren land with loose texture and deep soil layers can be planted. In the low-lying land with too much water and overgrown weeds, the growth is poor and there are many pests and diseases, which are not suitable for planting.

Third, cultivation techniques.

Land selection and land preparation

You can choose sand dunes, wasteland, beaches, lakes, river banks and other sunny places in low mountainous areas, which are not easy to accumulate water. Planting in sand dunes and river beaches can be done directly without ploughing. Other areas can be properly plowed and prepared, except nursery, which is not as a border.

(2) Breeding methods

Propagation can be carried out by sowing, cutting, layering and dividing plants, but cutting propagation is generally the main method.

1. Seed propagation

Harvest ripe fruits in autumn, mix them with twice as wet fine sand, pile them in a cool and ventilated place, and take them out for sowing and seedling raising in the first half of April the following year. First, plow and harrow the land to form a high border with a width of 1.3 m, then, level a sowing ditch with a depth of 5-7 cm on the border with a sowing width of about 13 cm, and fully irrigate the sowing ditch with water. Gently grind off the shell of the fruit, clean it, soak it in warm water at 35-40℃ for a day and night, take it out and dry it a little, then mix it with fireclay mixed with manure and spread it evenly in the ditch, with the sowing amount of 5-7 kg per mu. After sowing, cover with a layer of fire mud ash or soil miscellaneous fertilizer, then cover with a layer of fine sand, and finally cover the border with grass. Pay special attention to watering when raising seedlings, and always keep the soil moist, and seedlings can emerge in about 30-40 days. In the seedling stage, thin human and animal manure should be properly applied to promote the healthy growth of seedlings. Seedling raising in the spring of that year, with proper management, can grow to 30-40 cm in height in that year and can be planted after autumn. If the growth is not good, it can be planted in the next spring.

2. Cutting

(1) cuttage seedling raising

It can be carried out in both spring and autumn, but cutting in spring is better. Because there is a lot of rain and humidity in spring, it is easy to survive. In late March or late September, select fine sand land with convenient management and apply base fertilizer as seedbed. Cut off 1 annual or 2-year-old branches from strong and pest-free mother plants, and cut the middle branches into cuttings with 2-3 knots and 20-30 cm length. Because the middle part of the branch is rich in nutrition, it germinates early, takes root quickly and has high survival rate; Basal branches germinate slowly and the survival rate is low; Although the upper branches germinate early and survive quickly, they are weak in stress resistance and easy to die in drought. After cutting, insert the cuttings into the seedbed with a spacing of 6× 15cm, and the burial depth is about 2/3 of the cuttings, so as to firmly cultivate the soil and water it, and cover it with straw and hay. During seedling raising, water frequently, keep the seedbed moist, and apply fertilizer appropriately. Transplanting in the early autumn of April in the following spring, and transplanting in the autumn and spring of that year.

(2) Direct insertion on site

Usually in spring, summer and rainy season. Select 1 year-old and 2-year-old robust branches, cut 40-50 cm long cuttings in the middle section, punch holes according to the plant spacing of 1× 1.3m, and insert the cuttings obliquely in the holes, with 3 cuttings per hole arranged in a triangle. Each root cutting ear should have 2-3 buds exposed from the ground and filled with soil. After insertion, water it. Cutting on windy sand dunes can be buried with long branches because the cuttings are easily buried by sand or washed away by rain. That is, according to the plant spacing of 50×60cm, the hole is 30cm deep, the long branches are buried in the hole, only the branches are exposed, and the soil is filled and compacted. Fill should be lower than the hole surface to facilitate water storage and moisture retention.

3. Layered communication

From May to June, in the vigorous growth period of plants, select 1 year-old and 2-year-old robust long branches, bury them in the soil every 40-50 cm, and compact them with a depth of about 65438+40-50 cm. When the branches come into contact with the soil and grow adventitious roots, they are cut in sections and planted with roots.

4. ramet propagation

In early April or early July, choose rainy weather, dig out the sprouting tillers around Laokun by roots, and plant while digging.

(3) Planting

In autumn or spring, after the leaves fall and before germination, choose to plant them after rain or rainy day. In the selected area, holes should be drilled according to the spacing of 1ch3 1.3m, and the length, width and depth of each hole are 30cm. Apply soil and mixed fertilizer in the hole, plant seedlings in the hole, plant 2-3 plants in each hole, fill the soil, compact and water.

(4) Site management

1. intertillage weeding

1-2 years after planting, the plants are short and not closed, and weeds are easy to breed, so attention should be paid to intertillage weeding. Generally, it is carried out 1 time before germination in spring, June and after defoliation in winter, and intertillage combined with soil cultivation in winter.

Step 2: Topdressing

Generally combined with intertillage weeding. In the first two years after planting, human and animal manure was mainly applied to promote its rapid growth and multi-branching. Compost and phosphate fertilizer should be applied twice a year after the plants bloom and bear fruit in the third and fourth years. Before the first flowering, shallow ditches are formed around the roots of plants, and plant ash and phosphate fertilizer are applied to cover the soil. After the second pruning, use decomposed manure or garbage manure to cultivate the soil to protect the plants from overwintering. Spraying 1% aqueous solution of calcium superphosphate 1-2 times at flowering stage has obvious yield-increasing effect.

drainage

In the dry soil environment, if the planting area often accumulates water, it will cause serious flowers and fruits falling, leading to diseases. Therefore, in low-lying areas, frequent inspections should be carried out in rainy season, and attention should be paid to eliminating stagnant water in time.

Pruning and updating

During the winter dormancy period, the dead branches, old and weak branches, pests and diseases branches and long branches on the plants are cut off for centralized treatment. Plants that have been growing for many years and are declining should be renewed, that is, all the old branches should be cut off at 30cm from the ground. After pruning and updating, fertilizer should be added to promote more robust new branches.

When the new branches grow to a height above 1m, they should be cored in time, and the branches that are too high should be bent, that is, tied with ropes in the middle of the branches and gently pulled down on the trunk or roots. After bending the branch for 2-3 months, the tip of the branch can crawl along the ground. Both topping and bending branches can promote it to produce more new branches and produce more fruits.

Experiments show that through pruning and regeneration, more new branches germinate, branches are strong, fruits are large, and the yield is 2-3 times higher than that of natural growth.

(5) Wormholes and their prevention and control

1. cotton aphid

(cotton aphid)

Adults and nymphs gather on twigs and leaves to absorb juice, which leads to yellowing and atrophy of leaves. High temperature and dryness in summer are very harmful. In autumn, the summer host moves back to the winter host to lay eggs and overwinter. See Safflower Pest Control for control methods.

2. Cotton-blowing scale insects

(Asseri Ya Pacces Maskell)

It has 2-3 generations a year, and nymphs and female adults overwinter on the branches. In March of the following year, they began to lay eggs actively, and nymphs began to damage in April-May, and the damage was serious in May-June. The second generation of eggs appeared in July and August, and the damage was rampant in August -65438+ 10. Nymphs crawl on young branches, young leaves and young fruits, and gradually move down branches to live together after the second instar, especially in the shade of the lower part of the crown. After the plant was damaged, yellow spots appeared on the leaves; The stem epidermis is rough, cracked and even dead; Fruit surface is uneven and dry; The whole plant is weak, with many litters, and even the whole plant dies. Prevention and control methods: strengthen field management, pay attention to weeding and pruning, make the field ventilated and transparent, and reduce harm; Spraying 8- 10 times turpentine mixture or 3-5 degrees stone sulfur mixture to kill overwintering insects in winter; Spraying 80% dichlorvos 1000 times during the occurrence period; Introduction and protection of natural enemy insects.

Fourth, harvesting and processing.

Due to the significant climate difference, the fruit maturity is also different. Generally, it ripens from early July to late June 10, and should be picked while ripening. When the fruit changes from green to grayish brown, it can be picked. Collect the fruits, pile them indoors for 3-4 days, then spread them out to dry, clean the branches and broken leaves, screen out the sediment and store them in a ventilated and dry place for later use.