Anise, also called anise, or star anise, is not only an essential condiment for home meals, but also has certain medicinal value. It can be used as a seasoning or as a medicine. As a seasoning, it has a strong fragrance and can promote appetite. As a medicine, it has mild medicinal properties. It has certain therapeutic auxiliary effects on cold pain in the waist and knees, invigorating the stomach and stopping vomiting, dispelling body cold, and treating athlete's foot. It is also used in beer, cosmetics, Commonly used raw materials in industrial food production. Although we often use octagonal anise in our daily life, and although the market price of octagonal anise is relatively high, it is rare to see people growing octagonal anise. On the one hand, the total consumption of octagonal anise is not too large, and on the other hand, because octagonal anise is very important for cultivation. The environment and management requirements are relatively high, such as soil, light, temperature, humidity, germination, seedling cultivation, seedling management, pruning, etc.
So, how are octagonal anises grown and managed? What are the technical points that need to be mastered? How to achieve high yield and high quality through planting management? Now is the suitable planting time for star anise. The agricultural technology guide below will introduce it to you systematically and in detail.
1. Habits and Characteristics of Star Anise
Illustration, also known as fennel or star anise, is a tall tree type. The height of the tree can reach 10-15 meters. It is suitable to grow in a humid, warm, leeward and low-light environment (temperature requirement is 18-23 degrees, humidity requirement is above 85%, soil pH 4.0-5.5), especially suitable for planting in places with warm spring and cool summer. Therefore, anise is generally planted in warm and humid subtropical mountain forest areas such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, and Guizhou.
The growth cycle and age of the anise tree are relatively long. Although the seedlings can emerge in more than 20 days after the seeds are sown, it takes more than 3-5 years of growth management to enter the initial fruiting period, 6-15 It can be gradually cultivated into a forest every year, and then it gradually enters the fruit-rich and high-yielding period. During the harvest period, trees can be harvested until they are 40-60 years old. long, it requires meticulous and comprehensive management.
2. Selection and arrangement of octagonal planting sites
Illustrations like temperature and humidity, are afraid of wind, drought, and waterlogging, are shade-tolerant, and like fertilizer, so in the planting site In terms of selection, you should try to choose hilly land or mountain forest land with higher altitude (500-800 meters), warmth and wind protection, shady and humid slopes, convenient drainage and irrigation, short sunlight, and no frost damage; at the same time, because anise is afraid of strong light during the seedling stage The main lateral roots are relatively shallow in the soil (about 50 cm), so you should choose a plot with deep, fertile soil, loose and transparent soil, and shade for planting. For multiple planting on gentle slopes or at the foot of mountains, it is best to choose cutting crops. It is the land of taro, sweet potato and legumes. Because the branches of octagonal anise are relatively fragile, you need to pay special attention to this when planting them in places where there are frequent strong winds, and the branches are easily blown off.
After selecting the land plot, the planting land must be organized in advance. Before sowing, the planting land should be cleared of low trees, shrubs, roots, rocks, weeds, etc., and then the land should be plowed and raked about 30 centimeters deep, and 2,000-2,500 decomposed organic fertilizers should be applied per acre. Use 300-400 kg of human feces and 50-80 kg of superphosphate to apply enough base fertilizer. When applying the base fertilizer, mix the fertilizer with the soil evenly and apply it into the ground, and then level it to make a border.
2. Sowing and cultivating seedlings
The planting method of anise generally involves collecting and storing seeds first, then sowing and cultivating seedlings, transplanting and planting, and post-emergence management.
1. Seed collection and storage
The best harvesting period for octagonal seeds used for sowing is in autumn when the fruits turn from green to yellow and a very small amount of fruits crack to expose the seeds (approximately Around late October), you should choose strong trees that are 20 to 50 years old, have high and stable yields, and are disease-free during the fruiting period (picking seeds too early or too late will affect the emergence rate), and you should collect those trees with consistent sizes and fruits. Generally, about 20 kilograms of seeds can be obtained for every 100 kilograms of fresh fruit from star anise fruits that are uniformly plump, have early and consistent maturity periods, and have long petioles.
Because star anise fruits are generally harvested in autumn and sown in spring, the star anise fruits harvested in autumn need to be processed and stored. You can put the newly collected anise fruits indoors to dry for 3-5 days, turning them 1-2 times a day until the fruits naturally open their shells and remove the seeds. After collecting, remove the small, thin, hollow, deformed, disease and insect pests inside. Wait for seeds of poor quality, and then mix the seeds evenly at a ratio of 1 part seed quantity to 3-4 parts yellow fine soil, and sprinkle a small amount of water to make a seed mud and store it in a cool room to keep it moist. The humidity of the seed mud should be It is better to hold it in your hands and form a ball. Of course, you can also bury the seeds in fine wet sand, but you need to pay attention to heat preservation and moisturizing during the storage period.
2. Seed germination
Anise seeds are oily and have thick seed coats. In order to ensure early germination and emergence after sowing, it is especially suitable for freezing and sowing in January-February. In places where the planting period is late, it is best to germinate the seeds before sowing. Seeds that have been germinated usually take about a week to germinate, while seeds that have not been germinated generally take about 15 days to germinate.
In terms of germination method, the wet sand germination method is commonly used. Mix star anise seeds and fine river sand evenly at a ratio of 1:10, and evenly wet it with an appropriate amount of water. The best humidity is to hold the sand into a ball and let it go. Then put the seeds and fine sand together in a container to keep warm. Moisturize and accelerate germination, and wait until more than 60% of the seeds are white before sowing.
3. Sowing time
Generally speaking, star anise is more suitable for sowing between December and January of the following year, but in areas with spring cold and frost, the sowing date can be postponed appropriately. You can wait until the freezing period in February to March is over and the temperature is stable above 12-15 degrees before germination and sowing.
4. Sowing method
In the management of octagonal seedbeds, the borders can be made according to the ratio of 1 meter wide and 15-20 cm high, 3-4 cm deep and 15- The method of strip sowing is 20 cm and the distance between plants is 2-3 cm. The amount of sowing per acre is about 7 kg. After the seeds are sown evenly, then use plant ash to sprinkle a layer of fine soil about 1.5-2 cm thick (plant ash mixed with soil is better), and then pour water once to moisturize. In order to prevent the rainwater on the hillside from washing out the seeds and seedlings, it is best to cover them with a layer of crushed straw or a layer of film after spreading the soil. This can not only improve the heat preservation and moisturizing performance of the seedbed, but also prevent the seedlings from being washed out by rain. Unearthed.
5. Post-emergence management
After the anise seeds germinate and are unearthed, the straw, straw and other coverings covering the seedbed should be removed in time, and a shade shed should be built in a north-south direction. (The south height is about 70 cm and the north height is about 100 cm). The light transmittance of the scaffolding is preferably about 30-40%. Otherwise, the exposed anise seedlings will be exposed to direct sunlight for a long time and cause wilting or burns and death.
In addition, after the star anise sprouts, attention should be paid to keeping the seedbed border always moist to prevent the seedlings from dehydration and wilting. In the seedling stage, there is generally no need for too much watering. As long as the seedbed is not dry, watering is not necessary. If the seedbed is short of water and drought, you can pour small amounts of water in the morning or evening to keep the border surface moist. You can also use urea water or Diluted human feces and urine.
During the growth of seedlings, thin fertilizer can be applied once when the seedlings are 3-5 cm tall and 10-15 cm tall according to the moisture content and seedling potential. The top fertilizer should be human excrement and cake fertilizer. Or mainly use quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer to promote seedling growth. At the same time, attention should be paid to regular shallow plowing and weeding during the seedling stage.
3. Scientific planting and reasonable density planting
When the anise seedlings grow to about 50 cm tall and the stems are about 0.5 cm thick, they can be transplanted and planted. The time can be controlled before the seedlings sprout, and the most suitable time is before and after the severe cold.
In order to improve the survival rate of transplanting and reduce damage to the root system, the seedlings should be pruned and defoliated 2-3 days before seedling emergence (only 1/3 of the leaves on the plant can be retained). Seedling raising is best done on rainy days, or you can water the seedlings before raising them and then raise them again. It is best to start the seedlings and plant them on the same day. If the seedlings cannot be planted on the same day, you can use yellow mud to dip the roots and then transport them to the planting place to prevent the seedlings from being dehydrated and affecting their slow growth.
The planting density should be flexibly determined according to whether the forest is leaf-based or fruit-based. If it is a garden planted with leaves, it can be planted at a density of 1.5 meters between rows and 1.5 meters. If it is a garden planted with fruits, it can be planted at a density of 4-5 meters between rows and 3-4 meters between plants; in seedlings In terms of planting depth, you can dig a planting hole 30 cm deep and 40 cm wide, and apply 0.6-0.8 kg of compound fertilizer or 35 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer and 1.5 kg of superphosphate into each hole (the fertilizer and soil are mixed evenly and placed in the hole. Bottom), it is better to bury the planted seedlings in soil about 3 cm above the rhizome. Too deep or too shallow will affect the survival rate and normal growth of the seedlings after planting. When planting seedlings, pay attention to straightening the stems and maintaining the natural extension of the main roots. After planting, water should be poured in time to promote the seedlings to slow down and grow as quickly as possible.
4. Fertilization management of seedling forests
The anise seedling forest garden should pay attention to fertilizing frequently. You can apply thin fertilizer 2-3 times a year. The best time for fertilizing is Topdress spring fertilizer from February to March and summer fertilizer from June to July. You can use the method of circular furrow application. In order to ensure that the anise tree is vigorous and strong, top-dressing fertilizers should be applied according to the method of high nitrogen, low phosphorus and low potassium before fruiting, and fertilizers should be applied according to the method of low nitrogen, high phosphorus and high potassium after fruiting. In terms of fertilizer dosage, saplings that are 1-2 years old should mainly use quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, and the amount of topdressing per tree is about 100 grams. Young trees that are 3-6 years old can be topdressed with nitrogen fertilizer and high-nitrogen, low-phosphorus and low-potassium compound fertilizers. , Each tree should be topdressed with 150 grams of compound fertilizer and 200 grams of nitrogen fertilizer each time. For trees over 7 years old, about 0.6-1 kg of special anise fertilizer or low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus and high-potassium compound fertilizer can be top-dressed for trees over 7 years old. Fruit trees can be fertilized at a dosage of 1.5-2.5 kilograms of low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus and high-potassium compound fertilizer per tree at a rate of 50 grams each of trace elements. Star anise is fertilized at least twice a year. The specific frequency and amount of fertilization should be flexibly determined according to the age, tree vigor and moisture content. However, water must be watered in time after fertilization to prevent the fertilizer from burning the seedlings and damaging the roots.
If you use the method of extra-root fertilization, you can use 0.3% urea water and 0.2-0.3% phosphate diphosphate in the long-term growth period of the tree from March to May every year or during the tree sprouting and leaf-expanding periods. Spray 2-3 times with potassium hydrogen, once every 10 days or so.
5. Strengthen field management
In the management of octagonal woodland, attention should be paid to cultivating and weeding, shading and moisturizing, pruning, and pest and disease control.
During the growth period of anise, 1-6 year old saplings need to be frequently cultivated and weeded, which not only can loosen the soil and improve the water, fertilizer and moisture retention of the forest land, but also reduce weeds and anise. In the case of mutual competition for nutrients, it can generally be done once from January to March and once from May to August. The best depth of soil loosening is 3-5 centimeters.
When pruning octagonal branches, pay attention to the pruning methods of saplings and adult trees. When pruning saplings, the main focus is to shape the tree and promote the growth of new branches. You can wait for the saplings to grow to 1.5-2 meters high or above before topping (done on sunny days, the purpose is to dwarf the plants and promote new branches) , and thin out those diseased and insect-infested branches, dry branches, dense branches, cross branches, thin branches, leggy branches and branches that interfere with the tree shape from the base of the branches. Keep 3-4 layers of branches for each tree, and 3-4 main branches for each layer. In the management of mature trees, focus on thinning out branches with few fruits, inner branches, leggy dry branches, diseased and insect-infested branches, diseased, old and weak branches, and dry branches. For sparse branches, peripheral branches, and branches in the middle and upper crown of the tree, Thinning and pruning should be done lightly. After the fruit trees are pruned, the remaining branches, dead leaves, weeds, etc. in the forest should be thoroughly cleaned in conjunction with garden cleaning, and then removed from the forest for burning or deep burial. Then, the entire forest should be sprayed, disinfected, and sterilized.
In addition, because star anise likes a low-light and humid environment, especially in the young forest stage of star anise, attention should be paid to shade and sun protection, and it should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Within 3 years after the star anise is planted, it can be planted in the open space of the forest garden. Plant some low crops or green manures (such as peppers, beans, sweet potatoes, peanuts and other crops or alfalfa, milkvetch, clover and other green manures) here and there to cover the bare ground and reduce the evaporation of water and nutrients, water and soil. On the other hand, the nitrogen-fixing ability of roots of crops such as beans can be used to improve soil fertility.
At the same time, you can also use the miscellaneous trees, shrubs, grass, etc. around the garden to provide shade and moisture for the young trees.
In the management of star anise diseases and insect pests, we must focus on diseases such as anthracnose, soot disease, ring weevil, brown spot disease, leaf beetles, stringworms, anise inchworms, scale insects, weevils and other diseases. In the prevention and control of pests, after the pests and diseases are discovered, pesticides should be used in the early stage in time.