Water chestnut

Aquatic plant. Also known as "water chestnut". It is cultivated or wild in all provinces of southern China. The pulp is edible, and the tender stems can be used as vegetables. The fruit has sharp double horns, commonly known as water chestnuts. Growing in the lake, the water chestnut vine has green leaves that are rhombus-shaped, so the fruit is called water chestnut. The stems are purple-red with bright yellow flowers. ? Water chestnut is an annual herbaceous aquatic plant, also known as "water chestnut". The fruit "water chestnut" is a nut. It hangs in the water under dense leaves. The whole plant must be picked up and turned over before it can be seen. Usually in spring in February After that, seedlings will be set up and seedlings will be intensively cultivated. In early summer, after the first rice harvest from the end of May to early June, the rice fields will be prepared and built with banks, water will be diverted into the fields, and water chestnut seedlings will be transplanted. ? Water chestnuts are available in cyan, red and purple, with crispy skin and beautiful flesh. They are considered a good fruit and can also be used as food. Generally, it is eaten after steaming or boiling, or dried and chopped into fine particles. It can also be eaten as porridge.

Chinese aliases: 芰, water ling, fengling, black ling, water chestnut, water chestnut, water chestnut, 芰石. English name: Waterchestnut, Watercaltrop, Singharanut? Latin name: T.?natans?, T.?japonica, T.?bicornis?, different names are different for different varieties

Botanical classification Eukarya domain (Eukarya ), Plantae, Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida, Myrtales, Trapaceae, Trapa, T.?bicornis

Botanical characteristics Appearance: Some are like bull heads, some are hornless, one-horned, two-horned, and triangular. Different varieties have different shapes. Flower color: white, light red. Flowering period: June-July. Annual aquatic herb. Origin: Originated in Europe and southern China, especially in the Taihu Lake area on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River Delta. The water chestnut meat contains 24% starch, 3.6% protein, and 0.5% fat. When young and tender, it can be eaten raw as a fruit. When the ripe fruit is cooked, it can be cooked or processed into water chestnut powder. When dried, the water chestnut can be stored to extend the supply. The water chestnut leaves can be cooked. Green fodder or green manure. The custom in Chaoshan area is called "Lotus horn"

[Edit this paragraph] Nutritional value Water chestnut is rich in starch, protein, glucose, unsaturated fatty acids and multiple vitamins, such as vitamins B1, B2, C, carotene and trace elements such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. The ancients believed that eating more water chestnuts can nourish the five internal organs, eliminate all kinds of diseases, and lighten the body. The so-called lightening of the body means that it has the effect of weight loss and bodybuilding, because water chestnuts do not contain fat that makes people fat. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: Water chestnut can nourish the spleen and stomach, strengthen the thighs and knees, strengthen the body and replenish qi. Water chestnut powder porridge is beneficial to the gastrointestinal tract and can relieve internal heat. It is beneficial for the elderly to eat it regularly. According to modern pharmacological experiments, water chestnut has certain anti-cancer effects. It can be used to prevent and treat esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, uterine cancer, etc. The method is to use 20 raw water chestnut meat, add an appropriate amount of water and simmer it into a thick brown soup, three times a day; or use 100 grams of water chestnut meat, add 30 grams of barley, and cook it into porridge.

Medicinal value: Nature and flavor: sweet, cool and non-toxic when raw; sweet, flat and non-toxic when cooked. ? Meridian tropism: enters stomach and intestines. ? Efficacy: diuresis, lactation, quenching thirst, and detoxifying alcohol. ? Indications: sores and warts. Recently, it has been used among the people to treat esophageal cancer and gastric cancer. Prescription reference: 1. 120 grams of fresh water chestnut stems (removed leaves and fibrous roots), decoction in water, can treat head sores in children, and can also relieve hangover. 2. The old water chestnut has coal-like properties. Grind it into fine powder and apply it to the affected area with sesame oil to treat yellow sores on the head and face. 3. Dry red water chestnuts and grind them into powder. Take 10 grams on an empty stomach. Use old wine for red dysentery and rice soup for white dysentery to treat dysentery. 4. Take fresh water chestnut pedicle (water chestnut handle) and rub it on the affected area several times a day to treat warts (juvenile flat warts and multiple common warts). 5. 10 grams each of water chestnut, myrobalan, barley, and wisteria tuber, decoction in water, twice a day to treat esophageal cancer and gastric cancer. 6. Boil raw water chestnut meat into brown soup, use 20-30 water chestnuts every day. The decoction can be taken 2-3 times to treat uterine cancer and gastric cancer. According to reports from Japan, long-term use of this prescription has often yielded results. 7. Water chestnut porridge: Boil 100 grams of rice into porridge. When it is half-cooked, add 30-60 grams of water chestnut powder and cook together. Season with appropriate amount of brown sugar and eat. It has the functions of strengthening the spleen and stomach, replenishing qi and preventing cancer.

Suitable for chronic diarrhea, malnutrition, the elderly and infirm. It also has the effect of preventing and treating gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, and uterine cancer. 8. 10-50 grams of water chestnut powder, appropriate amount of sugar, boil into a paste before consumption. It has the functions of clearing heat and relieving heat, relieving irritability and quenching thirst, replenishing qi and strengthening the spleen, and detoxifying alcohol. It is suitable for symptoms such as bitter mouth, polydipsia, and sore throat caused by alcohol abuse. ? ★Things must be reversed when they go to extremes! Although water chestnut has great medicinal value, you should be careful not to overdose when eating it. Be careful not to cook it with pork as it can easily cause abdominal pain.

High-yield cultivation technology of water chestnut planting technology? According to the practice of planting water chestnut in recent years, in order to obtain high yield, the following technical measures must be grasped for reference (1) Selecting suitable varieties? Choosing excellent varieties is high-yielding The foundation is also the key to competing for seasons, occupying the market early, and improving economic benefits. If raw food is the main food, early and medium-ripening varieties with large water chestnuts (two-cornered water chestnuts) can be selected and put on the market in batches. Mainly for high yield, the Wuling variety with late maturity period can be planted. At the same time, because water chestnut species are prone to degradation, care must be taken to select water chestnut seeds with full rhombus shapes, high solidity, fully hardened peel, and no pests and diseases. (2) Timely planting, reasonable density planting? The appropriate time for local water chestnut stocking is generally before and after the Qingming Festival, when the water temperature is stable above 12°C. The methods can be divided into two types: direct seeding and seedling transplanting. Live broadcasting is suitable for river ponds with a water depth of ? 2-3m and fertile subsoil. When the water chestnut germs grow 1 to 2 cm, scatter the water chestnut seeds evenly in the water. Before sowing, pay attention to clearing aquatic plants, moss and wild water chestnuts in the river pond. The seed amount per mu is generally 10kg. For river ponds with poor fertility, the seed amount can be increased appropriately. For river ponds with large water surfaces and deep water, seedling transplanting can be used. Choose a river pond with fertile bottom soil and shallow water. Before sowing, put dry water to dry the topsoil, and apply enough farmyard manure as base fertilizer. After sowing, put shallow water in, and then gradually deepen the water layer as the seedling age increases. The amount of seeds per mu is about 60kg. , can be transplanted into 5-6 acres of water surface. The seedlings are about 60 days old, have 10 top leaves, have a rhombus disk of 15cm, and have 2 to 3 branches. When stocking, tie 10 plants into a bunch with a straw rope and gradually insert them into the bottom of the water. If the density of water chestnuts is too high after the water chestnuts grow out of the water, artificial thinning and even seedlings can be used to prevent the water chestnuts from sealing the water surface early and causing a small opening, which affects the yield. ? (3) Strengthen the management of pond ponds? ① Apply sufficient base fertilizer. As an aquatic vegetable, water chestnut needs fertilizer differently from xerophytic crops, and the amount of fertilizer required is relatively concentrated. Before planting, 2,000kg of pig manure or decomposed mud manure can be applied per mu. When the water chestnuts sprout, 5kg of urea can be applied per mu as a quick-acting fertilizer. After flowering, it can be divided into 2 to 3 times in combination with 2 to 3 packets of powerful yield-increasing fertilizer for disease and insect control or 2% Potassium dihydrogen phosphate is sprayed on the leaves to prevent premature aging. ?②Pest control and weeding. Common insect pests of water chestnuts include aphids, leafhoppers, etc. In the early stage of the damage, 90% crystalline trichlorfon 800 times solution or 5-6 bottles of trichlorfon mixed with 50kg of water can be sprayed with a small machine. Spray once every 10 days. The use of highly toxic pesticides such as methamidophos is strictly prohibited. Reduce residual poison and prevent water chestnut deformation or empty shells. The common disease of water chestnut is mainly water chestnut plague, which causes leaf rot. In the early stage of the disease, 400g of 5% Jinggangmycin plus 200g of carbendazim mixed with 50kg of water can be sprayed with a small machine. Master the prevention and control of diseases and pests 3 to 4 times in a lifetime. In ponds where water chestnuts are stocked, there are many types of aquatic weeds, including deep-water ichthyosaurs, shallow-water green duckweed, plankton grass, centipede grass, moss grass, etc. They must be removed manually in time, otherwise the photosynthesis of water chestnuts will be affected. Generally, after the water chestnuts are put in, weeds should be removed every 10 days until the water chestnuts cover the water surface. (4) Timely picking? The harvesting principle must be market-oriented and focus on improving economic benefits. Picking should be done in stages according to the maturity period of varieties and different uses. Water chestnuts begin to mature 20-30 days after flowering. The maturity period of our early-maturing varieties is from August 15th to 20th, and the late-maturing varieties are in late September and early October. If used as vegetables or eaten raw, it can be best harvested when the sepals fall off and the peel is not fully hardened. If they are to be eaten cooked, processed or kept as seeds, they must be picked when fully mature. Early-maturing varieties are picked every 5 days, and late-maturing varieties are picked every 7 days. The entire harvest period is divided into 6 to 7 times. When harvesting, be careful to lift the water chestnut plates and pick the water chestnuts gently, and lay them flat after harvesting to avoid damage. ?If you want to save water chestnuts for seed, wash them in water in time after harvesting to remove the floating tender water chestnuts. In the future, change the water every 10-15 days to ensure the germination rate of water chestnuts in the coming year. Poems about water chestnuts: "Passers on the water chestnut lake explore the water chestnut flowers. They bloom at night and close in the day, so they are cold in nature." Life, the autumn water will feel cold eventually"; "A thousand hectares of water chestnuts surround the city, and the streets are full of water chestnut songs in three autumns"