Red cowhide

Open classification: plants and Chinese herbal medicines

Red cowhide

Alias thick skin vegetables, beef skin vegetables.

It comes from Chenopodiaceae beet, and the whole grass is used as medicine. Collect in summer, dry in the sun or use fresh.

Sweet and cool in nature.

Indications: clearing away heat, cooling blood and penetrating rash. Used for vomiting blood and measles.

Usage and dosage 0.5 ~ 1. Cowhide vegetable, also known as root vegetable and thick-skinned vegetable, is a kind of leaf beet, which can be used as both vegetable and green feed, with high yield, long growth and utilization period and multiple harvests.

I. Biological characteristics

Cowhide is a biennial herb, belonging to Betula of Oryzaceae. The vegetative growth period is 1 year, and it will blossom and bear fruit in the second year. I like warm and humid climate, and the suitable temperature for growth is 15 ~ 25℃, which is a crop that needs more water. Under the condition of high soil temperature and air temperature, it grows rapidly and has soft texture. It has strong adaptability, can grow in various soils and is salt-tolerant. In fertile soil with high requirements for water and fertilizer and good irrigation and drainage, the yield of fresh leaves can be greatly improved under the condition of sufficient nitrogen fertilizer.

Second, the cultivation points

1. Rotation soil preparation: Crocodiles are not suitable for continuous cropping, so rotation is needed. Corn, soybean and wheat are the best crops in the previous crop. Because the root system is weak, the soil is required to be loose. After the previous crop is harvested, the farmland should be dried and frozen in time, and the land preparation should be combined in the first half of April. Every 667m2, 2000kg of decomposed manure and 20kg of diammonium phosphate were applied as base fertilizer, and raked.

2. Sowing in time: Generally, sowing begins in the first half of April in all parts of Shandong. There are two planting methods: direct seeding and seedling transplanting. Direct seeding can be done by drilling or on-demand, when the row spacing is about 30cm, the soil cover is 2 ~ 3cm, the sowing amount is 667m2 1.5 ~ 2kg, and the seedling height is 15 ~ 20cm, it can be transplanted. In order to improve the germination rate, seeds can be soaked before direct seeding. Soak the seeds in warm water at 50 ~ 55℃ for 30 minutes, then soak them in cold water for 24 hours, take them out and dry them, and then sow them.

3. Scientific management: cowhide should be interplanted in time after emergence, with 2 ~ 3 real leaves at a time, and seedlings should be fixed when 4 ~ 6 leaves are planted, with a spacing of 20 ~ 30cm. In case of early growth, water more, and drain in time in rainy season to prevent waterlogging. Weed and loosen the soil in time, and apply 8 ~ 10 kg of urea every 667m2 in the middle growth period to promote its early growth and rapid growth.

The common diseases of cowhide are brown spot and leaf spot, which can be controlled by carbendazim or Bordeaux mixture. If pests are found, scientific drugs should be used to prevent them.

4. Harvest: 30-40 days after planting, the cowhide can be peeled off for later use, and 3-5 leaves are peeled off from each plant, leaving 4-5 leaves to continue growing. According to the season and growth, determine the number of leaves to be peeled. When the growth is fast in June-July, it can be harvested for 4-5 times, and more than 4000kg of fresh leaves can be produced per 667m2.

5. Seed-keeping: 165438+ 10 Dig roots and cut leaves at the beginning of October, dig pits and bury them to prevent freezing injury, and sow seeds at the beginning of April the following year, with row spacing of 35-45 cm, and do a good job in management. Seeds can be harvested at the beginning of July, and generally 50-60 kg seeds are produced per 667m2.

Three. Nutritional value and utilization

Cowhide vegetables are usually used as green feed. Its leaves contain crude protein 20.2 1%, crude fat 3.8%, crude fiber 7.4% and water 15.6 1%. It is tender and juicy, and has good palatability. Besides pigs, cows, rabbits, ducks and geese can also be fed. Can also be pulped and fed to fish. (Agriculture Bureau of Mulin County, Shandong Province 276700)

Excerpt from: Consultant on Farmers' Getting Rich,No. 12, 2002.