(Liu Xianwang)

The original plants are Vitex rotundifolia L. and Vitex trifolia L. It is also known as Fructus Amomi, Populus alba, Fructus Nelumbinis, and Fructus Vaccariae. It is a deciduous shrub of Verbenaceae. The former is mainly produced in Shandong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and other provinces, while the latter is mainly produced in Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan and other provinces. Fruit is used as medicine, and leaves and twigs can also be used for medicine. Vitex simplicifolia fruit contains volatile oil, mainly camphene and α-pinene, and contains trace alkaloids and vitamin A, in addition, it also contains Vitex negundo flavonoids. Vitex trifoliata fruit contains vitexin; The twigs contain .11-.12% volatile oil, and the leaves contain volatile oil, Vitex negundo flavonoids and so on. Bitter, pungent, slightly cold. It has the functions of dispelling wind and heat, clearing the head, calming the liver and cooling blood, and is mainly used for treating wind-heat common cold, migraine, dizziness, red eyes and swelling, night blindness, muscle 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.

1. Morphological characteristics

(1) Vitex simplicifolia

The plant height is about 3m, and it is fragrant; Voldemort grows obliquely, and adventitious roots are born on the nodes; Young branches quadrangular, densely pilose. Single leaf opposite, petiole 5-1 mm; Leaf blade obovate or ovoid, 2.5-5 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, with blunt apex, wedge-shaped to round base, entire, green on the top and gray-white on the bottom, with sparse pubescence and glandular spots on both sides. Cymes arranged in panicles, terminal; Calyx bell-shaped, 5-lobed, densely white pubescent outside; Corolla lavender, 1-1.5 cm long, 5-lobed in the upper part, and the largest lobe in the center; Pistil 4, extending out of corolla tube, anther bifurcated in zigzag; Ovary superior, spherical, densely glandular, stigma 2-lobed. Drupe is spherical, gray-black, with a diameter of 5-7 mm, and the lower part is surrounded by an enlarged gray-white persistent calyx (Figure 15-74 (a)).

Figure 15-74 (a) Morphological diagram of single-leaf Vitex negundo

1. Fruit branches 2. Fruit preface 3. Flowers cut open, showing female and stamens

(2) The main differences between Vitex negundo and the former species are: leaves usually have three leaves; Leaflets are ovoid or obovate, 3-7 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, with acute or blunt apex, wedge-shaped base, green on the top, black after drying, and densely gray-white pilose on the bottom. The flower is slightly smaller than that of Vitex simplicifolia, and the top of calyx is nearly truncated; Corolla blue-purple, less than 1cm long. Drupe is spherical and brown, slightly longer than persistent calyx (Figure 15-74 (b)).

fig. 15-74 (b) Morphological diagram of Vitex trifoliata

1. Fruit branches 2. Cut flowers 3. Leaf villi 4. Stem segments 5. Fruit

2. Biological characteristics

Vitex trifoliata is distributed all over the north and south of China, and its phenology is different due to the great differences in climatic conditions: in Jiangxi production areas, it is generally different. Flowers began in early June, and the flowering period was extended to late July; Fruit began to bear fruit in late June, and the fruit matured in early and middle July, extending to October; The leaves began to yellow in October and fell off one after another, and all of them fell off in early November.

In the wild beaches of Yu Haibin, Huze and Jianghe, the adaptability is strong, and the root system is developed. The main root is 1m long, and there are many upper and lateral roots, which are widely distributed. The 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 beach wasteland.

the requirements for environmental conditions are not strict. In Jiangxi, the main producing area, the annual average temperature is 16.3-19.5℃, the extreme minimum temperature is-1℃, the extreme maximum temperature is 4-44℃, and the annual average precipitation is 135—194mm, which can flourish on the barren beach. It is observed that short-term high temperature above 44℃ and low temperature below -1℃ have no effect on its growth and development. During the whole growth process, different growth stages have different demands for water. In the seedling stage, it is neither drought-tolerant nor afraid of waterlogging. Therefore, in the seedling stage and the initial stage of planting, attention should be paid to water management and a moist soil environment should be maintained frequently. Adult plants have strong drought tolerance and can still grow normally under the condition of long-term drought. However, in the flowering and fruiting period, in case of special drought, it will cause a lot of flowers and fruits to fall and affect the yield. Sufficient sunshine is required during the growth period, and it grows well in the shelter from the wind and the sun, but grows thin in the shade, with few flowers and fruits.

saline-alkali tolerance, which is an indicator plant in alkaline soil, does not grow well in acidic soil. Generally speaking, the requirements for soil are not strict, and all beaches, sand dunes and barren continents 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, so it is not suitable for planting.

iii. cultivation techniques

(I) land selection and land preparation

loose sandy soil which is not easy to accumulate water can be planted in sunny places such as sand dunes, barren continents, beaches, lakesides and riverbanks in low mountain areas. Planting in sand dunes and river beaches can be directly planted without ploughing and soil preparation. Other areas can be properly ploughed and prepared, except for the nursery, which is not used as a border.

(II) Propagation methods

Seeding, cutting, layering, branching and other methods can be used for propagation, but cutting propagation is generally the main method.

1. seed propagation

in autumn, the ripe fruits are collected, mixed with twice the moist fine sand, stacked in a cool and ventilated room, and taken out for sowing and seedling raising in the first and middle of April of the following year. First, the land was plowed and raked to make a high border with a width of 1.3m Then, the furrow was horizontally opened with a row spacing of 3cm, with a depth of 5-7cm and a sowing width of about 13cm, and the furrow was fully drenched with water. Gently rub off the shell of the fruit, clean it, soak it in warm water at 35-4℃ for a day and night, take it out and dry it a little, then mix it with fireclay ash mixed with manure, and spread it evenly in the ditch, with the sowing amount of 5-7 kg per mu. After sowing, cover a layer of fireclay ash or soil miscellaneous fertilizer, then cover a layer of fine sand, and finally cover the border with grass. Special attention should be paid to watering during seedling raising, and the soil should be kept moist frequently, and seedlings can emerge after about 3-4 days. At seedling stage, thin human and animal manure should be applied appropriately to promote the healthy growth of seedlings. Seedling raising in the spring of that year, with proper management, can grow to 3-4 cm 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 propagation

(1) Cutting seedling

Spring and autumn can be carried out, but cutting in spring is better. Because there is much rain and humidity in spring, it is easy to survive. In late March or late September, the fine sand land with convenient management is selected, and base fertilizer is applied to make a seedbed. One-year-old or two-year-old branches are cut from the mother plant which is robust and free from pests and diseases, and the middle branches are cut into cuttings with 2-3 nodes and 2-3cm in length. Because the middle part of the branch is full of nutrients, it germinates early, takes root quickly and has a high survival rate; The basal branches germinate slowly and the survival rate is low; Although the upper shoots germinate early and survive quickly, their resistance is weak and they will die easily in case of drought. After the cuttings are cut, insert them into the seedbed according to the row spacing of 6×15cm, and the depth of burial is about 2/3 of that of cuttings, so as to firmly soil, water them, and cover them with straw and hay. Watering should be done frequently during seedling raising to keep the seedbed moist and topdressing should be done properly. Autumn cutters transplant in early April of next spring, and spring cutters plant in autumn of that year.

(2) Direct insertion in field

Generally, it is carried out in spring and summer rainy season. Select one or two-year-old robust branches, cut cuttings with a length of 4-5 cm in the middle section, open holes according to the plant spacing of 1×1.3m, and the hole depth is about 18cm. Insert cuttings obliquely into the holes, with 3 branches in each hole, which are arranged in a triangle. Each root cutting ear should have 2-3 buds exposed from the ground and filled with soil for compaction. After inserting, water it. Cutting on windy sand dunes, because cuttings are easily buried by sand or washed away by rain, long branches can be used to bury strips. That is, according to the plant spacing of 5×6cm, the hole is 3cm deep, and 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 conservation.

3. layering propagation

In May-June, during the vigorous growth period of plants, select one-year-old and two-year-old robust long branches, and bury the branches in the soil at intervals of 4-5 cm, with a depth of about 15cm, and compact them. When the branches come into contact with the soil and grow adventitious roots, they are cut off 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 them with digging.

(3) Planting

In autumn or spring, after defoliation and before germination, plants should be planted after rain or rainy days. In the selected area, holes should be opened according to the row spacing of 1ch31.3m, with the length, width and depth of each hole being 3cm. Soil mixed fertilizer should be applied in the holes, and the seedlings should be planted in the holes, with 2-3 plants planted in each hole, filled with soil and compacted, and watered with water.

(4) field management

1. intertillage weeding

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

2. Topdressing

Generally, it is 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. After the plants blossom and bear fruit in the third and fourth years, compost and phosphate fertilizer should be applied twice a year. For the first time, before flowering, shallow ditches should be opened around the roots of plants, and plant ash and phosphate fertilizer should be applied to cover the soil. The second time, after pruning, apply decomposed manure or garbage fertilizer to ridging the soil to protect the plants from overwintering. Spraying 1% calcium superphosphate aqueous solution once or twice at flowering stage has a significant effect on increasing yield.

3. Drainage

In a dry soil environment, if there is frequent water accumulation in the planting area, it will cause serious flower and fruit drop and lead to diseases. Therefore, in low-lying areas, frequent inspections should be made in rainy season, and attention should be paid to eliminating stagnant water in time.

4. Pruning and updating

During winter dormancy, the dead branches, old and weak branches, pests and diseases branches and overgrown branches on the plants are cut off for centralized treatment. Plants that have been growing for many years and are declining should be updated, that is, all the old branches should be cut off at 3cm from the ground. After pruning and updating, fertilizer should be added to promote more robust new branches.

when the new branch grows to more than 1m high, it should be topped in time. If the branch is too high, it should be bent, that is, the middle part of the branch should be tied with a rope, and it should be gently pulled down on the trunk or root of the tree. After bending the branch for 2-3 months, the branch tip can crawl along the ground. Both topping and bending branches can promote it to produce more new branches and bear more fruits.

Experiments show that through pruning and regeneration, more new branches germinate, the branches are stout, the fruits are large, and the yield is 2-3 times higher than that of those that are left to grow naturally.

(5) Insect pits and their control

1. Aphis gossypii glover

Adults and nymphs gather on the shoots and leaves to suck juice, which causes the leaves to turn yellow and shrink. High temperature and dryness in summer are very harmful. In autumn, it moved back from the summer host to the winter host to lay eggs and overwinter. See Safflower Pest Control for control methods.

2. Acerya purchasing maskell

It has 2-3 generations a year, and overwinters on branches with nymphs and female adults. In March of the following year, the activity began to spawn, nymphs began to damage in April-May, and the damage was serious in May-June; The second generation of eggs appeared from July to August, and the damage was rampant from August to October. Nymphs crawl and spread 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, the leaves showed yellow spots; The stem epidermis is rough, cracked and even dead; The fruit surface is uneven and dry; The whole plant grew weak, with a lot of litter and even the whole plant died. Prevention and control methods: strengthen field management, pay attention to weed removal and pruning, make the field ventilated and transparent, and reduce harm; Spraying 8-1 times of turpentine mixture or Pomei 3-5 degree stone sulfur mixture in winter to kill overwintering insects; Spraying 8% dichlorvos 1 times during the occurrence period; Introduction and protection of natural enemy insects.

iv. harvesting and processing

due to the significant differences in climate, the fruit maturity is also different. Generally, it ripens from early July to late October, and should be picked while ripening. The fruit can be picked when it changes from green to grayish brown. Collect the fruits, first 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.