Harvesting method of epimedium seeds

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of seed cultivation, and particularly relates to a harvesting method of epimedium seeds. According to the method for harvesting the epimedium seeds, the harvested seeds are all seeds which fall off after natural maturity and are good in plumpness and maturity, and the thousand seed weight of the seeds is obviously higher than that of the seeds which are stroked by hands and the seeds which are harvested in a bagging mode. The collected seeds are high in germination rate and good in seedling emergence uniformity. The seeds are collected intensively after ripening and falling off, the harvesting rate is high, and loss is avoided. The seed harvesting window period is long, one-time harvesting is achieved, and labor and time are saved. According to the method, the problems that when the epimedium seeds are picked, time and labor are wasted, the recovery rate is low, and the picked seeds are not high in maturity and plumpness and are not tidy are completely solved, efficient, light and simple harvesting of the epimedium seeds is achieved, and the yield, the recovery rate and the seed quality of the epimedium seeds are improved; and a powerful technical support is provided for large-scale production of the epimedium seeds and medicinal materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of seed cultivation, and particularly relates to a method for harvesting epimedium seeds. Background Art

[0002] Epimedium is a perennial herb, and its dried leaves are used as medicine. It is a widely used tonic Chinese medicine. The market demand is increasing year by year, and the wild resources are gradually becoming exhausted. Artificial cultivation is in its infancy, and the seed supply is small and the price is high, which limits the scale of artificial cultivation of Epimedium.

[0003] Epimedium begins to bloom from the end of March to April every year, and reaches its peak flowering period in late April. The flowering lasts for more than two months, and it blooms from the lower part of the stem to the top. About 40 days after flowering, the seeds are filled with grain and the pods fall off. Since the infinite inflorescence of Epimedium blooms successively, the seeds of the early flowering at the lower part of the stem are filled with grain, and then the pods crack and the seeds fall off. At this time, the seeds at the upper part have not yet finished filling or are still flowering. The fruit matures and falls off for a long time, which makes harvesting more difficult. At present, the main methods for collecting seeds of Epimedium are to pick them by hand or to collect them in bags. The method of picking seeds by hand requires collecting them while they are ripe, and harvesting them in batches for multiple times. The labor cost for harvesting each kilogram of seeds is about 1,000 yuan, which is labor-intensive and time-consuming. About 50% of the fruit pods fall into the soil due to wind and rain or touching during picking and cannot be collected. At the same time, when the seeds are manually collected, the fruit pods of some seeds that have not been fully filled with grain are also collected, resulting in insufficient maturity of the harvested seeds, affecting the seed germination rate.

[0004] The method of using net bag bagging to collect epimedium seeds requires bagging before the fruit pods crack or fall off, and the fruit pods fall into the net bag and are cut off together with the infructescence to collect the seeds. However, epimedium flowers bloom and pollinate successively for a long time. They are insect-pollinated flowers that are cross-pollinated. Bagging blocks pollinating insects, so that the flowers that bloom after bagging cannot be pollinated, resulting in reduced seed production; epimedium has multiple flower stalks per plant, and when bagging, the whole tying together will damage some flower stalks, affecting plant growth and firming. Both bagging and unbagging require a lot of labor, and bagging requires a large number of workers in a specific short period of time. When the labor supply is insufficient, it will also affect the timeliness of the operation and cause seed loss. The above two methods result in a lot of seed loss during harvesting, and the harvesting is labor-consuming and time-consuming and inefficient, which is difficult to meet the needs of industrial development. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the seed collection method of epimedium. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention proposes a method for harvesting epimedium seeds. The method for harvesting epimedium seeds adopts ridge planting and full ground covering to plant epimedium, thereby achieving efficient and simple harvesting of epimedium seeds, and improving the yield, harvest rate and seed quality of epimedium seeds.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the following technical solutions are proposed: The present invention provides a method for harvesting epimedium seeds, the method comprising the following steps: Ridges are formed in the planting field, epimedium is planted in a single row, ground cloth is laid and seeds are collected, wherein the shape of the ridge is a triangular ridge; the height of the triangular ridge is 18-22 cm, the width of the ridge bottom is 38-42 cm, the angle between the ridge slope and the ground is 40°-45°, the ridge spacing is 56-64 cm, and the width of the ridge ditch bottom is 18-22 cm; the laying method of the ground cloth is full coverage; The seed collecting method is to use a ground cloth to collect naturally mature and fallen epimedium seeds.

[0007] Preferably, the ground cloth is a black non-woven ground cloth.

[0008] Preferably, after laying the ground cloth, holes are made in the ground cloth at the location where the epimedium is planted, and the diameter of the holes is 5-7 cm.

[0009] Preferably, the seeds are collected after all the epimedium seeds mature and fall naturally; the method of collecting the seeds includes: using a machine to suck up or manually cleaning the seeds after they fall; and after collecting the seeds, air selection is also performed.

[0010] Preferably, the method of planting epimedium includes planting in a single row on the top of a ridge.

[0011] Preferably, the spacing between the epimedium plants is 15 cm.

[0012] Preferably, after laying the ground cloth, field management is also performed; the field management includes building shading facilities, irrigation and weeding; the soil moisture content after irrigation is 20% to 25%.

[0013] Preferably, the time for planting Epimedium includes autumn planting or spring planting; the time for autumn planting is when the ground temperature is 10-15°C; the time for spring planting is when the soil thaws to a ground temperature of 5-7°C.

[0014] Beneficial effects: The invention provides a method for harvesting epimedium seeds. The method for harvesting epimedium seeds adopts ridge planting and ground cloth covering to plant epimedium. After ridge planting, epimedium is planted on the ridge, and ground cloth is covered. After epimedium blooms, seed filling is completed, and the fruit pods crack and the seeds fall off. The seeds slide down to the bottom of the ditch along the planting ridge slope on the ground cloth to collect the seeds. The seeds collected by the method are all seeds that fall off after natural maturity, and the fullness and maturity are both good. The thousand-grain weight of the seeds is significantly higher than that of the seeds picked by hand and the seeds collected by bagging. The seeds harvested by the present invention have a high germination rate and good uniformity of emergence. After the seeds mature and fall off, they are collected in a concentrated manner, with a high harvest rate and almost no loss. The seed harvesting window period is long, and the seeds are collected at one time, saving labor and time. After the ground cloth is covered, the problem that the seeds fall off and fall into the soil and cannot be collected is solved, and the seed harvest rate reaches more than 95%. Due to the post-embryo maturation phenomenon of epimedium seeds, the seeds that fall off will not germinate after being stored on the ground cloth for a long time, and the seeds on the ground cloth repeatedly experience the natural water induction process of water absorption-drying due to the effect of rainfall or morning dew, which can further improve the vitality of the seeds, the uniformity of emergence, the robustness of the seedlings and the stress resistance of the plants. The covering ground cloth used also has the effects of anti-weed, ventilation, water seepage and moisture retention, can reduce the occurrence of weeds, and reduce the cost of weeding. The present invention completely solves the problems of time-consuming and labor-intensive collection of epimedium seeds, low collection rate, low and irregular seed maturity and fullness, realizes the efficient and simple collection of epimedium seeds, improves the yield, collection rate and seed quality of epimedium seeds, and provides strong technical support for the large-scale production of epimedium seeds and medicinal materials. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 The yield of seeds per plant using different seed collection methods; Figure 2 The per-acre seed yield of different seed collection methods; Figure 3 Thousand-grain weight of seeds collected by different methods; Figure 4 The germination rate of seeds harvested by different methods; Figure 5 The initiation time (i.e., the time required) for embryo ripening of seeds harvested by different methods; Figure 6 The number of hours required to harvest seeds from one acre of seed field by different methods; Figure 7 The cost of harvesting seeds from one acre of seed field by different methods; Figure 8 The cost of harvesting 500g of seeds by different methods; Fig. 9 It is the front view of the ridge; Fig.10Schematic diagram of collecting epimedium seeds for ridge planting with full ground cloth covering, where a is ground nail, f is seeds to be collected, and e is ground cloth covering; Fig.11 Field trial of technology for collecting epimedium seeds by covering the entire ground with cloth for ridge planting; Fig.12 This is a picture of the mature and falling seeds of Epimedium. Fig.13 The seed embryo of Epimedium has developed to half the length of the seed; Fig.14 The seed embryo development of Epimedium is complete; Fig.15 It is the original seed embryo of Epimedium; Fig.16 The after-ripening of the seed embryo of Epimedium brevicornum initiates the formation of a heart-shaped embryo; Fig.17 This is the appearance of hand-picked epimedium seeds; Fig.18 Appearance picture of Epimedium seeds collected for Dibu; Fig.19 This is the appearance of Epimedium seeds collected in bags. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The present invention provides a method for harvesting epimedium seeds, the method comprising the following steps: Ridges are formed in the planting field, epimedium is planted in a single row, ground cloth is laid and seeds are collected, wherein the shape of the ridge is a triangular ridge; the height of the triangular ridge is 18-22 cm, the width of the ridge bottom is 38-42 cm, the angle between the ridge slope and the ground is 40°-45°, the ridge spacing is 56-64 cm, and the width of the ridge ditch bottom is 18-22 cm; the laying method of the ground cloth is full coverage; The seed collecting method is to use a ground cloth to collect naturally mature and fallen epimedium seeds.

[0017] As an optional embodiment, the present invention further comprises land preparation before ridge formation in the planting field; the land preparation comprises arranging, crushing and leveling the soil to make the soil soft. The present invention is beneficial to the planting and growth of Epimedium through the land preparation.

[0018] In the present invention, the specific parameters of the triangular ridge are shown in Fig. 9 The height of the triangular ridge of the present invention is 18 to 22 cm, more preferably 20 cm. Fig. 9 As shown in a; the ridge bottom width of the triangular ridge is 38 to 42 cm, more preferably 40 cm, such as Fig. 9 As shown in b, the angle between the ridge slope and the ground is 40°~45°. Fig. 9The ridge spacing of the triangular ridges is 56 to 64 cm, more preferably 60 cm, as shown in FIG. Fig. 9 As shown in c; the ridge spacing of the present invention is the distance between the tops of two adjacent ridges. The ridge ditch bottom width of the triangular ridge of the present invention is 18-22 cm, more preferably 20 cm. The ridge ditch bottom width of the present invention is the bottom width of the ditch between the ridges of the field. The crown width of the epimedium plant is 40 cm. The ridge height, ridge bottom width, ridge spacing, and ridge ditch bottom width of the ridge of the present invention promote the growth of epimedium and facilitate the collection of epimedium seeds.

[0019] After ridge formation, the present invention plants epimedium in a single row. As an optional embodiment, the present invention plants epimedium seedlings in a single row; when the present invention plants epimedium in a single row, high-quality seedlings are selected, and after cutting off the stems and leaves of the seedlings, the epimedium seedlings are planted into the soil with their roots and buds upward, and the depth of the roots and buds buried in the soil is 1 to 2 cm, and after planting, the ridge surface is arranged to keep the ridge straight. As an optional embodiment, the present invention plants epimedium in a single row including planting in a single row at the top of the ridge, and the spacing between the epimedium seedlings is 15 cm. As an optional embodiment, the time for planting Epimedium according to the present invention includes autumn planting or spring planting; the autumn planting time is 10-15°C, and the ground temperature in mid-to-late October in northern my country is generally 10-15°C; the spring planting time is when the soil thaws to a ground temperature of 5-7°C, more preferably when the soil thaws to a ground temperature of 6°C; the ground temperature in March in northern my country is generally 5-7°C.

[0020] The present invention lays a ground cloth after planting epimedium, and the laying mode of the ground cloth of the present invention is full coverage. As an optional embodiment, the ground cloth of the present invention is a black non-woven ground cloth, which is breathable and water-permeable, can be covered throughout the growth cycle, and will not affect the growth of epimedium; in the present invention, the mass of the ground cloth per square meter is 60-75g, and this mass range is selected because the ground cloth has good toughness, can be used continuously, and is not easily damaged. The width of the ground cloth of the present invention can be freely selected according to the plot, and it is sufficient to ensure full coverage of the plot. As an optional embodiment, the root buds planted in autumn of the present invention are all buried in the soil, and holes can be opened again when the seedlings emerge in spring. The present invention does not specifically limit the covering mode of the ground cloth, as long as full coverage of the ground cloth is achieved. As an optional embodiment, the ground cloth of the present invention is laid along the direction of the ridge and covered ridge by ridge. Furthermore, the present invention preferably covers the ground cloth ridge by ridge along the direction of the ridge when laying the ground cloth; the ridge surface of the first ridge of the planting site, the furrows on both sides, half of the adjacent ridge slope surface and the outermost ground of the first ridge are covered with a whole ground cloth. When covering the remaining ridges, multiple new ground cloths are used for covering, and each new ground cloth covers both sides of a ridge, the furrow between the ridge and the next ridge, and half of the adjacent slope surface of the next ridge. As an optional embodiment, the laying range of each ground cloth can be adjusted according to the specifications of the ground cloth, but it is necessary to ensure that the joint of the two ground cloths is in the middle of the ridge slope surface, which is easy to collect fallen seeds. If the joint is in the middle of the two ridges, it may affect the seed collection. In a specific embodiment of the present invention, the ridge next to the edge of the field is set as the first ridge. After the first ridge is selected, the ground cloth is used to cover each ridge. The ridge surface of the first ridge, the furrows on both sides, half of the adjacent ridge slope surface, and the outermost ground of the first ridge are covered with the first ground cloth, and the width of the first ground cloth is 120 cm; the ridge surfaces of the remaining ridges are fully covered with multiple ground cloths, and the width of each ground cloth is 80 cm. Each ground cloth covers both sides of a ridge, the furrow between the ridge and the next ridge, and half of the adjacent slope surface of the next ridge. In this way, two ground cloths are connected on a slope surface of the same ridge and fixed by ground nails.

[0021] As an optional embodiment, the ground cloth of the present invention is fixed at the joint of the ground cloth by using plastic ground nails when covering. As an optional embodiment, after the ground cloth is laid, the ground cloth is opened at the place where epimedium is planted, and the diameter of the opening is 5 to 7 cm. After the epimedium seedlings turn green and sprout, they grow upward from the opening, and there is no need to manually expose the epimedium at the opening, and it is ensured that the epimedium grows naturally at the opening. After the present invention uses the full ground cloth for laying, the ground cloth supports the mature and fallen epimedium seeds. Only a very small amount of epimedium seeds fall into the soil at the planting hole, and most of the seeds are concentrated at the bottom of the ditch, and are collected in a centralized manner without loss. In addition, the black non-woven ground cloth also has the functions of preventing weeds, water seepage, moisturizing, and heat preservation. The soil moisture at the root of epimedium remains stable and sufficient, and the number of fruit pods per plant and the seed yield are significantly higher than those of fields that are not covered or covered with plastic mulch. The present invention uses ground cloth to collect epimedium seeds that slide along the ridge slope to the bottom of the ridge and naturally mature and fall.

[0022] As an optional implementation, after laying the ground cloth, the present invention further includes field management; the field management includes building shading facilities, irrigation and weeding; the soil moisture content after irrigation is 20% to 25%.

[0023] After the field management is completed, the epimedium seeds of the present invention mature, the pods crack and the seeds fall off. As an optional embodiment, the present invention starts collecting seeds in early July after all the epimedium seeds fall off, and the method of collecting seeds includes: after the seeds fall, they are sucked up by a machine or cleaned manually; the machine includes a modified vacuum cleaner or suction fan. As an optional embodiment, after collecting the seeds, the present invention also includes air selection, and clean seeds are obtained after air selection. The air selection of the present invention can be carried out in a conventional manner.

[0024] In the prior art, the seeds of Epimedium are collected by hand-pulling and bagging. In the hand-pulling method, some seeds fall into the soil due to wind, rain or manual operation and cannot be collected. Some fruit pods are harvested before filling, and they are not mature enough to germinate, resulting in losses. Bagging significantly reduces seed yield because it affects the pollination of the upper part of the flower stem, and some flower stems are damaged during bundling, which affects the development of fruits and seeds and causes seed reduction.

[0025] The present invention adopts full ground cloth covering, and the epimedium seeds are collected collectively after they fall off. All seeds are naturally mature, pod-opened and fall off, and the seeds are fully filled and fully mature. The harvested seeds have good plumpness and maturity. And after the full ground cloth is covered by the method, the ground cloth supports the mature and fallen seeds, and only a very small amount falls into the soil at the planting hole. Most of the seeds are concentrated at the bottom of the ditch, and are collected collectively without loss. The seed yield is high, the harvest rate is high, and the harvest loss is small. In addition, the black non-woven ground cloth prevents weeds, water seepage, moisture retention, and heat preservation. The moisture of the soil at the root of epimedium remains stable and sufficient, and the number of fruit pods per plant and the seed yield are significantly higher than those of fields that are not covered or covered with plastic mulch.

[0026] Since the flowers of Epimedium are gradually opened, the fruit pods fall off in batches, and it is necessary to collect the seeds manually in multiple times to obtain relatively mature seeds. The labor cost of collecting 500g of seeds is about 1,000 yuan. The method of bagging and harvesting seeds requires a large amount of labor in a specific short period of time, that is, the bagging operation should be performed before the earliest mature fruit pods are about to fall off. If the bagging is too early, the net bag will block the pollination of insects, which will cause the later opening to be unable to pollinate, thereby increasing the number of flowers that cannot be strong after opening. If the bagging is too late, the first mature fruit pods fall into the soil and lose. It takes another labor to remove the bag and take out the seeds. These methods are cumbersome and labor-intensive, and the short-term large-scale labor in a specific time also pushes up the labor cost. The present invention adopts a method of covering the entire ground with ridge cloth, and the seeds mature and fall off naturally and concentrate on the bottom of the ditch and collect them once. Epimedium seeds will not germinate in a short period of time due to the dormancy characteristics of seeds, and the seed collection time window is relatively long, so harvesting is labor-saving and time-saving. The harvesting cost of 500g of seeds is less than 80 yuan, which saves labor and time. All the seeds collected by the method of the present invention are naturally mature and fall off, and the seeds falling on the ground cloth repeatedly experience the natural water induction process of absorbing water and drying back due to the action of rainfall or morning dew, which improves the vitality of the seeds, thereby achieving a high germination rate and good uniformity of seedling emergence.

[0027] In order to further illustrate the present invention, the technical solution provided by the present invention is described in detail below in combination with embodiments and drawings, but they should not be understood as limiting the protection scope of the present invention.

[0028] Example 1 A method for collectively harvesting epimedium seeds by planting in ridges and covering the entire ground with cloth is as follows: In October 2021, the experiment was carried out in the Chinese medicinal materials industrial park in Zhang County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province. The specific steps are as follows: 1. Land preparation and ridge making. In October 2021, a plot of land was selected and a steel frame greenhouse was set up to place the sunshade net and sprinkler irrigation facilities. The width of the greenhouse is 8m and the length is 75m. The soil of the plot in the greenhouse was made soft, fine and flat, and then triangular ridges were made. The ridge height was 20cm, the ridge bottom width was 40cm, and the angle between the ridge slope and the ground was 45 degrees. The distance between the tops of two adjacent ridges was 60cm, the ridge bottom width was 20cm, and the ridge shape and parameters were as follows: Fig. 9 , Fig.10 shown.

[0029] 2. Transplanting seedlings. After land preparation and ridge formation, transplant epimedium seedlings in mid-October 2021, cut off the stems and leaves of the seedlings, and plant them in a single row at the top of the ridge with a spacing of 15 cm. Plant the epimedium seedlings with their hairy roots facing downward and the root buds facing upward into the soil, compact it, and bury the root buds 2 cm into the soil. After planting, adjust the ridge surface to keep it straight.

[0030] 3. Ground cloth laying. After the seedlings are transplanted, the black non-woven ground cloth is used for full ground cloth covering. The specification of the ground cloth is 60g per square meter. It is laid one by one along the direction of the ridge. The specific laying method is: the ridge close to the edge is set as the first ridge, and the ridge surface of the first ridge, the furrows on both sides, half of the adjacent ridge slope and the outer bottom of the first ridge are covered with the whole ground cloth. The width of the ground cloth is 120 cm, and the width of the ground cloth laid at the outer bottom of the first ridge is 40 cm. The ridge surface of the remaining ridges is covered with a ground cloth with a width of 80 cm. Each ground cloth covers both sides of the ridge, the furrow between the next ridge and half of the adjacent slope of the next ridge. After laying, the joint position of the long sides of each two ground cloths is located in the middle of the ridge slope, and the joint parts overlap by about 10 cm, with the joint opening facing downward. During the laying process, straighten and flatten the floor cloth, and fix it with 10cm long plastic floor nails at the joints of the floor cloth. The distance between adjacent floor nails is 100cm, and the floor cloth is fixed to the ground with floor nails. Fig. 9 Medium D and Fig.10 In the middle, a represents ground nails. In early March of the spring of 2022 (i.e. the spring of the second year), use scissors to make holes in the ground cloth at the planting location to allow the seedlings to grow. The diameter of the hole is 6 cm.

[0031] 4. Field management. In late April 2022, a sunshade net was set up on the steel frame shed. The sunshade net has a shading rate of 90%. The sunshade net was removed in late September to prevent the steel frame from being crushed by snow. Water was applied in time to keep the soil moisture content of Epimedium at 20%~22%. Weeds in the field were removed in time.

[0032] 5. Seed collection. The seeds began to fall on May 29, 2024. When most of the seeds fell naturally, a modified vacuum fan was used to absorb the seeds from July 10, and the seeds on the ground cloth were collected when they were dry on sunny afternoons. Then, the seeds were selected by air to obtain clean seeds, which were put into mesh bags and hung in a cool and ventilated place for use. Three 5m*4m sample plots were randomly selected for yield measurement, and the average seed yield per plant was 0.98g. See the field trial of ridge planting, full ground cloth covering, and centralized collection of epimedium seed technology. Fig.11 , Epimedium seeds mature and fall to the ground Fig.12 See the appearance of Epimedium seeds collected by Dibu Fig.18 .

[0033] Example 2 A method for collectively harvesting epimedium seeds by planting in ridges and covering the entire ground with cloth is as follows: In March 2022, experiments were carried out in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industrial Park in Zhangxian County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province.

[0034] 1. Land preparation and ridge making. In March 2022, a plot of land was selected and a steel frame greenhouse was set up to place the sunshade net and sprinkler irrigation facilities. The greenhouse is 8m wide and 75m long. The soil of the plot in the greenhouse was made soft, fine and flat, and then triangular ridges were made. The ridge height was 20cm, the ridge bottom width was 40cm, and the angle between the ridge slope and the ground was about 40 degrees. The distance between the tops of two adjacent ridges was 60cm, and the width of the ridge bottom was 20cm.

[0035] 2. Transplanting seedlings. Transplant epimedium seedlings in mid-March 2022, plant them in a single row on the top of the ridge, with a spacing of 15 cm. Plant the epimedium seedlings with their hairy roots facing downward and their root buds facing upward into the soil, compact it, and bury the root buds 2 cm into the soil. After planting, tidy up the ridge surface to keep it straight.

[0036] 3. Ground cloth covering. After the epimedium seedlings are planted, the selected black non-woven ground cloth is fully covered and laid. The specification of the ground cloth is 75g per square meter. The black non-woven ground cloth is laid along the direction of the ridge one by one. The specific laying method is: the ridge close to the side is set as the first ridge, and the ridge surface of the first ridge, the furrows on both sides, half of the adjacent ridge slope and the outer bottom of the first ridge are covered with a whole ground cloth. The width of the whole ground cloth is 110 cm, and the width of the ground cloth laid at the outer bottom of the first ridge is 40 cm. The ridge surface of the remaining ridges is covered with a ground cloth with a width of 80 cm. Each ground cloth covers both sides of the ridge, the furrow between the next ridge and half of the adjacent slope of the next ridge. After laying, the joint position of the long sides of each two ground cloths is located in the middle of the ridge slope, the joint parts overlap by about 10 cm, and the joint opening is downward. During the laying process, the ground cloth is stretched straight and flat, and 10 cm long plastic ground nails are used to fix the joints of the ground cloth. The distance between adjacent ground nails is 100 cm, and the ground cloth of the side rows is fixed to the ground with ground nails. Then use scissors to make holes in the ground cloth at the planting place for the seedlings to grow, and the hole diameter is 5 cm.

[0037] 4. Field management. In late April 2022, a sunshade net was set up on the steel frame shed. The sunshade net has a shading rate of 80%. The sunshade net was removed in late September to prevent the steel frame from being crushed by accumulated snow. Water was applied in time to keep the soil moisture content in the Epimedium field at 20%~22%. Weeds in the field were removed in time.

[0038] 5. Seed collection. Seeds began to fall on June 1, 2024. From July 10, the seeds were manually cleaned with a broom. The seeds on the ground cloth were cleaned when they were dry on sunny afternoons. Then, the seeds were selected by air to obtain clean seeds, which were put into mesh bags and hung in a cool and ventilated place for use. Three 5m*4m sample plots were randomly selected for yield measurement, and the average seed yield per plant was 0.91g.

[0039] Comparative Example 1 In October 2021, the experiment was carried out in the Chinese medicinal materials industrial park in Zhang County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province. The specific steps are as follows: 1. Land preparation and ridge making. Same as Example 1.

[0040] 2. Seedling transplanting: Same as Example 1.

[0041] 3. Ground cloth covering: Same as in Example 1.

[0042] 4. Field management: Same as in Example 1.

[0043] 5. Seed collection. The seeds are collected manually. Starting from May 27, 2024, the seeds are collected manually every 5 days. The pods are gently pulled upward from the base of the flower stem and dried in the shade. Pull the seeds 5 times in total, rub the uncracked pods to thresh them, and remove the impurities by winnowing to obtain clean seeds. The appearance of the manually pulled Epimedium seeds is shown in Fig.17 .

[0044] Comparative Example 2 In October 2021, the experiment was carried out in the Chinese medicinal materials industrial park in Zhang County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province. The specific steps are as follows: 1. Land preparation and ridge making. Same as Example 1.

[0045] 2. Seedling transplanting: Same as Example 1.

[0046] 3. Ground cloth covering: Same as in Example 1.

[0047] 4. Field management: Same as in Example 1.

[0048] 5. Seed collection. Use the bagging method: bag the pods at the base of the flower stems when they are full on May 26, 2024. Use a white nylon mesh bag with a mesh size of 40cm*30cm. Place the entire inflorescence of each Epimedium plant carefully into the bag with the bag opening facing downward, and tie the bag opening tightly to prevent the seeds from falling out. On July 10, cut the flower stems below the bag opening and collect the bag. After collecting the bag, remove the bag and take out the flower stems. Pour out the seeds in the bag, thresh, and winnow to get clean seeds. See the appearance of the Epimedium seeds collected by bagging. Fig.19 .

[0049] The yield and quality of seeds collected by the three methods of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1-2 were detected, and the collection efficiency and collection cost were calculated as follows: Yield detection: 9 5m*4m plots with similar growth potential were selected respectively, and seeds were collected according to the three seed collection methods of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1-2. Each method was repeated 3 times, and the seed yield per plant and per mu were calculated according to the actual number of plants in the plot. The results are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 The yield of single seed plant was 0.98g, which was 206.25% and 276.92% higher than the currently commonly used manual pulling and bagging methods of 0.32g and 0.26g, respectively; the yield of seeds per mu increased to 5887g compared with 1923g and 1562g of manual pulling and bagging, respectively.

[0050] Quality inspection: Thousand-grain weight: Use a 1% electronic balance to measure the thousand-grain weight of seeds. Weigh 100 seeds randomly selected for each treatment, repeat 3 times, calculate the average value and multiply it by 10. The unit is g. The results are shown in Figure 3 The thousand-grain weight of seeds harvested by ground cloth was 3.98 g, which was 35.37% and 15.03% higher than that of manual pulling 2.94 g and bagging 3.46 g, respectively.

[0051] Seed germination rate test: Epimedium seeds were stratified at variable temperatures using peat as a substrate, and the seeds were considered to have germinated when the length of the embryo exceeded half of the seed length. Figure 4 , Fig.13 , Fig.14 It can be seen that the germination rate of seeds picked by hand is 43.6%, and the germination rate of seeds collected by ground cloth is 85.4%. The germination rate of seeds collected by ground cloth is 95.87% higher than that of seeds picked by hand.

[0052] Seed embryo after-ripening start time detection: The number of days required for Epimedium seeds to develop into heart-shaped embryos from the beginning of stratification. Figure 5 , Fig.15 , Fig.16 The time for the embryo to mature by hand-pulled seeds was 35.2 days, while that by ground cloth was 12.8 days. It can be seen that the time for the embryo to mature by harvested seeds was 63.6% shorter than that by hand-pulled seeds.

[0053] Harvesting efficiency: calculated by the time taken to harvest seeds per acre and the time required to harvest 500g of seeds, respectively, in hours. The time required to harvest seeds per acre of seed field by different methods is shown in Figure 6 The method of the present invention requires less work time for seed harvesting. The work time for manual plucking is 507 hours, the work time for bagging harvesting is 212 hours, and the work time for ground cloth collection is 22 hours.

[0054] Harvesting cost: Calculate the labor cost of harvesting seeds per acre of land and harvesting 500g of seeds (calculated at 100 yuan per 8 hours). The cost results of harvesting seeds from 1 acre of seed field by different methods are shown in Figure 7 The cost of harvesting 500g of seeds by different methods is shown in Figure 8 The labor cost of the ground cloth harvesting method of the present invention is 287.5 yuan, which is only 4.54% and 10.85% of the manual pulling method of 6337.5 yuan and the bagging harvesting method of 2650 yuan.

[0055] The yield and quality of the seeds collected in Example 2 were tested according to the above method, and the results were as follows: the yield of single Epimedium seed was 0.91 g, the yield per mu of seed was 5694 g, the thousand-grain weight was 3.92 g, the germination rate was 87.3%, and the seed embryo after-ripening start time was 12.9 days.

[0056] In summary, the epimedium seeds harvested by the method of the present invention have good fullness and maturity, high seed yield, high harvest rate, small harvest loss, long seed harvesting window period, labor-saving and time-saving harvesting, high seed germination rate, and good uniformity of seedling emergence.

[0057] Although the above embodiment describes the present invention in detail, it is only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. People can also obtain other embodiments based on this embodiment without creativity, and these embodiments all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for harvesting epimedium seeds, characterized in that: The harvesting method comprises the following steps: Ridges are formed in the planting field, epimedium is planted in a single row, ground cloth is laid and seeds are collected, wherein the shape of the ridge is a triangular ridge; the height of the triangular ridge is 18-22 cm, the width of the ridge bottom is 38-42 cm, the angle between the ridge slope and the ground is 40°-45°, the ridge spacing is 56-64 cm, and the width of the ridge ditch bottom is 18-22 cm; the laying method of the ground cloth is full coverage; The seed collecting method is to use a ground cloth to collect naturally mature and fallen epimedium seeds.

2. The harvesting method according to claim 1, characterized in that The ground cloth is a black non-woven ground cloth.

3. The harvesting method according to claim 1, characterized in that After the ground cloth is spread, holes are made in the ground cloth at the location where the epimedium is planted, and the diameter of the holes is 5-7 cm.

4. The harvesting method according to claim 1, characterized in that Wait until all the epimedium seeds mature and fall naturally before collecting them; The seed collection method includes: using a machine to suck up the seeds or manually cleaning them after they fall; and also performing wind selection after the seeds are collected.

5. The harvesting method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method of planting epimedium includes planting in a single row on the top of a ridge.

6. The harvesting method according to claim 1, characterized in that The spacing between the epimedium plants is 15 cm.

7. The harvesting method according to claim 1, characterized in that After laying the ground cloth, field management is also carried out; the field management includes building shading facilities, irrigation and weeding; the soil moisture content after irrigation is 20% to 25%.

8. The harvesting method according to claim 1, characterized in that The time for planting epimedium includes autumn planting or spring planting; the autumn planting time is when the ground temperature is 10-15°C; the spring planting time is when the soil thaws to a ground temperature of 5-7°C.

Images