1. Overview 

    Trollius chinensis Bge. is also known as Golden Knot and Golden Plum Grass. Its flowers are used as medicine, containing alkaloids and flavonoids. It tastes bitter and is cool in nature. It has the functions of clearing away heat and detoxifying, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. It can treat acute and chronic tonsillitis, acute otitis media, conjunctivitis, tympanitis, etc. It is mainly produced in Hebei (Weichang), Shanxi (Wutai Mountain) and southern Inner Mongolia, and currently mainly relies on wild resources.

2. Biological Characteristics

    Nasturtium is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Ranunculaceae family (Figure 23 ). It grows wild at an altitude of 1000 to2200m​It grows in the grassy slopes of mountains or dam areas, under sparse forests or in the grass of swamps. It likes a cool, humid climate, is relatively cold-tolerant and shade-tolerant, and avoids high temperatures. It was introduced to the low-altitude Beijing plain area. In summer, it is hot and rainy, and the plants are prone to root rot and death. If a shed is built for shade and planted under the forest, the death of the plants can be reduced. The root system of the golden lotus is shallow, and it is afraid of drought and avoids waterlogging.

3. Cultivation Technology

1. Site selection and land preparation:   It is best to choose a gentle mountain or dam area with cold winters and cool summers. The specific planting site should be sandy loam with good drainage. Try to choose a gentle sparse forest or young forest orchard. Before ploughing the land, apply 3,000 to 4,000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer per mu as base fertilizer, apply it evenly on the surface, then plow it into the ground, harrow it flat and make ridges. Generally, flat ridges are made, and high ridges can be made in rainy areas. The width of the ridge is 1.4 to1.5 mFor gently sloping land that is inconvenient for irrigation, just level the mountain and dig several drainage ditches according to the terrain.

2. Reproduction method

    ( 1 ) Seed propagation:   In the wild, the seeds of nasturtium mature gradually in late July. The seeds are very small, with a thousand-grain weight of only 0.8 to1.3 g. Newly collected seeds are still in a dormant state and must be stored in low-temperature sand or treated with gibberellins to break dormancy before germination. Mature seeds are black and shiny. Be careful when collecting seeds. Do not turn the cut fruits upside down to prevent the seeds from falling from the small holes at the end of the fruit. Put them into cloth bags in time, transport them back and spread them out for a few days before threshing. Winnow the seeds and mix them with 5 to 10 times the wet sand in time. Put them in wooden boxes or large flower pots and bury them in a cool place. Check the dryness and wetness of the sand frequently during storage. Water it in time if it is dry. Cover it in the rainy season to prevent it from getting wet. Cover it with grass and press the soil before winter to prevent freezing. Take them out after thawing in early spring of the second year and sow them. A small amount of seeds can be stored in 0 to 100 degrees Celsius.5℃In the refrigerator.

2 to 3 days before sowing , wet the ground first, and when it is slightly dry, rake it flat and then sow. Use the seeds treated with low-temperature sand and sand to spread on the surface of the ridge.10cm​Sow in shallow furrows or broadcast, cover after sowing0.5 cmThick thin soil, and build a shade shed or cover with film to keep moisture. Water frequently to keep the topsoil moist. Seedlings will emerge about 10 days after sowing. Newly harvested seeds can also be soaked in 500ppm gibberellin for 24 hours and sown, and they can also emerge. After the seedlings emerge, the soil should be loosened, weeded and watered frequently to keep the soil moist and free of weeds. Urea can be applied once during the seedling stage , with an application rate of 1000 t /h each time.5 kgStrengthen management, and transplant after thawing in the spring of the second year, with row spacing of 30 to 35 cm and plant spacing of 20 to 25 cm.

( 2 ) Propagation by division:   Dig up the seedlings in late autumn when the plants turn yellow and dry up. The aboveground flower stems are still dry and easy to find, or dig them up in April or May when the seedlings emerge. Divide the dug rhizomes, leaving 1 to 2 buds on each plant, and plant them in the same row spacing as above. Water after planting. If there is no watering condition, the soil should be compacted after planting. The survival rate of those planted in late autumn is higher.

    3. Field management

    In the early stage of plant growth, weeding and loosening the soil should be done frequently to keep the ridges clean and free of weeds. In July , the plants are basically covered with ridges, which is inconvenient to operate. To avoid damaging the flower stems, loosening the soil and weeding are no longer required. The golden lotus seedlings are not drought-tolerant, so they should be watered frequently to keep the soil moist. In the rainy season, attention should be paid to drainage. In addition to applying enough basal fertilizer before land preparation, appropriate topdressing should be applied during the growth period. When the seedlings are 6 to 10 cm tall after germination and greening, nitrogen fertilizer should be applied to raise the seedlings. 15 to 20 kg of urea can be applied per mu . In June and July , 30 to 50 kg of ammonium phosphate granular fertilizer can be applied per mu. Organic fertilizer should be applied before the ground freezes in winter, 2,500 to 3,000 kg per mu. Each time fertilizer is applied, ditches should be dug and the soil should be covered after application. When introducing it in places with lower altitudes and hotter summers, special attention should be paid to shading to reduce the temperature in the ridges. Generally, a shed should be built, and the shade degree should be controlled at 30-50 % . The shade degree should be reasonably adjusted according to the local climate and plant growth conditions.1 meterThe materials for building the shed can be taken locally. It can also be intercropped with tall crops or fruit trees to achieve the purpose of shading.

    4. Pests and diseases and their prevention and control

    ( 1 ) Underground pests   include white grubs, mole crickets, wireworms, etc., which eat underground rhizomes and cause seedlings to break. Special attention should be paid to preventing mole crickets from spreading through the roots in the nursery area . You can use 1 kg of 30- fold dilution of 50 % trichlorfon mixed with 50 kg of fried bran and spread it on the surface of the ridge to lure and kill it. Wireworms can be controlled by mixing 90% trichlorfon or 50% phoxim with 70% cooked grains, drained and then sprinkled on the surface of the ridge.

    ( 2 ) Root rot   is mostly caused by excessive humidity. Soil moisture should be controlled, watering should be done less frequently, shade should be provided in time during summer, and drainage ditches should be dug.

4. Harvesting and Processing

For plants propagated by seeds, a small number of plants will bloom in the second year after sowing, and a large number of plants will bloom after the third year; for plants propagated by root division, they will bloom in the same year. Generally, the flowers that have opened are picked in time during the summer flowering season, transported back to the drying yard, placed on drying mats, spread out to dry in the sun or air-dried for medicinal use.