Yue Zhu , Jinni Wu

Aquatic Biology Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 4   doi: 10.5376/ija.2025.15.0020
Received: 10 Jul., 2025    Accepted: 08 Aug., 2025    Published: 28 Aug., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Zhu Y., and Wu J.N., 2025, Advancements in cultivation and post-harvest handling of Eleocharis dulcis, International Journal of Aquaculture, 15(4): 208-220 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2025.15.0020)

Eleocharis dulcis is an important aquatic vegetable. It is popular among consumers because of its crisp, sweet and delicious bulbs and has broad market prospects at home and abroad. In recent years, a large number of research has been carried out on improving the yield and quality of water chestnuts, including variety selection, breeding and seedling technology improvement, efficient cultivation management, green pest control, harvesting and processing mechanization, and storage and preservation. This study systematically reviews the botanical characteristics of water chestnuts and the current status of main plant varieties, and summarizes new technologies for rapid tissue breeding and healthy seedling cultivation. The cultivation strategies such as soil environment regulation, fertilizer and water management, dense planting and photoperiod regulation were discussed, and the impact of photoperiod on premature ripening of water chestnuts was analyzed using high-altitude areas in Yunnan as an example. Further, the main pests and diseases of water chestnuts and their occurrence patterns were explained, and green prevention and control strategies such as biopesticides, plant extracts, and rice rotation were introduced. Finally, we summarized and looked forward to the future development challenges such as regional planting, brand building, mechanization and intelligence, and organic planting certification in the water chestnut industry. Research believes that through the integrated application of good breeding and advanced cultivation and harvesting technologies, the yield and quality of water chestnuts can be significantly improved; but bottlenecks such as mechanization and disease prevention and control are still needed to be solved to achieve sustainable and high-quality development of the water chestnut industry.

Water chestnut; Aquatic vegetables; Variety selection; Rapid organizational breeding; Green prevention and control; Storage and preservation