How to Grow Schisandra Chinensis and How Many Years Until It Bears Fruit

Through long-term accumulation of experience, farmers gradually grasped the growth patterns of Schisandra chinensis, and thus artificially cultivated Schisandra chinensis came into being. With the development of agricultural science and technology and the continuous increase in market demand for Schisandra chinensis, the area of artificial cultivation of Schisandra chinensis is constantly expanding.

How to Grow Schisandra Chinensis

1. Site selection and land preparation: Choose a moist environment, loose and fertile loam or humus soil, a site with irrigation conditions under forest, in river valleys, on both banks of streams, or on slopes of about 15 degrees, with 50%-60% shade density and good ventilation and light transmission. Select a good site, prepare the land, plow it, and work it into fine seedbeds. For low-lying, waterlogged plots with abundant rain, make raised beds about 15 cm high. For high, dry, and drought-prone places with less rain, make flat beds. Regardless of bed type, there must be more than 15 cm of loose soil layer. The bed width is 120-150 cm, and the length depends on the seeds and terrain. Apply 5-10 kg of decomposed barnyard manure per square meter, mix it evenly with the bed soil, rake the bed surface smooth, and it is ready for sowing.

2. Field planting: About 60 cm from the tree stump, plant one plant on each side. This planting method gives high yields. Build trellises artificially, and plant Schisandra chinensis seedlings at row spacings of 100 cm * 50 cm and 60 cm * 50 cm. Use north-south rows to facilitate ventilation and light transmission. Dig holes about 30 cm deep and 30 cm wide, mix fertilizer and soil evenly, and fill the holes. When planting seedlings, fill half the soil, then lift the seedling slightly so the root system straightens out, which helps survival. Firm the soil, water, and after the water seeps in, cover with a layer of soil to preserve moisture.

Field Management Methods for Schisandra Chinensis

1. Irrigation and fertilization: After Schisandra chinensis survives planting, keep the soil moist. Irrigate once before freezing to help it overwinter. During the bud, flowering, and fruiting stages, it needs not only sufficient water but also plenty of nutrients. Apply topdressing 1-2 times per year, and each plant can be topdressed with 5-10 kg of decomposed farmyard manure.

2. Branch pruning: Schisandra chinensis branches can be pruned in spring, summer, and autumn. No matter when pruning is done, 2-3 nutrient branches should be selected and retained as main branches, and the vines should be trained onto the trellis.

① Spring pruning: Generally carried out before the branches sprout. Cut off overly dense fruiting branches and dead branches. After pruning, the branches should be moderately sparse and not interfere with each other.

② Summer pruning: Generally carried out from early to mid-May to early to mid-August. Mainly cut off basal branches, cavity branches, overlapping branches, diseased and pest-damaged branches, etc.

③ Autumn pruning: Generally carried out after leaf fall. Cut off the basal branches that grew after summer pruning and promptly apply a callus and anti-corrosion membrane to the pruning wounds.

3. Trellising and transplanting: Schisandra chinensis should be trellised in the second year of planting. Cement columns or angle steel can be used as upright posts, and wooden poles or No. 8 iron wire can be used to pull a horizontal line at the upper part of the posts. Place a bamboo pole or wooden pole at each main vine, then train the vines onto the trellis.

4. Thickening the fruit stalk: Apply fruit-stalk-strengthening agent to Schisandra chinensis at the bud stage, young fruit stage, and fruit expansion stage respectively to thicken the fruit stalk, increase nutrient transport, prevent flower drop, improve pollination capacity, increase fruit set rate, accelerate expansion speed, and ensure high quality and high yield.

5. Loosening soil and weeding: During the growth period of Schisandra chinensis, loosen the soil and weed in time to keep the soil loose and free of weeds. When loosening the soil, avoid injuring the root system. Make a tree at the base of Schisandra chinensis to facilitate irrigation.

6. Earthing up for overwintering: Before winter, earth up around the base of Schisandra chinensis to protect it for safe overwintering.

How Many Years Until Schisandra Chinensis Bears Fruit

Seedling-grown Schisandra chinensis bears fruit after 5 years, vegetatively propagated plants bear fruit in 3 years, and generally after planting they bear fruit heavily in 4-5 years.

Planting Benefits of Schisandra Chinensis

Schisandra chinensis can make full use of forest farm newly afforested land, wasteland, land returned from farmland to forest, orchard land, and other tree and fruit forest areas as natural trellis material, developing artificial intercropping cultivation of Schisandra chinensis among forests. Excluding the economic benefits of forest trees and forest fruits, the per-mu benefit of Schisandra chinensis alone is quite considerable.

If three-year-old Schisandra chinensis seedlings are transplanted, they can begin to bear fruit the next year and enter full fruiting period in the 3rd-4th year. Generally, the yield of dried fruit is 170-230 kg per mu. Calculated at 45 yuan/kg after the new crop comes to market, the per-mu benefit should be between 6,500-11,500 yuan, which is much higher than the benefits of growing grain or cotton. Therefore, intercropping Schisandra chinensis in forests is a win-win way to achieve both ecological protection benefits and economic benefits.

Generally speaking, most of the goose cultivation techniques for Schisandra chinensis still continue farming techniques that have remained unchanged for hundreds or thousands of years. China is still very backward in the innovation of tools used for medicinal herb cultivation, so in the future, the cultivation of medicinal herbs urgently needs a large input of agricultural materials and technology.