Licorice Planting Techniques and a Detailed Guide to Planting Time and Methods
Because of its drought-tolerant and cold-tolerant growing habits, licorice is currently distributed fairly widely in the northern regions of China. Licorice has strong medicinal properties, so its sales on the market are currently quite good, which has led many people to want to grow it. So before planting, you need to have an in-depth understanding of it.
Licorice Planting Techniques
1. Seed treatment. Physical method: coarse sand or a rice milling machine can be used to abrade the seed coat, making the seed coat rough and increasing water permeability; or before sowing, soak the seeds in 45°C warm water for 10 hours. Chemical method: use concentrated sulfuric acid at a ratio of 1 part to 1.5 parts seeds, mix the seeds evenly, then rinse with clean water, and sow after drying.
2. Direct sowing of licorice. As a perennial herbaceous plant, licorice can be sown in spring, summer, or autumn, but according to surveys of several licorice planting bases in China, the yield and quality are best with spring sowing, so it is recommended to sow in spring whenever possible. Mechanical or manual sowing can both be used, with drilling adopted, a sowing depth of 2-3 cm, and appropriate compaction after sowing. The sowing rate for direct sowing should be determined according to the growth period of licorice: if harvested in 2 years, the sowing density should be relatively high, generally about 4 kg per mu; if harvested in 3-4 years, the sowing density should not be too high, generally 1-1.5 kg per mu.
3. Raising seedlings and transplanting. Around mid-April, sow when the average daily temperature is stable above 5°C. Mechanical or manual sowing can both be used, with drilling adopted, a sowing depth of 2-3 cm, and a row spacing of 30 cm. Compact appropriately after sowing. The sowing rate is about 12 kg per mu. Seedling raising and transplanting are generally carried out in the spring of the second year. When transplanting, open a furrow, place the licorice obliquely (at a 45° angle) into the furrow, then cover with soil and compact. This is beneficial for the growth and development of the rhizome and makes harvesting easier.
Licorice Planting Time
This Chinese medicinal herb licorice has a particularly notable therapeutic effect on coughs. At present, there is relatively little wild licorice, and it is mainly grown artificially. Its sowing time is fairly broad, and it can be sown in all three seasons of spring, summer, and autumn, making it quite flexible.
Of course, not every place can be divided into three seasons for sowing. Generally, northern regions, because the climate is colder, usually have only two sowing seasons, spring and autumn, while southern regions with better climatic conditions can sow in three seasons.
Licorice Planting Methods
1. Fine soil preparation: The land for planting licorice is best deep-plowed once in the autumn of the previous year, with a plowing depth of no less than 35 cm. Before spring sowing, combine with the application of farmyard manure and deep-plow and prepare the soil once more, and it is best to arrange it into small plots of 2-3 mu. Plots that are too large must first be leveled before sowing.
2. Seed selection. Choose Ural red-skinned licorice seeds that are plump, uniform, free of insect damage, with a purity above 90%, and a thousand-grain weight of about 10-12 grams.
3. Sowing. The suitable germination temperature for licorice seeds is 20-25°C. Generally, sowing can be done from late April to early August, with late April to mid-May being most suitable. Licorice sown after June accumulates little material in the current year, and the seedlings have poor overwintering ability. The seeding rate for drilled licorice is 3-4 kg per mu. Ensure that the licorice seedling stand in the following year is above 30,000-40,000 plants per mu.
Field Management of Licorice
1. Fertilization: In the 2nd and 3rd years, before the seedlings sprout each spring, apply 25 kg per mu of diammonium phosphate as a top dressing. Open a furrow and apply it 10 cm deep at the side of the row, with a furrow depth of 15 cm, and cover with soil after fertilizing.
2. Irrigation: In the sowing year, irrigate 3-4 times, with each irrigation amount generally about 85 cubic meters per mu. The first irrigation is carried out about 1 month after emergence, after which irrigate once every 1 month, and irrigate overwintering water in mid-October. In the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years, the number of irrigations can be gradually reduced.
3. Thinning: When the licorice seedlings grow to 15 cm tall, thinning can be carried out, with a plant spacing of 15 cm, keeping about 20,000 seedlings per mu.
4. Cultivation and weeding: In the sowing year, generally cultivate 3-4 times, and afterward the number of cultivations can be appropriately reduced. Combined with cultivation, mainly eliminate field weeds such as dodder.
5. Seed collection: If artificial cultivation is used, seeds must be collected every year. During the flowering and pod-setting stage, remove the flowers and fruits near the tips of the branches, and large and plump seeds can be obtained. Seed collection should be done when the seeds inside the pods change from green to brown, that is, best at the middle stage of grain filling. At this time, the hard seed rate is low, processing is simple, and the emergence rate is high. Seed collection should not be done too early, otherwise it will affect the germination rate of the seeds after sowing, causing gaps in the seedling stand.
There are relatively many times for planting licorice, and there are differences between the south and the north, so everyone needs to pay more attention. Its planting methods are still fairly simple. After planting, strong field management techniques are needed, so as to ensure its growth and survival rate, thereby increasing economic income.