How to Grow Sophora flavescens for High Yield? Key Cultivation Techniques Explained
Sophora flavescens is not the ginseng we talk about in everyday life; the two are quite different. Sophora flavescens is also a fairly common traditional Chinese medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine has a long history in our country. Many traditional Chinese medicine names differ by only a single character, yet their effects and functions are worlds apart.
What Is Sophora flavescens
Sophora flavescens is a traditional Chinese medicine name. It is the dried root of the leguminous plant Sophora flavescens. It is dug up in spring and autumn, the root head and small branch roots are removed, it is washed clean and dried, or sliced fresh and dried. It is bitter and cold. It has the effects of clearing heat and drying dampness, killing parasites, and promoting urination. It is used for heat dysentery, bloody stool, jaundice with urinary retention, red and white leukorrhea, genital swelling and itching, eczema, damp sores, skin itching, scabies and leprosy, and externally for trichomonal vaginitis.
High-Yield Cultivation Techniques for Sophora flavescens
1. Site Selection and Land Preparation
According to the growth habits of Sophora flavescens, choose a plot with sufficient sunlight, good drainage, convenient watering, and a not-too-high groundwater table. The soil should be sandy loam with deep soil layers, loose texture, and a pH of 6 to 8. Plots with heavy clay soil, low-lying water accumulation, or shading objects are not suitable for planting. Sophora flavescens is a deep-rooted perennial plant, so before planting, sufficient slow-release, long-lasting barnyard manure, cake fertilizer, or chemical fertilizer based mainly on phosphate fertilizer must be applied as base fertilizer. Generally, apply 5000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure, 50 kg of superphosphate, or 20 kg of diammonium phosphate per mu, and plow deeply 30 to 40 cm. The plow pan must be broken to facilitate root growth and development. Harrow finely and level. In the north, make flat beds 1.5 to 2 m wide; in the south, make raised beds 15 to 20 cm high. Dig drainage ditches around the plot so it can be watered in drought and drained in waterlogging.
2. Selecting Superior Varieties
Under the same cultivation conditions, the yield and quality of different varieties vary greatly. Selecting good varieties is an agricultural measure with high benefits and quick results. The new tetraploid line Sophora flavescens 61-2-22 not only has good field agronomic traits and vigorous growth, but the kurarinone content of its root medicinal material is also much higher than that of the original plant and other tetraploid lines. While the yield is high, the content of chemical components is also high, meeting the ideal requirements, and it should be vigorously promoted in production.
3. Transplanting
After spring sowing, seedlings can be transplanted after about 75 days of cultivation. They can be planted in spring or autumn. Spring planting is done in mid-May, and autumn planting in late October. Earlier is better than later; early transplanting leads to early rooting and early greening the next year. When planting, dig holes on the bed surface at a row spacing of 33×23 cm. The hole depth depends on root length. Apply an appropriate amount of manure as base fertilizer at the bottom of the hole, mix it evenly with the hole soil, and then plant 1 to 2 seedlings propagated from seed per hole. The planting depth should be based on the original natural growth depth of the seedling, with the heart bud slightly exposed. After planting, water thoroughly to settle the roots. For cuttings, plant 1 plant per hole using the same method and planting density.
4. Propagation Methods
Root division and root-head propagation are the main methods; seed sowing and cutting propagation can also be used.
1. Root division propagation: At autumn harvest, select current-year Sophora flavescens roots with a diameter of 0.7 to 1 cm, purple-red color, no pests or diseases, and full development as seed roots, and store them in wet sand until the next spring. In early spring from March to April, cut the seed roots into 4 to 6 cm segments. At a row spacing, plant spacing, and depth of 35 cm × 25 cm × 6 cm, place the cut seed root segments vertically into the holes, one segment per hole, with the thick end facing up. Never place them upside down. Cover with about 2 cm of soil; it should not be too thick, otherwise emergence will be affected. Use about 50 kg of seed roots per mu. Planting with root segments results in late flowering, and it is difficult to harvest seeds in the same year, but the roots grow faster and medicinal material yield is high.
2. Root-head propagation: When harvesting Sophora flavescens, select healthy, disease-free plants, cut off the thick roots for medicinal use, and use the fine roots together with the root head and heart leaves as planting material for planting. Large seedlings can be divided into 2 to 4 plants according to the natural growth condition of buds and roots, and then planted. Wild Sophora flavescens can also be dug up; the thick roots are cut off for medicine, and the fine roots together with the root head are planted. The plant and row spacing are the same as for root division propagation, and the time should be late autumn or early spring. With root-head propagation, harvest can be obtained the next year after planting, giving a short production cycle and good economic benefits.
3. Cutting propagation: In the north from June to July, and in the south from April to May, select vigorous, disease-free Sophora flavescens branches, cut them off at ground level, and cut them into 13 to 16 cm segments. The lower cut should be close to the stem node and shaped like a horse hoof. Remove the lower leaves. At a row and plant spacing of 20 × 10 cm, insert the cuttings obliquely into the seedbed to a depth of 1/2 to 2/3 of the cutting, press the soil firmly, and leave 1 to 2 leaves above ground. For cultivated Sophora flavescens, cut and insert immediately; they cannot be left for long, otherwise the survival rate of the cuttings will be affected. After insertion, keep the soil moist and provide appropriate shade. In 15 to 20 days, new roots will grow from the lowest stem node. When the roots are 3 cm long, set them out in the field.
4. Seed propagation: Sophora flavescens seeds are small, with a germination rate of about 70%. Direct sowing often results in uneven emergence, so the seedling-raising and transplanting method is mostly used. Seeds should be selected from those matured after June and sown immediately after collection or sown in September. In the Beijing area, seeds are generally sown in seedbeds in March, either in drills or broadcast. For drilling, the row and plant spacing is 30 × 20 cm, the furrow depth is 1 to 1.3 cm, the seeds are mixed with river sand and evenly scattered in the furrow, and covered with 0.5 to 0.7 cm of soil. For broadcasting, the seeds can be evenly scattered on the ground and stepped on once so the seeds adhere closely to the soil; covering with soil is unnecessary. The sowing rate is about 0.5 kg per mu. After sowing, cover with plastic film to preserve heat and moisture. When the soil temperature reaches about 20°C, seedlings emerge in 15 to 20 days. When the seedlings have 3 to 5 true leaves, thin them if they are found to be too dense; the thinned seedlings can be planted out and cultivated. After 2 months of growth after sowing, they can be transplanted.
Among the above 4 propagation methods, using root heads as propagation material gives the highest yield. Next is root division propagation.
Root Growth Habits of Sophora flavescens
Sophora flavescens is a perennial herb with a well-developed root system that can reach 60 to 80 cm deep, so sandy loam with deep soil layers and loose texture is most conducive to root growth. When the soil is too sticky and aeration and drainage are poor, root rot often occurs, causing the whole plant to wither. The roots have strong sprouting ability, so root division propagation can be used. The upper and middle sections of root strips sprout and root faster than the lower section. Research shows that Sophora flavescens roots grow along with the aboveground part. Later, as the temperature gradually drops, aboveground growth gradually slows, nutrients are transferred downward, and root growth becomes more rapid.
Fertilizer Requirements of Sophora flavescens
Sophora flavescens plants have a very strong ability to absorb fertilizer. Relying on their powerful root system, they can absorb nutrients from both the surface and deep layers of the soil. In generally medium-fertility soil, they can grow and develop well, and the effect is even better when more base fertilizer is applied together with nitrogen topdressing. When nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are severely deficient, Sophora flavescens plants will show certain physiological symptoms. Under severe nitrogen deficiency, the leaves gradually change from dark green to light green in the early stage, and plant growth is slow; in severe cases, the growing point does not develop or even necroses, no new leaves grow, old leaves gradually turn yellow and withered, roots are small, and medicinal material yield is very low. When phosphorus is deficient, leaves are green, sometimes reddish-brown. In the early stage, obvious brown spots appear on the leaves; in the later stage, the spots enlarge and dry and scorch, leaves sometimes twist and curl, and heart leaves grow slowly. When potassium is deficient, plant leaves are green to dark green, leaves are broad and large, petioles are slender, tender, and weak, showing excessive vegetative growth; sometimes old leaf edges have relatively large brown spots, leaf veins are dark green, other parts are light green, and obvious mottling appears.
Fertilization Techniques for Sophora flavescens
Because Sophora flavescens is a fertilizer-loving medicinal plant, sufficient base fertilizer must first be applied when sowing. The base fertilizer is mainly farmyard manure and miscellaneous fertilizers, such as decomposed pig or sheep pen manure or burnt mud ash, with an application rate of 1000 to 1200 kg per 667 sq m (1 mu). After mixing evenly with the soil, prepare the land finely and level it. In addition to base fertilizer, topdressing should be applied at least 2 to 3 times during plant growth. In the early growth stage, topdressing is mainly nitrogen fertilizer or human and livestock manure and urine; in the middle growth stage, apply fertilizer according to seedling condition; after autumn, apply heavy root-growing fertilizer, preferably a mixed phosphorus-potassium fertilizer such as superphosphate.
1. Removing flower stalks
Sophora flavescens will successively bolt and bloom from late April to May. To concentrate nutrients in root growth, all flower stalks are cut off except in seed-production plots, and earlier is better than later.
2. Drainage and irrigation
Sophora flavescens is most averse to water accumulation. In the rainy season, clear ditches and drain in time; in dry weather, carry out furrow irrigation or watering in time, and remove excess accumulated water promptly to avoid waterlogging.
Friends who grow Sophora flavescens, if you want to grow high-yield Sophora flavescens, you still need a lot of techniques and skills. In the cultivation process, in addition to learning experience from successful growers, you must also combine the problems you encounter in actual practice, continuously analyze and summarize, and develop the method that suits you best.