What are the key techniques for high-yield licorice cultivation?

1. Soil selection: Choose sandy soil and sandy loam soil with deep soil layers, good drainage, high terrain, and relatively high calcium content. Wasteland and barren slopes with slightly alkaline soil and a pH between 7—8.5 can all be cultivated. Plots with low-lying terrain and heavy clay soil must not be planted.

2. Variety selection: Choose the new “Wosheng Licorice” variety suitable for artificial cultivation. This variety has the following characteristics: ① Strong adaptability: drought-resistant, cold-resistant, salt-alkali-resistant, heat-tolerant, and tolerant of poor soil. Its temperature adaptation range is -45—43 degrees. When cultivated in areas with severe water shortage or relatively dry conditions, no shrinking or death has been observed. It can adapt to weakly alkaline calcareous soil and is also suitable for intercropping with young forest and fruit trees. ② Short growth cycle: Using seedling raising and transplanting, the seedlings grow for 3—4 months, and after planting they can be harvested after growing for 1-2 years. ③ Fast growth: Because of its prostrate growth habit, combined with artificial cultivation techniques, it grows horizontally 30 cm at the soil surface, and has a high absorption rate of natural conditions such as light, water, and fertilizer, so its growth speed is fast; 30 days after sowing, it has 3--4 true leaves, at 60 days the plant height is 30 cm, the root length can reach 20 cm, and the diameter is 0.5 cm. ④ Simple harvesting and processing: The whole process can adopt mechanical operations, requiring less labor, and it can be sold after natural drying to 80 percent. ⑤ High yield and good quality: Per mu (667 sq m), the yield of medium-grade rough grass commodity is more than 500 kg, and high-yielding fields can reach 800 kg. The skin is red, there are few branches, and the strips are uniform, meeting the standards of the National Pharmacopoeia and conforming to the germplasm requirements for building a GAP production base. (For details, please consult the licorice and safflower improved variety introduction in Shandong Science and Technology Information News 2004, Issue 1444, Page 4, and Rural Baishitong 2004, Issue 20, Page 31).

3. Sowing and seedling raising: The seedling raising plot should be selected in a place with relatively flat terrain and a water source. One fen of seedling land (67 sq m) can plant one mu of land (667 sq m), using one kg of seed. When the temperature is stable above 18 degrees, seedlings can be raised throughout the year. After applying fertilizer to the selected land and plowing and harrowing it finely and evenly, open shallow furrows 2 cm deep at a row spacing of 25 cm, evenly sow the seeds in the furrows, cover with 1 cm of soil, press lightly, and the seedlings will emerge completely in 5--7 days. The seedlings grow for 3--4 months, and the roots reach 35--40 cm, meeting the transplanting standard.

4. Cultivation techniques: On the selected land, apply 2000 kg of organic fertilizer per mu, 50 kg of superphosphate, 20 kg of available nitrogen fertilizer, and 10 kg of potassium fertilizer; after plowing and harrowing finely and evenly, open furrows 6 cm deep at a row spacing of 25--30 cm, cut off the stems and branches above the rhizome of the licorice seedlings, remove the lateral roots, place the seedling roots in the furrows in sequence at a plant spacing of 10 cm, fill with soil, compact, and water. About 20,000 seedlings are planted per mu. They emerge in 7—10 days. With conventional management, they can be dug and harvested after growing for one year, or harvested after growing for two years.

5. Harvesting and processing: In late autumn or early spring, cut off the withered stems and branches above ground, use a tractor with a plowshare to plow and turn the soil, with a plowing depth of about 30 cm, plowing one row at a time, then manually use a four-tooth rake to clear out the licorice roots plowed out, and then plow the second row. One tractor with 6 workers can generally harvest about 8 mu per day, and the root damage rate is much lower than that of manual digging, meeting the harvesting requirements. After the harvested licorice roots are dried in the sun for a few days, cut off the rhizome heads and lateral roots, tie them into bundles, and they can be sold.

6. Yield and benefits: Licorice grown for one year yields 400-600 kg per mu, and licorice grown for two years can yield more than 1000 kg per mu. At present, the market price of licorice is 10-12 yuan/kg, and the income per mu is 4000-7000 yuan. Investment per mu: seed cost 180 yuan, fertilizer cost 150 yuan (base fertilizer and topdressing), pesticide 10 yuan, plowing cost 60 yuan (two times), labor 60 yuan, totaling 450 yuan investment per mu. Net profit per mu is 3500—6000 yuan. If intercropping and relay intercropping are adopted, the comprehensive economic benefits are even higher.