What are the best environmental conditions for growing Astragalus?
Many of us should be fairly familiar with Astragalus; it is a relatively common traditional Chinese medicine and has very good effects on many diseases in the human body, but you may not know much about how Astragalus is grown. Below, let's learn together with the editor about information related to Astragalus!
The best environment for growing Astragalus
The main production bases for cultivated Astragalus are concentrated in Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Henan, Shandong, Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia, and other provinces and regions. In view of the fact that Astragalus is a deep-rooted plant that prefers cool, high and dry conditions and sufficient light, and avoids waterlogging and heavy, compacted soil, when preparing the site you should choose a ventilated, sunny, high and dry plot with deep soil, loose texture, good aeration, strong drainage and seepage capacity, a low groundwater table, and low soil water content, with sandy loam soil, in order to prevent the occurrence of chicken-claw roots and rust spots. After the site is prepared, at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, level the land, remove weeds, and deep-plough about 50 cm, carrying out winter sunning and winter freezing to reduce the harm of diseases, insects and weeds. Before ploughing, apply 2500-5000 kg of barnyard manure or compost per mu, and 25-30 kg of superphosphate, then harrow finely and level, make beds 1.2-1.3 m wide, shape the bed surface into a turtle-back form; small high ridges with a row spacing of 40-45 cm or large high ridges with a row spacing of 60 cm can also be made, and terraced fields 1 m wide and 70-80 cm high can also be made, with drilling on them. Using the above cultivation methods can create good soil conditions for Astragalus that are favorable for root growth and development, so that the root system develops well, the main root is long and straight, and there are fewer branches.
What types of Astragalus are there
Because Astragalus is widely distributed and widely used, its commercial varieties are relatively complex and can roughly be divided into three categories: black-skinned qi, white-skinned qi and red qi
1. Bukui qi: mainly produced in Qiqihar (Bukui), Heilongjiang, as the center, including Gannan, Fuyu, Nenjiang; and in Molidawa, Zhalantun and other places in Inner Mongolia. It is a wild product of Astragalus membranaceus with the head and tail removed and sun-dried. Its trait characteristics are: long cylindrical, occasionally branched, straight or slightly curved, 35-70 cm long, 1-2.5 cm in diameter; the cut at the reed stem is a perfect circle, with the center hollow and withered, appearing as a black-brown hole, commonly called "hollow head", but not deep (about 5 cm or so). The surface is grayish black, light in weight but hard and heavy, not easy to break, the cross-section fibrous and somewhat powdery; the bark part is slightly loose, white or pale yellowish white; the wood part is relatively tight and compact, yellow, commonly called "loose bark and tight flesh". Sweet and fragrant in taste, with little residue when chewed, and a bean-like raw smell.
2. Ningguta qi: mainly produced in Ning'an (Ningguta), Mudanjiang, eastern Heilongjiang, as the center, including the Wandashan area, Zhangguangcailing area, and the Yanbian area of the Changbai Mountains. It is also a wild product of Astragalus membranaceus with the head and tail removed and sun-dried, and its trait characteristics are similar to Bukui qi.
3. Zhengkou qi: produced in Hailar, Zhalantun, Yakeshi, Xinghe, Oroqen Banner, Boketu and other places in Inner Mongolia. Its traits are similar to Bukui qi. Because in the past it was mostly distributed through Dushikou into the passes, it got this name. It is also a wild product of Astragalus membranaceus. In addition, in the past Zhengkou qi also included wild Astragalus mongholicus produced in Wuchuan, Zhuozi, Zhenghong Banner and Zhenglan Banner in Inner Mongolia, with the trade name "red-blue qi", see yellow-skinned qi.
4. Chongzheng qi: selected from cultivated Astragalus mongholicus produced in Hunyuan, Yingxian and Tianzhen in the Yanbei area of Shanxi; Daixian, Ningwu, Fanshi in the Xinzhou area; and Qinxian, Jiexiu, Yanggao and other places, choosing thick, large ones with fine tender bark, and after processing and dyeing they become "Chongzheng qi". The commercial product is long strip cylindrical, straight, single-stemmed or occasionally branched, with the reed head cut off and the tail end trimmed clean; the cut at the root head is oblate, with the center hollow or showing brown-yellow decay. It is 60-90 cm long, and the diameter 10 cm below the root head is 1.8-2.8 cm. The surface is dyed deep blue-black, and when touched the hands are stained blue-black. It is soft but tough in texture, fibrous in cross-section, the bark part yellowish white, and the wood part golden yellow and relatively fresh, commonly called "golden cup and silver plate". Fragrant in odor, sweet in taste with a bean-like raw smell and relatively pure.
Morphological characteristics of Astragalus
Astragalus mongholicus plants are 40-80 cm tall. The main root is deep and long, 1-3.5 cm in diameter, cylindrical, sometimes branched. The surface is pale brownish yellow or pale brown. The stem is erect or semi-erect, with many branches on the upper part. The leaves are alternate, odd-pinnate compound leaves, with 12-18 pairs of leaflets; the leaflets are small, elliptical or oblong, entire, with hairs on the underside. The stipules are lanceolate. The raceme is axillary, with 5-15 flowers. The corolla is papilionaceous, yellow to pale yellow; the calyx is bell-shaped, densely covered with short soft hairs, with 5 shallow lobes; there are 10 stamens. The flowering period is May to July. The pod is membranous, inflated, semi-ovate, smooth and hairless, containing 5-10 seeds. The seeds are kidney-shaped, black-brown or brown. The fruiting period is July to September.
The difference with Astragalus membranaceus is that the number of leaflets is fewer, 6-13 pairs, and the leaflets are somewhat larger, with the tip obtuse-rounded or slightly concave, sometimes with a small sharp prickle; the stipules are ovate to lanceolate-linear, and the pod is covered with black or black-and-white alternating short appressed hairs.
Growth habits of Astragalus
Astragalus is mostly wild on dry slopes or in open sparse forests on the grasslands. It prefers a cool climate, is cold-resistant and drought-resistant, and fears heat and waterlogging. It grows well on sandy loam soil with deep soil layers, rich in humus, and strong water permeability. It is not suitable for planting in clay and strongly saline-alkali land. It avoids continuous cropping, and is not suitable for rotation with safflower, potato, Atractylodes macrocephala, chrysanthemum, and so on. Astragalus seeds have hard-seededness; under general conditions, the hard seed rate can reach more than 40%-80%. When directly sown, in the first year it only grows stems and leaves and does not flower; only in the second year can it flower and set seed; after three years it flowers and sets seed in large quantities. It is mainly produced in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Ningxia, Gansu and other places, and can also be cultivated in Shandong and Hebei.
If you want to understand the cultivation of Astragalus, you first need a comprehensive understanding of its growth habits, morphological characteristics, and so on. Only after you understand it can you adopt effective methods to cultivate it and achieve twice the result with half the effort.