A Detailed Guide to the Benefits, Effects and Cultivation Methods of Polygonatum odoratum

Polygonatum odoratum, is a plant of the Liliaceae family. Long cylindrical, slightly flattened, rarely branched, surface yellowish-white or pale yellowish-brown, semi-transparent, with longitudinal wrinkles and slightly raised links, white dot-shaped fibrous root scars and disc-shaped stem scars. Texture hard and brittle or slightly soft, easily broken, fracture horny or showing granularity. Slight odor, sweet taste, sticky when chewed. Mainly treats nourishing yin and moistening dryness, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst. Used for lung and stomach yin injury, high blood sugar, dry-heat cough, dry throat and thirst, internal heat and wasting-thirst.

Benefits of Polygonatum odoratum

Nourishes yin and moistens the lungs; nourishes the stomach and promotes fluid production. Dry cough; chronic cough; dry throat and thirst from yin fluid depletion due to febrile disease; internal heat and wasting-thirst; yin deficiency with exogenous attack; dizziness and vertigo; tendon and vessel spasmodic pain.

Effects of Polygonatum odoratum

1. Polygonatum odoratum is sweet in taste and rich in fat, soft and moist in nature; it is a good medicine for nourishing yin and promoting fluid production. The vitamin A contained in Polygonatum odoratum improves dry, cracked and rough skin conditions, making it soft and smooth. It plays a role in beauty and skin care.

2. The steroidal glycosides contained in Polygonatum odoratum have an effect on cardiac muscle similar to that of lily of the valley preparations. The glycoside of Polygonatum odoratum has a cardiotonic effect on the isolated frog heart, and the effect of the decoction of Polygonatum odoratum is similar to that of its glycoside.

3. Intraperitoneal injection of Polygonatum odoratum extract can enhance the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages in burned mice, raise the level of serum hemolysin antibodies, and improve the proliferative response of splenic lymphocytes to ConA.

Cultivation of Polygonatum odoratum

[Land Selection]

Choose soil with low soil, air and water pollution, hillock and hilly land at an altitude of 100—1200 m, a slope of less than 25 degrees, deep soil layer, fertile and loose, well-drained, neutral or slightly acidic soil as the planting land for Polygonatum odoratum. Polygonatum odoratum is not suitable for continuous cropping, otherwise phenomena such as increased pests and diseases and decreased yield will occur, so continuous cropping must be strictly avoided.

[Seedling Selection]

Select the high-quality Polygonatum odoratum variety Zhushiwei (Pig Dung Tail), which is robust, free of pests and diseases, and free of external injuries.

[Land Preparation and Fertilization]

For the selected land, after the previous crop is harvested, apply quicklime at 150 kg/mu and soil insect killer such as Dichongguang at 200 g/mu, and immediately plow (depth about 30 cm), remove weeds, and expose the soil to the sun (this point is very important and is one of the keys to ensuring high yield of Polygonatum odoratum). Before sowing, break up the soil clods, divide into beds and open furrows (bed width 1.5—2 m), level and refine, apply sufficient base fertilizer, and apply pig and cattle manure at 2500 kg/mu.

[Sowing]

Select seedlings with undamaged buds and robust plant bodies, and sow from July 25 to August 25 each year on a sunny day or a sunny day after rain, when the dryness and moisture are suitable. Before sowing, sterilize and disinfect with drugs such as thiophanate-methyl (dilute with water at conventional concentration, soak for 2~5 minutes), and arrange the seeds reasonably (there are two methods: the oblique arrangement method and the flat arrangement method, with the oblique arrangement method being more common. The oblique arrangement method is to place the end of the seed stem with the terminal bud facing up, the tail facing down, at a certain angle to the ground into the sowing furrow, with a density of 30cmX8.3cm and a depth of 6—7 cm.

[Mulching]

After planting Polygonatum odoratum, it must be immediately covered with rice straw, corn stalks or thatch, with a thickness of 6—7 cm, and a thin layer of soil should be covered on this layer of straw.

[Fertilization]

Fertilizer and water are crucial to the yield of Polygonatum odoratum; the more the better, especially potassium fertilizer, but too much nitrogen fertilizer will make its stems and leaves too tender and prone to pests and diseases. During the entire 2-year production period, fertilization must be carried out at least 2 times: one is at sowing time, applying human and animal manure at 1500~2000 kg/mu in the middle layer between the seedlings and the covering straw layer (leave a thin layer of soil between the fertilizer and the seedlings to avoid burning the seedlings, and if necessary, additionally apply compound fertilizer at 50~150 kg/mu). The other is in August~September of the following year after the seedlings wither; cut off the withered seedlings, pull out weeds, then apply pig and cattle manure at 1000~1500 kg/mu, and add rice straw and fresh grass for mulching. If conditions permit or the land is too poor, after the seedlings emerge 5 cm each year around Qingming Festival, additional farmyard manure or compound fertilizer may be applied. At the same time, clear the furrows and drain water to prevent root rot.

[Weeding]

It can be carried out in all four seasons, and the principle of “weed early, weed small, weed completely” must be adhered to. Weeding can be carried out by combining manual weeding with the application of a special herbicide for Polygonatum odoratum, but manual weeding must never use a hoe; it should be pulled out by hand to avoid injuring or killing the seedlings. At the same time, people and livestock must be strictly prevented from entering to avoid trampling and injuring the tender seedlings. Before the new seedlings emerge each year around Qingming Festival, use herbicide to thoroughly weed the seedbed and furrow pits; after the seedlings grow out, only glyphosate or a special herbicide for Polygonatum odoratum can be used for weeding.

[Preventing Waterlogging and Combating Drought]

Within the area of Ziyuan County, planting Polygonatum odoratum basically requires no drought resistance, but it is especially afraid of waterlogging, especially when planted in fields; more field outlets should be opened, deep field outlets should be opened, and high beds should be raised. Once waterlogged, yellow leaves, collapsed plants, rotten roots, and decreased yield are likely to occur, and even entire plants and entire patches may die, resulting in total crop failure.

[Pest and Disease Control]

Polygonatum odoratum basically has no pests and diseases, and even if there are insects, the harm is not great; it is enough to thoroughly kill soil insects with Dichongguang at sowing time, and black light lamps can also be used to trap and kill pests. The main diseases include brown spot disease and brown rot, etc. The key is to do the following well: First, when sowing, seedling selection must be careful; purchase seeds from areas with few disease sources; remove diseased and rotten seedlings; and ensure the soaking time and the concentration of the medicinal solution. Second, adhere to the principle of prevention first; after the new seedlings emerge fully each year, spray the leaf surface with drugs such as thiophanate-methyl for prevention, and once severe yellowing or leaf curling is found, immediately spray with thiophanate-methyl or the like.