What are the latest propagation methods for licorice?

Everyone knows it is a Chinese medicinal herb with extremely high medicinal value. Currently, market demand is increasing more and more, and the price keeps rising. Wild resources, due to extensive harvesting and the destruction of growing environments, are in a state of depletion. Therefore, artificial cultivation is imperative. Currently, China's licorice planting area is also increasing year by year, so how should licorice be propagated during cultivation? Let's learn about it together.

Seed propagation

1. Seed collection and treatment

In late autumn, collect fully mature licorice pods, dry them in the sun, crush them, and take out the seeds. Dry them in the sun, remove impurities, store them properly, and wait for sowing. However, the seed coat of licorice is keratinized and has weak absorptivity, so if the seeds are not treated before sowing, the germination rate will decrease. General treatment methods include chemical treatment and mechanical treatment. Chemical treatment refers to mixing the seeds with sulfuric acid. When mixing, the concentration of sulfuric acid should be appropriate. Soak the seeds in sulfuric acid solution, pile them up to raise the temperature, stir once every 15 minutes, and when the color of the seed coat turns dark brown, take them out, rinse them clean, dry them in the sun, and sow. Mechanical treatment is to use equipment to crush and break the seed coat. Although this method is simple, the seed damage rate is high, and the germination rate will also decline somewhat.

2. Sowing

Licorice does not have high soil requirements and can be planted in ordinary soil, but sandy loam soil is preferable. If planting on newly reclaimed land, the land needs to be prepared and fertilized, then raked fine and leveled before planting. It can be planted alone or intercropped with wheat, a summer-harvested crop. For sole planting, generally open shallow furrows on the ground for drilling, spread the seeds evenly into the furrows, cover with soil, and water. Generally, 2-3 kg of seed is used per mu. For intercropping, it can be sown together with wheat in spring, or sown after the wheat harvest in summer.

Cutting propagation

1. Cutting preparation

Licorice has strong asexual reproductive ability and can be propagated by cuttings. Before cutting, first prepare the cuttings. Select fresh licorice root strips from 1-2 year old, robustly growing, pest- and disease-free plants, requiring a diameter of more than 0.5 cm, and cut them into cuttings of about 15 cm. Then prepare the land and apply fertilizer, rake it fine and level it, and make beds, ready for cutting.

2. Cutting

When cutting, use an iron tool about the same thickness as the cuttings to drill holes on the bed surface at a spacing of 5×15 cm, then insert the cuttings along the holes. After inserting, cover with soil and press lightly, and irrigate immediately. After the water dries, fill the soil tightly around the cuttings. To improve the survival rate, before cutting, soak the lower ends of the cuttings in rooting agent for about 5 minutes to promote rooting.

The above is an introduction to the propagation methods of licorice. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.