The Latest Tutorial on Field Management Techniques for Licorice
Licorice is a perennial herbaceous plant and also the most widely used medicinal plant. Its rhizome can be used as medicine, mainly for clearing heat and detoxifying, eliminating phlegm and relieving cough. Many Chinese patent medicines for colds and coughs contain its ingredients, and market demand is extremely high. During planting and production, mastering the correct field management techniques to increase yield is extremely important for medicinal herb growers. So how should it be managed? Let's take a look together.
1. Cultivation and Weeding
Licorice seedlings grow slowly and are highly susceptible to the influence of weeds, so weeds must be removed promptly so that licorice growth is not hindered. In addition, generally when licorice has grown 3-5 true leaves, cultivation should be carried out. At this time, half of the cultivation is shallow hoeing of 2 cm; going too deep may damage the root system, and it should be combined with weeding. When the seedlings have grown 10-12 true leaves, cultivation should be carried out once more in combination with weeding, and at this time deep hoeing of about 5 cm can be done.
2. Thinning and Final Singling of Seedlings
During the first cultivation and weeding, seedlings can be thinned according to field conditions. Thinning requires removing crowded seedlings and duplicate seedlings, which can expand the ventilation and light penetration of the plants and speed up seedling growth. When the second cultivation and weeding is carried out, final singling can be done. During final singling, the plant spacing should be controlled at 10-15 cm. In addition, some diseased seedlings and weak seedlings should be removed, leaving strong seedlings for final planting.
3. Watering and Drainage
During seedling raising, licorice should not be watered too many times. Generally, watering is mainly concentrated in the early growth stage. If it is an arid or semi-arid region, watering should be done frequently before and after emergence to keep the soil moist, so as to avoid water shortage in the plants causing broken rows and missing seedlings. Watering during the licorice seedling stage is mainly done at the first and second cultivation and weeding, with one watering after each cultivation and weeding, which can promote seedling growth and development. In the middle growth stage, water once in combination with fertilization; in the middle and late growth stages, watering should be controlled and appropriate drought maintained to benefit root growth. Before freezing, if conditions permit, one freezing water can be applied to help the plants overwinter. In addition, if soil moisture is too high, it may cause licorice root rot, so drainage should be done promptly during the rainy season or when there is standing water.
4. Reasonable Topdressing
Before planting, sufficient base fertilizer can be applied in combination with plowing. During the first cultivation and weeding, 5-15 kg of urea can be applied per mu, and during the second cultivation and weeding, 5-10 kg of urea can be applied per mu. After greening again in the second year, 10-20 kg of diammonium phosphate or urea should be topdressed once per mu, so that the plants can green again as soon as possible and avoid the phenomenon of excessive vegetative growth and delayed maturity. In addition, one point should be noted when fertilizing: nitrogen fertilizer can promote rapid plant growth, but licorice roots have root nodules, and these root nodules have the function of nitrogen fixation. If a large amount of nitrogen fertilizer is applied, it will cause nutritional imbalance in the plants, leading to excessive vegetative growth and rampant growth, affecting yield.
The above is an introduction to the field management techniques for licorice. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.