The latest cultivation methods and precautions for licorice

Licorice is a commonly used medicinal herb, often used in our daily lives; for example, cough syrup contains licorice as an ingredient. Its medicinal part is mainly its rhizome, which is mainly used to clear heat and detoxify, and to dispel phlegm and relieve cough. The main producing areas of licorice in China are Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu and other places. So do you know how licorice is cultivated? And what precautions should be taken when planting it? Let's take a look below.

1. Soil selection

Licorice likes light, and generally grows in arid or semi-arid sandy soil or desert areas, with strong adaptability. It is drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, cold-tolerant, and also salt-alkali tolerant. The groundwater level of the planting site should generally be below 1.5 m, and it should be planted in soil that is loose, well-drained, deep, with a complete soil structure, and slightly alkaline in pH. Plowing should be deep plowing; generally in autumn the land needs to be turned over, and at the same time the soil clods should be broken up and the land leveled, then you can wait to plant.

2. Cultivation methods

First we need to select seeds, then place the licorice seeds in an environment at a temperature of about 20 degrees for sweat treatment. Take them out after about 7 hours, then rinse them clean with water, dry off the moisture, and they are ready for sowing; in this way, the seed germination rate can reach more than 90 percent. The planting time for licorice is also relatively broad; generally it can be planted in spring, summer, and autumn, but the best planting time is May. Sowing is generally done by drilling or hole sowing, with a row spacing of about 35 cm and a plant spacing of about 20 cm.

3. Field management

Licorice is a perennial herbaceous plant. Generally, in the second and third years after planting, topdressing is needed in spring, mainly with phosphorus fertilizer, applied in furrows around the plants. Secondly, in the year of planting, at least 3 to 4 irrigations are generally needed, and later the number of waterings can be gradually reduced. When the seedlings grow to about 12 to 13 cm, we should thin them reasonably to ensure the spacing between plants in the field. At the same time, at least 3 to 4 times of intertillage and weeding are needed each year, and afterward the number of intertillage operations can be reduced as appropriate.

4. Pest and disease control

Licorice has strong resistance and generally rarely develops diseases. However, rust disease, brown spot disease, and powdery mildew also occur during its growth process. These diseases are basically caused by fungal infection, and can be controlled with Baume degree lime-sulfur mixture, Bordeaux mixture, and Baume degree lime-sulfur mixture plus rice water, respectively. The most common insect pests are aphids and red spiders. Aphids and red spiders are pests commonly occurring in the cultivation of many medicinal herbs. We can use fenitrothion or dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate for spraying and killing.

5. Precautions

There are not many things to pay attention to when planting licorice, but some details still need more attention, as this can improve the yield and quality of licorice. First, when covering with soil to bury the seeds, be careful to press the soil firm with your feet, and remember to water once. Second, in order to improve the emergence rate, many people's handling methods have certain misunderstandings; you need to first use hot water at 60 to 100 degrees for half a minute of heat treatment, then place them in warm water and soak for 24 hours.

The cultivation methods and precautions for licorice are roughly like this. If you like the content shared by the editor, remember to follow the editor. At the same time, if you have better planting methods and points worth noting and guarding against, you can also discuss them with the editor.