Where are the latest production areas of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) distributed?
Danshen is also known as red ginseng, purple Danshen, red root, etc. It is a perennial upright herbaceous plant of the genus Salvia in the family Lamiaceae (dicotyledonous plants). Its root is used as medicine and has effects such as removing blood stasis, promoting tissue regeneration, activating blood circulation, and regulating menstruation. Due to years of unrestrained digging of wild Danshen, the wild resource quantity is now on the verge of extinction. Let us take a look below at where Danshen production areas are!
Where are the production areas of Danshen?
The fleshy root of Danshen is thick, the stem height is 40-80 cm, the leaves are usually odd-pinnately compound, the verticillaster has 6 flowers or multiple flowers, the black small nutlets are elliptical, the flowering period is from April to August, and fruit appears after flowering. In China, except for the high-cold areas of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and northern Inner Mongolia, it is distributed in almost all provinces, regions, and municipalities. It is produced in places such as Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hunan, and it is also distributed in Japan.
The production environment of Danshen
Danshen likes to grow in an environment with a mild climate, sufficient light, and humid air. Areas with an annual average temperature of 17.1°C and an average relative humidity of 77% are the best planting areas. It grows better in fertile sandy loam soil, but it has a wide adaptability to soil pH, and can grow in neutral, slightly acidic, and slightly alkaline soils. Wild Danshen is mostly seen by roadsides, on slopes, and by riversides.
Propagation methods of Danshen
1. Root division propagation: During the autumn harvest, select current-year Danshen roots with a diameter of 0.7-1 cm, purple-red color, no pests or diseases, and full development as seed roots, and store them in wet sand until the next spring. In early spring from March to April, cut the seed roots into small sections of 4-6 cm. According to the specifications of row spacing, plant spacing, and depth of 35 cm × 25 cm × 6 cm, place the cut seed roots vertically into the holes, one section per hole, with the thick end facing up. Do not invert them. Cover with about 2 cm of soil, not too thick, otherwise it will affect emergence. Use about 50 kg of seed roots per mu. When planted with root sections, flowering is late, and it is difficult to harvest seeds in the same year, but the roots grow faster and the medicinal material yield is high.
2. Rhizome head propagation: At the time of Danshen harvest, select robust, disease-free plants, cut off the thick roots for medicinal use, and use the fine roots together with the rhizome head and heart leaves as seedlings for planting. Large seedlings can be divided into 2-4 plants according to the natural growth condition of buds and roots, and then planted. Wild Danshen can also be dug up, the thick roots cut off for medicinal use, and the fine roots together with the rhizome head planted. The plant and row spacing are the same as for root division propagation, and the time should be in late autumn or early spring. With rhizome head propagation, it can be harvested in the following year after planting, the production cycle is short, and the economic benefit is good.
3. Cutting propagation: In the north from June to July, and in the south from April to May, select robust, disease-free Danshen branches and cut them off at ground level, cut them into small sections 13-16 cm long. The lower cut should be close to the stem node and shaped like a horseshoe. Remove the lower leaves. According to row and plant spacing of 20 × 10 cm, insert the cuttings obliquely into the seedbed to a depth of 1/2-2/3 of the cutting, cover with soil and press firmly, leaving 1-2 leaves above ground. Cut and insert at the same time; they must not be left for long, otherwise it will affect the survival rate of the cuttings. After insertion, keep the soil moist and provide appropriate shade. In 15-20 days, new roots will grow from the lowest stem node. When the roots are 3 cm long, set them in the field.
4. Seed propagation: Danshen seeds are small, with a germination rate of about 70%. Direct seeding often results in uneven emergence, so the seedling transplanting method is mostly used. Seeds should preferably be mature seeds after June, sown immediately after collection or sown in September. Generally, sow in the seedbed in March, either in drills or broadcast. For drilling, the row and plant spacing is 30 × 20 cm, the ditch depth is 1-1.3 cm, the seeds are mixed with river sand and evenly scattered in the ditch, then covered with 0.5-0.7 cm of soil. For broadcasting, the seeds can be evenly scattered on the ground, then stepped on once with the foot so that the seeds adhere tightly to the soil; there is no need to cover with soil. The sowing rate is about 0.5 kg per mu. After sowing, cover with plastic film to keep warm and moist. When the soil temperature reaches about 20°C, seedlings emerge in 15-20 days. When the seedlings have 3-5 true leaves, if they are found to be too dense, thinning should be carried out. The thinned seedlings can be planted and cultivated elsewhere. After 2 months of growth after sowing, they can be transplanted.