How to Grow Star Anise Trees: The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial

The star anise tree is a species in the family Illiciaceae, genus Illicium. It mainly grows in subtropical humid and warm valleys, and is distributed across Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan and other provinces and regions. It has high economic value and a wide range of uses, and is an excellent seasoning. It has medicinal effects such as dispelling wind, strengthening the stomach, resolving phlegm and relieving cough, and can be developed as an economic tree species for both fruit and timber. Now let us take a look at star anise tree cultivation techniques!

Seed treatment of star anise

1. Seed collection: Select superior varieties. Generally, choose healthy mother trees aged 20-50 years that grow vigorously and have yielded high output over the years as the seed collection targets. In mid-to-late October, when the star anise fruits turn from green to yellow and the fruit segments have not yet split open, the fruits can be harvested. Remove small fruits, thin fruits and irregularly shaped fruits, and carry out tree and fruit selection. Good varieties and strong seedlings are the foundation for achieving high and abundant yields in star anise plantations. Fruits collected too early or too late are of poor seed quality and are not suitable for seed.

2. Seed treatment: Spread the harvested star anise fruits indoors to dry, turning them 1-2 times a day to prevent them from heating up. After 3-4 days, the fruit segments gradually split open and the seeds can be collected. The seeds can also be extracted with a small knife or a thin wooden blade (without damaging the seed coat). In frost-free areas, it is best to sow immediately after collecting the seeds. If spring sowing is chosen, good insulation and moisture retention work should be done, and sand storage with fine sand is generally preferred. If long-distance transport is required, pack the seeds with fine sand at a ratio of fine sand to seeds of 5:1 into boxes and transport them to the destination, then pour them out and place them indoors to dry in the shade. Use the sand storage method for insulation and moisture retention. When the temperature rises to 10-15 degrees C, sowing and seedling raising can begin.

Seedling raising methods for star anise

1. Site selection and land preparation: For the star anise nursery land, yellow soil mountain land with good drainage and deep, fertile soil is preferred. Leave about 30 cm walkways between beds. During land preparation, dig beds 17-20 cm high, 18-20 cm deep and 1 m wide, and apply 22.5-25.0 tonnes per hectare of grass turf ash or compost.

2. Sowing method: Generally, for frost-free areas, sowing from December to January of the following year is preferred. In frost-prone areas, sowing in February to March, after the temperature rises above 12 degrees C, is better. Drilling is preferred, with a seed spacing in the furrow of 2-3 cm, a depth of 3-4 cm and a row spacing of 15-20 cm. The sowing rate is generally 90-120 kg per hectare. After sowing, cover with burnt grass turf soil, mix in 1.5 cm of fine yellow mud, then cover with a layer of thatch grass and water thoroughly.

3. Cultivating strong seedlings: Generally about 20 days after sowing, the seeds germinate and emerge. At this time, the thatch covering can be removed, and a shade shed with the north side high and the south side low can be built, generally with the low side 70 cm high and the high side 1 m high. Pick up all fallen broken grass. Water frequently, generally in the morning and evening, to keep the bed surface moist. During the growth of the seedlings, loosen the soil, fertilize and weed frequently, and carry out timely pest and disease control. Generally, urea or diluted human and animal manure can be used for topdressing. Apply the first fertilization when the seedlings are 2-3 cm tall, the second at 10-12 cm, and the third at 15-20 cm. In the following spring, when the seedling ground diameter is 0.4 cm, the height is 40 cm, and before the new terminal buds sprout, water the seedlings thoroughly and then lift them for out-planting and field planting.

Star anise tree cultivation techniques

1. Forest land preparation: For star anise tree planting, choose undulating terrain on the north slope of hilly land that is relatively sheltered from wind, with deep, fairly fertile and loose soil and convenient irrigation and drainage. Planting under natural mixed woods can make use of their shading effect, so when clearing the forest land, only remove shrubs, vines and lower-layer small trees, and carry out unified planning with strip preparation or full reclamation. The star anise tree has a shallow root system, with its main root not deep and its lateral roots mostly distributed within 50 cm of the soil layer. Its branches are quite brittle, so places exposed to strong winds are not suitable for planting star anise trees.

2. Timely field planting: The best time for star anise planting is around Great Cold. For fruit-producing forests, the planting spacing is generally 4 m × 5 m or 3 m × 4 m, and the planting density is preferably 750 plants per hectare. Dig pits 30 cm deep and 40 cm wide, and apply 0.5-1.0 kg of compound fertilizer per hole. For leaf-producing forests, the planting spacing is generally preferably 1.5 m × 1.5 m, and the planting density is better at 45,000 plants per hectare. Generally, 2-4 days before lifting the seedlings, keep only 1/3 of the leaves and cut off the rest. It is best to plant on the same day the seedlings are lifted. If they cannot be planted immediately, dip the roots in yellow mud slurry in time and transport them to the planting site for planting. To improve the survival rate of planting, it is best to plant on cloudy and rainy days, when the survival rate can reach 85%-90%. The planting depth is preferably such that the soil surface covers 2-3 cm above the root collar.

3. Scientific fertilization: The best time to fertilize star anise is February and June each year. Spring fertilizer can promote shoot growth, and summer fertilizer can promote vigorous growth of star anise. Nitrogen fertilizer is the main type applied. For young forests over three years old, compound fertilizer can also be applied. For one- to two-year-old trees, apply 50-150 g of urea per plant each year. For three-year-old trees, apply 100-200 g of compound fertilizer per plant and 150-250 g of urea per plant each time. For fruit-producing mature forests, special star anise fertilizer should be applied, 2 times per year, which can increase yield by 25%-44%. It is suitable for star anise trees over seven years old, applying 0.5-1.0 kg per plant each time. In addition, compound fertilizer should also be applied 1-2 times per year, with each application amount of 0.5-1.0 kg per plant. Both special fertilizer and compound fertilizer are applied by the furrow method with soil covering, and the yield increase effect is relatively obvious.

4. Timely weeding: Weeds easily consume nutrients and water in the soil, so the star anise plantation should be cultivated and weeded at least 1-2 times per year, respectively in January-February and May-June. Where weed damage is light, weeding can be done manually. For forest land with large affected areas, glyphosate can be used directly for chemical weeding. Be careful not to damage the star anise seedlings.

5. Young forest management

(1) Pruning and shaping: Pruning and shaping can generally be carried out when the young forest is 1.5-2.0 m tall to promote branching, and the number of branches can be kept at 2-3 per plant. From the base, cut off water sprouts that disrupt the tree shape and grow vigorously, crossing branches, and upright-growing branches on scaffold branches, dead branches, overly dense branches, diseased and pest-damaged branches, and weak slender branches.

(2) Shading and moisture retention: An important task in young star anise forest management is to cover most exposed open ground. Natural plants such as weed shrubs and mixed woods can be used as shade trees to achieve the goals of balancing soil temperature, keeping the forest land moist, preventing sunscald and reducing soil erosion.

6. Mature forest management

(1) Pruning and shaping: Cut few or no sparse branches. Appropriately heavily prune inner canopy branches under the crown or overly dense branches that bear few fruits, lightly prune outer branches or branches in the middle and upper crown, and heavily prune diseased and pest-damaged branches with many dry branches and abnormal growth and development. Topping and removing terminal buds can generally be carried out 3-4 years after planting. Generally after 4-5 years, leaves can be harvested for oil distillation.

(2) Reclamation of mature forests: Reclamation can change the soil structure of star anise plantings to replenish soil moisture and promote normal flower bud differentiation and the growth and development of young fruits. Reclamation is generally carried out once every 3-4 years.

7. Disease control

(1) Star anise anthracnose: To effectively reduce the source of disease in the control of star anise anthracnose, completely remove infected branches and leaves and burn them in a centralized manner. In the early stage of the disease, spray 0.5% Bordeaux mixture for control. To improve the disease resistance of the star anise tree itself, apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer or farmyard manure.

(2) Star anise leaf beetle: For star anise leaf beetle, use 80% trichlorfon or 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate diluted with water and spray to kill.

(3) Star anise hanging-thread worm: For star anise hanging-thread worm, use leafhopper powder emulsifiable concentrate or 203 emulsifiable concentrate diluted with water and spray to kill. After spraying, after the insects are startled and drop down along the threads, spray the insects on the ground once more.