How to Propagate Glehnia littoralis? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Propagation Methods
Glehnia littoralis is the root of the umbellifer (Apiaceae) plant Glehnia littoralis (beach silvertop), which is processed and dried for medicinal use. It has effects such as moistening the lungs and stopping cough, and nourishing the stomach and promoting body fluid production; it is used for dry cough due to lung dryness, damage to body fluids from febrile disease, thirst and other conditions. It has strong adaptability to climate, prefers sunny, warm and humid environments, and is mainly produced in the Laiyang and Weifang areas of Shandong, with production also in Hebei, Liaoning and other places. Let us now take a look at the propagation methods of Glehnia littoralis!
Seed Treatment of Glehnia littoralis
Glehnia littoralis is a deep-rooted plant, so before sowing the soil must be deeply plowed and raked level. Before sowing, remove the fruit wings from the seeds and soak them in 25-degree warm water for 4 hours, then take them out and let them cool slightly, mix with two-thirds moist sand, and place them in a box to freeze. After thawing in spring, sow them. Autumn sowing should be done before the soil freezes. Seeds for spring sowing should not be treated by sand storage, otherwise they will not emerge that year.
Sowing Methods of Glehnia littoralis
For autumn sowing, draw shallow furrows half a centimeter deep at a row spacing of 5-6 cm, space the seeds 4-5 cm apart, cover with soil and water, then cover with rice straw; before the soil freezes, water heavily once more and cover with a layer of barnyard manure. For spring sowing, do it around Qingming to Guyu; the method is the same as above, but the seeds do not need low-temperature freezing treatment. If sown without treatment, they will not emerge; if untreated, it is best to sow immediately after harvesting. On sandy loam, the sowing rate is 75 kg per hectare; on pure sand, 90-112.5 kg per hectare; on fertile soil with irrigation conditions, 52.5-60 kg per hectare may be sown. After sowing, pure sand land should be pressed with yellow mud or small broken stone to prevent wind from moving the sandy soil and causing losses; waterlogged lowland should be pressed with sand when the soil freezes. Autumn-sown seeds emerge in March of the following year.
Seedling Stage Management of Glehnia littoralis
1. Winter and spring management: For winter-sown Glehnia littoralis, after snow falls in winter, move snow into the field to help preserve soil moisture. After the ginseng field has gone through winter rain, snow and freezing, the surface soil often becomes compacted after thawing the following spring. Therefore, around “Jingzhe” (Awakening of Insects), before the seedlings emerge, lightly rake the surface once with an iron rake to settle the soil and favor emergence. If the soil is too wet, do not press it.
2. Thinning and final thinning: After the ginseng seedlings emerge, a small hook can be used to lightly break the soil surface, and weeds can be removed at the same time to keep the surface soil loose and favor seedling growth. When the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves, thin them by the triangular seedling-spacing method, with a plant spacing of about 3 cm. If too sparse, the ginseng roots will be thick and loose in texture with poor quality; if too dense, growth will be poor.
3. Drainage and irrigation: Glehnia littoralis has relatively strong drought resistance and fears waterlogging most. Generally, mild spring drought favors downward root growth and makes the roots deep and long. In a waterlogged spring, the ginseng roots grow slowly and are thick and short, hence the saying “spring waterlogging, no roots.” If severe drought occurs in spring, water appropriately, just enough to soak the soil through. In the late growth stage and rainy season of Glehnia littoralis, special attention must be paid to draining accumulated water in time to prevent root rot.
4. Reasonable topdressing: After the final thinning of Glehnia littoralis, apply 50 kg of fermented soybean cake fertilizer per mu, mix 1 kg of trichlorfon powder into the fertilizer, scatter it between the rows, then loosen the soil and water. Around “Xiaoshu” (Minor Heat), before rain, apply 10-15 kg of urea per mu. When one-year-old ginseng plants produce flower buds, remove them promptly to promote root growth.