What are the latest propagation methods for licorice?
Licorice is a perennial herb of the genus Glycyrrhiza in the Fabaceae family, with thick roots and rhizomes, and is a tonic Chinese herbal medicine. For propagation, both sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction can be used, and usually three methods are adopted: seed propagation, rhizome propagation and division propagation. Let's take a look together below!
Seed propagation of licorice
Licorice seeds have a hard and thick seed coat and are not easy to sprout. Before sowing, mix crushed glass with an equal amount of seeds and grind for half an hour, and the germination rate reaches about 85%, or mix the seeds with 3 times their amount of wet sand and store for one to two months, which can accelerate seed germination, or before sowing soak the seeds in warm water at 60°C for 4 to 6 hours, remove them and cover with a wet cloth, rinse with clean water twice a day, and sow when the seeds crack.
From late March to early April, open two shallow furrows 1.5 to 2 cm deep on the prepared ridges, sow the seeds evenly into the furrows, cover with soil and water, and seedlings can emerge half a month after sowing. Sowing on ridges is better than sowing on flat beds, as it facilitates drainage, ventilation and light transmission, and the roots grow deeper. If sown before winter, seed pre-germination treatment is not needed. The sowing rate is 2.5 kg per mu.
Rhizome propagation of licorice
For rhizome propagation of licorice, it is suitable to dig up licorice in spring and autumn, select the thick roots for medicinal use, cut the thinner rhizomes into small sections 15 cm long, each section with root buds and fibrous roots, open two furrows about 10 cm deep on the ridge, place the rhizomes flat in the furrows at a plant spacing of 15 cm, cover with soil and water, and keep the soil moist. Use 75 to 100 kg of planting stock per mu.
Division propagation of licorice
Many new plants often sprout around the mother licorice plant, and they can be dug out and transplanted in spring and autumn.