Latest Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Cultivating Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Due to the scarcity of natural resources of Chinese medicinal herbs, artificial cultivation of Chinese medicinal herbs has become a trend. Every grower, whether large-scale or small-scale, should carefully grasp the cultivation characteristics of medicinal plants from the perspective of plant cultivation science, including varieties, water and fertilizer, meteorology and geography, market forecasting, labor and management, etc. Various regions across the country are striving to raise the level of scientific farming in order to achieve high efficiency in medicinal herb cultivation.

Selection of the Planting Site

The quality of soil conditions directly affects the quality and yield of medicinal herbs. Most Chinese medicinal herbs are suitable for growing in soil with deep layers, high fertility and a neutral pH. Root and rhizome medicinal herbs are suitable for planting in sandy loam soil. Those with deep root systems, such as Astragalus (Huangqi) and Licorice (Gancao), also require deep plowing, but if the soil texture is unsuitable, even deep plowing will cause poor root growth and affect commercial quality. When selecting a site, attention should also be paid to the content of heavy metal elements in the soil such as arsenic, mercury, lead and copper, referring to the standards for green vegetable production, and they must not exceed the limits. Avoid selecting saline-alkali, low-lying or flood-prone plots.

1. Try to avoid choosing high-yield farmland. This is not only to reduce land costs, but more importantly because such fields may be more seriously polluted by pesticides and other substances, making them unsuitable for growing green medicinal herbs.

2. If you are not growing woody medicinal herbs, do not choose mountainous land with steep slopes. The state strictly prohibits planting crops other than forest trees on slopes above 25 degrees. Most Chinese medicinal herbs can only grow well on land with a slope below 15 degrees.

3. Choose places with no pollution or little pollution, such as virgin wasteland and abandoned land that has not been cultivated for many years, avoiding the industrial “three wastes” and avoiding main highways. The soil layer should be deep and drainage should be good, because most medicinal herbs prefer such soil. Except for a few varieties, land that is too clayey or too acidic or too alkaline should not be chosen.

4. In the transition zone between plains and mountainous areas, there is a relatively large amount of this type of land resource. For example, in the Fanchang area of Anhui, there are contiguous stretches of barren hill land, tens of thousands of mu in size. The slope is very small, the soil layer is deep, drainage is good, it has been uncultivated for many years, and it is basically free of pollution, making it an ideal place for building a large-scale green Chinese medicinal herb base.

5. Root and rhizome medicinal herbs are suitable for planting in deep, fertile, sandy loam or loam soil on higher terrain with good drainage;

6. Flower, grass and leaf medicinal herbs should be planted in moist, fertile land with convenient irrigation and drainage;

7. Fruit and seed medicinal herbs are suitable for planting in courtyards and on hillside land.

Selection of Planting Soil

Highly fertile soil is the foundation for stable and high yields, so measures such as building water conservancy facilities, deep plowing and careful cultivation, and rational fertilization can continuously raise soil fertility and promote the conversion of potential fertility into available fertility. Chinese medicinal herbs each have a certain range of adaptability to soil pH, and beyond that range they grow poorly or even die. Most Chinese medicinal herbs are suitable for growing in neutral to weakly alkaline soil. Soil pH is not immutable and can be gradually changed through appropriate measures.

1. Pure sandy soil: if there is no water, nothing grows well. If the passionate desert has a bit of water, it can still be developed, such as the licorice in Xinjiang.

2. Sandy soil and sand-containing soil, riverbanks and seasonal riverbeds: if crops can be grown there, then Chinese medicinal herbs can be grown there too, mainly root-type medicinal herb varieties such as Platycodon (Jiegeng), Saposhnikovia (Fangfeng), Belamcanda (Shegan), Anemarrhena (Zhimu), Scutellaria (Huangqin), Astragalus (Huangqi), Isatis root (Banlangen), etc. Many varieties like sand-containing soil because it favors root growth; with more fertilizer, yields are high.

3. Loess soil: generally all varieties can be grown, including root types and flower-leaf types. There is a lot of loess in the north, and it is best if water conservancy conditions are available.

4. Northeast black soil: this is humus soil formed over many years, and many Chinese medicinal herb varieties grow wild there, such as Platycodon (Jiegeng), Astragalus (Huangqi), Guandong Saposhnikovia (Guan Fangfeng), Bupleurum (Chaihu), Scutellaria (Huangqin), Polygala (Yuanzhi), etc. You can select varieties with good market prospects to develop.

5. Clay soil: not conducive to root growth, so it is better not to plant varieties whose roots are used as medicine. You can choose varieties whose above-ground parts are used medicinally, namely those using stems, flowers, leaves and fruits as medicine, such as Perilla (Zisu), Dandelion (Pugongying), Safflower (Honghua), Honeysuckle (Jinyinhua), Goji (Gouqi), Agastache (Huoxiang), Dianthus superbus (Jumai), Viola (Diding), etc.

Tillage and Land Preparation

Of the root systems of Chinese medicinal herbs, 50% is distributed in the 5-20 cm plow layer and 30% in the 20-50 cm soil layer. Deep plowing has the effect of increasing yield. However, deep plowing varies by variety. Deep-rooted types such as Astragalus (Huangqi), Licorice (Gancao) and Achyranthes (Niuxi) should be plowed deeper than 30 cm. Fritillaria (Beimu), Anemarrhena (Zhimu) and Pinellia (Banxia) have shallow root systems and should be plowed to a depth of about 15 cm. Other varieties should be plowed to a depth of about 20 cm.

Plow appropriately. On the premise of not delaying planting, it is best to let the soil bleach in the sun, then level and harrow it finely, so that the ground is level, the soil is loose, and it is loose on top and firm below.

In conjunction with land preparation, disinfect the soil with lime or Junduqing. Apply 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 1·5 kg per hectare, mixed with 375 kg to 450 kg of fine sand or fine soil, and apply the medicated soil to control various underground pests. Apply herbicides to control weeds and prevent weed damage. Apply sufficient base fertilizer, with more decomposed farmyard manure, compound fertilizer and bio-organic fertilizer.