Detailed Explanation of New Scutellaria baicalensis Planting Techniques and Harvesting Methods

Scutellaria baicalensis is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, with effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and stopping bleeding. It is used to treat upper respiratory tract infections, colds, lung-heat cough, hematemesis, enteritis, dysentery and other conditions.

1. Land selection and preparation.

Choose land with high and dry terrain, ample sunlight, loose soil, and good drainage for planting; low-lying land is not suitable. After selecting the land, plow deeply to 30 cm, and at the same time apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure; apply it before deep plowing, then form ridges and press them firm.

2. Sowing.

Spring sowing and autumn sowing are both possible. Spring sowing is from mid-April to early May, and autumn sowing is from mid-August to late September. Sowing method: drill sowing on wide ridges, with furrow depth 3-5 cm. After sowing the seeds, cover with 4 cm of soil to prevent the sprouts from drying out. Seedlings emerge in 7-10 days. Before emergence, lightly drag a harrow over once to leave about 1 cm of covering soil. Where irrigation is available and conditions permit, bed sowing can be used: on a bed surface leveled and raked fine, use a row spacing of 25 cm, plant spacing of 7-10 cm, furrow depth of 2 cm, and cover with 1 cm of soil, maintaining moisture. The seeding rate is 1.5-2 kg per mu.

3. Field management.

Thinning and final thinning: seedlings emerge 7-10 days after sowing. When seedlings are 3-5 cm tall, thin them, then set the final spacing at 10 cm between plants.

4. Pest and disease control.

Root rot harms the roots. In the early stage of the disease, individual lateral roots and fibrous roots turn brown and rot, then gradually spread to the entire root system, causing rot and death of the whole plant. In the early stage of the disease, irrigate the diseased plants with a 1000-fold solution of 50% thiophanate-methyl.

5. Harvest.

(1) Scutellaria baicalensis roots are harvested at 2-3 years, with 3-year-old roots being best for harvest, having better quality and the highest yield.

(2) Seeds can be harvested in September, with 5-10 kg of seeds per mu, and each kilogram of seeds sells for 80-100 yuan.

(3) Root processing: after Scutellaria baicalensis is dug up, remove the residual stems, sun-dry until half dry, then put into a basket and shake off the old bark so that the roots appear yellow, then spread out and air-dry until completely dry, but do not expose to excessive sunlight, otherwise the root strips turn red and quality is affected. At the same time, be careful never to wash with water or let them be rained on; after washing with water or being rained on, the root strips turn green and black, and quality and grade decline. Dry product yield is 150-200 kg per mu, and the selling price is 8-10 yuan per kg.