How to Choose Medicinal Herb Seeds and Seedlings? Master These Practical Selection Tips

In the process of cultivating Chinese medicinal herbs, counterfeit and inferior medicinal herb seeds and seedlings are among the most harmful products in the rural means-of-production market. Because herb growers lack knowledge to distinguish the quality and authenticity of seeds and seedlings, and because of problems in seed supervision, technical identification and other links, they often choose the wrong seeds and plant the wrong herbs. Substandard medicinal materials not only bring losses to producers, but also cause serious clinical consequences due to low efficacy, ineffectiveness or even toxicity. How should one choose seeds for Chinese medicinal herbs?

“The whole year's work depends on a good start in spring.” Right now, the spring plowing season is approaching again, and many herb growers are already busy making active preparations for the new year's herb planting. This article introduces some practical tips for selecting Chinese medicinal herb seeds and seedlings, for herb growers' reference and application.

Select Varieties Based on Information

“When scarce it is a treasure, when abundant it is a weed” is a vivid metaphor used by herb growers for the benefits and risks that Chinese medicinal herb cultivation can bring. Only by grasping the market situation well and selecting good planting varieties can one obtain benefits from Chinese medicinal herb cultivation. To obtain accurate information, first pay attention to distinguishing true from false advertising, and do not be deceived by false advertisements. Second, most herb growers like to plant varieties that have had high prices on the market for a time, and often use the previous year's high-priced varieties as the reference and decision-making basis for the next year's seed selection. How can one obtain true, reliable information promptly and accurately? Information should be collected from the following aspects: 1) relevant newspapers, magazines and professional books; 2) medicinal herb markets; 3) medicinal herb production areas; 4) government competent departments and relevant statistics departments; 5) border trade import and export departments; 6) scientific research departments; 7) informed persons and industry experts; (8) professional Chinese medicinal herb websites.

Pay close attention to changes in the prices of Chinese medicinal herbs, and conduct a comprehensive analysis of the authoritative information collected, verify the facts, discard the dross and select the essence, eliminate the false and retain the true. Then you will discover the varieties and timing that bring good benefits in Chinese medicinal herb cultivation, so as to have a definite target and obtain good returns.

Select Varieties According to Local Conditions

At present there are many kinds of medicinal herb seeds, belonging respectively to different families, genera and species; the same species also has different varieties, and different varieties of medicinal herbs adapt to different environments. How should one choose suitable varieties for planting from among so many varieties? First, consider whether the variety suits the local climate conditions, soil conditions, irrigation and drainage conditions, and other special requirements of its growth habits, and so on. Choose varieties suitable for local planting and develop production according to local conditions. Reasonably arrange intercropping according to the growth habits of different Chinese medicinal herbs, so as to fully and rationally utilize the land and improve economic results. For example, Arisaema (tiannanxing) and Pinellia (banxia) like shady and moist environments, so corn, chili peppers, sesame and the like can be intercropped along their bed edges; between rows of Eucommia and ginkgo, Scutellaria baicalensis and the like can be planted; Salvia miltiorrhiza has a relatively long seedling emergence period, so early corn and other tall-stalk crops can be intercropped along the bed edges. On hillsides and hilly land, Eucommia, Cornus officinalis, Evodia rutaecarpa and the like can be used for afforestation, which both greens the barren hills and helps herb growers become prosperous.

Clarify the Propagation Methods of Medicinal Plants

The propagation methods of Chinese medicinal herbs can generally be divided into two major categories: one is seed propagation; the other is propagation using vegetative organs such as roots, stems and leaves of the plant. For examplechrysanthemum、saffron、Salvia miltiorrhiza、Scrophularia ningpoensis, Rehmannia glutinosa, Pinellia, Arisaema, honeysuckle, Pseudostellaria heterophylla, peony, Ophiopogon japonicus, Fritillaria, Chinese yam, lily, Polygonatum odoratum and other medicinal herbs mostly adopt asexual propagation in production. When producing such medicinal herbs, the authenticity of the seedlings will not be too great a problem; the main things to note are whether the seedlings are rotten and whether they carry harmful organisms subject to quarantine as stipulated by the state. It is very important to understand the propagation methods of various medicinal herbs. For example, some people sell saffron “seeds” with the lure of guaranteed buyback, but in fact saffron is propagated by corms, and what the seeds being sold actually are is unknown.

Understand Seed Shelf Life

The storage life of many medicinal herb seeds is very short, and seeds beyond that limit have a very low germination rate. To seek exorbitant profits, some lawbreakers in the seed market sell medicinal herb seeds that are sometimes old seeds with no germination ability or a low germination rate, and sometimes mixed seeds in which new and old seeds are deliberately blended together. Numerous test results show that within the range of 5% to 14% seed moisture, every 1% reduction can double the seed's lifespan; however, a small number of seeds such as Asarum (xixin), Coptis chinensis (huanglian) and Pseudostellaria heterophylla (haiershen) cannot tolerate dry storage and are better stored moist. Seeds of the moist-storage type also include areca nut, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, agarwood and other southern medicines. Different species of medicinal plants also differ in the length of their seed germination years, which is related to their own genetic traits and storage conditions, and so on. The germination years of most medicinal herb seeds are 2 to 4 years, such as burdock fruit, coix seed, Platycodon grandiflorus and safflower.

In medicinal herb production, special attention should be paid to those seeds with a short validity period. For example, the seeds of Codonopsis pilosula, Atractylodes macrocephala, Euphorbia kansui, Angelica sinensis, Glehnia littoralis, Angelica dahurica and Bupleurum chinense have relatively short lifespans; their storage life cannot exceed 1 year, and the harvested seeds must be sown in the same year or in the spring or summer of the following year. Under ordinary circumstances, seeds kept until the next year have basically lost their germination ability. In addition, when buying seeds, observe the appearance of the seeds: seeds of the current year are glossy, shiny and have a fragrant aroma, while seeds from the previous year are grayish and have a musty smell.

Understand Seed Storage Methods

For some medicinal herb seeds, even if they are new seeds, if the seed storage technique is incorrect, the phenomenon of low germination rate or no germination will still occur. For example, Andrographis paniculata seeds have a waxy layer on the seed coat that is impermeable to water, so they need to be rubbed and then treated by soaking in warm water; Astragalus and licorice seeds exhibit hard seediness, and rubbing and soaking can increase the germination rate; even more attention should be paid to some seeds with a relatively long dormancy period, such as peony, Coptis chinensis, American ginseng and Taxus chinensis, which can be treated by low-temperature sand stratification.

Understand the Quality of Seeds and Seedlings

Once the planting variety is determined, it is time to select and purchase superior seeds and seedlings. At present, the seeds sold on the market are still mostly saved by farmers themselves. Take Platycodon grandiflorus, for example: its seeds come in purple-flowered and white-flowered types, and the purple-flowered variety is now considered superior for cultivation; for seed production, Platycodon grandiflorus needs to be selected from plants grown for more than two years.

Seed source is fundamental; good seeds can ensure stable and high yields, while inferior seeds can result in a total loss. Seeds of superior quality are correctly identified as to species, pure and uniform, plump and intact, free of pests, diseases and weeds, with high germination rate and vigor, and strong stress resistance and resistance to pests and diseases. The quality level of seeds is related to whether the seeds are suitable for sowing and to the sowing rate. When buying medicinal herb seeds and seedlings, be sure to conduct a quality appraisal of the medicinal herb seeds beforehand. The main contents include: thousand-grain weight (or hundred-grain weight for large seeds), purity, moisture content, composition and odor, and germination rate, and so on. If the standard is not met, it indicates that the seed has not developed well and cannot be used as sowing material. At the same time, when purchasing and transporting, quarantine should be carried out through the seed quarantine department, and one should understand the disease situation at the place of origin and the health condition of the seeds and seedlings, to prevent seeds and seedlings carrying pests and diseases from causing losses that are difficult to remedy, so as to improve the economic benefits of medicinal herb cultivation.