Detailed Explanation of Key Points for High-Yield Cultivation Techniques of Phellodendron

Phellodendron, also known as Chuan Phellodendron, Yuan Phellodendron, Huangboluo, Huangbo, etc. It belongs to the Rutaceae family, Phellodendron genus. It is a deciduous tree. The bark with the cork layer removed is used medicinally. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, purging fire and drying dampness. Clinically, it is mainly used to treat urinary tract infections, prostatitis, jaundice, dysentery, enteritis, leukorrhea with reddish discharge, damp-heat atrophy and impediment, yin deficiency sweating, night sweats, hemorrhoids and fistulas, etc. For external use, it can treat sores and wounds, mouth ulcers, eczema, burns and scalds, etc. The main producing areas include the Northeast, North China, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Hubei and other provinces and regions.

Morphological Characteristics

1. Phellodendron chinense Schneid. - Deciduous tree, 10-12 m tall; bark cracked, without thickened cork layer, inner layer yellow. Leaves opposite, odd-pinnate compound leaves, leaflets 7-15, oblong-lanceolate to oblong-ovate, petiolules 1-3 mm long, densely covered with short pubescence; flowers unisexual, dioecious, arranged in terminal panicles, inflorescence axis densely covered with short hairs; sepals 5; petals 5-8; staminate flowers have 5-6 stamens, degenerated pistil subulate; pistillate flowers have 5-6 staminodes. Fruit axis and fruiting branches thick and large, often densely covered with short hairs; berry-like drupe spherical, black when mature, with 5-6 seeds.

2. Phellodendron amurense Rupr. - Bark light grayish-brown, irregularly reticulate longitudinally fissured, outer cork well developed. Winter buds without terminal bud, lateral buds alternate and opposite, solitary in leaf axil depressions, enclosed by leaf scars, with dense downy hairs, branchlets orange-yellow or yellowish-brown, glabrous. Leaves, odd-pinnate compound leaves opposite, leaflets 5-13, ovate-lanceolate or ovate, leaf margins with oil glands. Flowers small, unisexual, dioecious, in terminal compound panicles, flowers yellow-green, sepals 5, petals 5, staminate flowers with 5 stamens, pistillate flowers with ovary short-stalked, 5 carpels, 5 locules, each locule with 1 pendulous ovule, style short and thick, stigma 5-lobed. Drupe persistent, spherical, pericarp fleshy, with a special odor, purple-black when mature, inner and outer seed coat black. Thick bony, endosperm thin.

I. Growth Habits: Phellodendron prefers a cool and humid environment. Seedlings are slightly shade-tolerant, while mature plants prefer sunlight. It likes water and fertilizer. Soil requirements: loose, fertile loam rich in organic matter is best. It is afraid of waterlogging. Heavy clay, saline-alkali land, and low-lying land are not suitable for planting.

II. Land Preparation and Fertilization: Select fields with high terrain and good drainage, and cultivate intensively. Combined with land preparation, apply sufficient base fertilizer: 3000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer per mu. Then make raised beds and wait for sowing.

III. Sowing: Phellodendron is propagated by seeds. It is carried out in two steps: seedling raising and transplanting. The sowing period is divided into winter sowing and spring sowing. Winter sowing is before the ground freezes, and spring sowing is around Qingming. Seedling raising: Before sowing, soak the seeds in clean water for 24 hours, then evenly drill them in rows with a row spacing of 30 cm on the prepared bed surface. Water to preserve moisture to facilitate germination. The sowing rate is 3 kg per mu. Seedlings emerge about 50 days after sowing. After the seedlings are fully established, strengthen field management, and they can be transplanted after 1-2 years of cultivation. Transplanting: Plant the cultivated Phellodendron seedlings at a row spacing of 2×2 m (160 plants/mu) on the prepared bed surface, water to preserve moisture to facilitate survival.

IV. Field Management: After the Phellodendron seedlings are fully established or after transplanting survival, attention should be paid to intertillage and weeding. Water immediately in dry weather, and pay attention to drainage in rainy weather. Apply 15 kg of urea and 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer as topdressing each spring. In winter, apply a layer of farmyard manure on the bed surface. In the first few years of the transplanting field, the seedlings grow slowly, and some melons, fruits, vegetables, medicinal materials, and short-term crops can be appropriately intercropped to increase income. To achieve the purpose of using short-term crops to support long-term crops.

V. Pest and Disease Control: The main pest and disease of Phellodendron is sooty mold, which can be prevented and controlled by spraying 50% carbendazim 800 times solution at the early stage of the disease. For rust disease, use triadimefon at the early stage of the disease. For swallowtail butterfly larvae, use fenvalerate for control.

VI. Harvesting and Processing: Phellodendron is peeled 10-15 years after transplanting. It is easiest to peel in May-June when the sap flows fastest. When peeling, use the ring-barking method. After collecting the bark, sun-dry it until half-dry, stack it in piles, press it flat with a stone slab, and scrape off the cork layer until yellow is revealed. Then continue to sun-dry and it can be sold as medicine.