How to Grow Cinnamon for High Yield? A Detailed Guide to Cultivation Techniques

Cinnamon, also known as Rougui, Guipi, Dugui, Jianggui, Guishu, etc. The bark is used as medicine and is called Guipi (cinnamon bark). It has the effects of warming the kidney and tonifying yang, and dispelling cold to relieve pain. It mainly treats spleen-kidney yin deficiency, cold and painful waist and knees, spermatorrhea and premature ejaculation, distension and pain in the heart and abdomen, dysmenorrhea due to blood cold, and abdominal pain with amenorrhea. The twigs are used as medicine and are called Guizhi (cinnamon twig), which has the effects of dispelling wind-cold and warming the meridians to unblock yang. The young fruit is used as medicine and is called Guizi (cinnamon fruit), which has the effect of warming the middle and dispelling cold. It is mainly produced in Vietnam, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi and other provinces and regions.

Morphological characteristics: An evergreen tree of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae, 12-17 m tall. The bark is grayish brown, aromatic, and the young branches are slightly four-angled. Leaves alternate, leathery; oblong-elliptic to nearly lanceolate, 8-17 cm long, 3.5-6 cm wide, apex acute, base obtuse, margin entire, upper surface green and glossy, lower surface grayish green and covered with fine soft hairs; with 3 basal veins that are obviously raised on the lower surface, and fine veins parallel transversely; petiole stout, 1-2 cm long. Panicles axillary or nearly terminal, 10-19 cm long, covered with short soft hairs; flowers small, about 3 cm in diameter; pedicels about 5 mm long; perianth tube about 2 mm long, lobes 6, yellow-green, elliptic, about 3 mm long, densely covered with short soft hairs inside and outside; fertile stamens 9, in 3 whorls, anthers oblong-celled, 4-celled, valvate, filaments of the outer 2 whorls without glands, anthers introrse, stamens of the 3rd whorl extrorse, filament base with 2 glands, and 1 whorl of staminodes still present innermost, anthers heart-shaped; pistil slightly shorter than the stamens, ovary elliptic, 1-loculed, ovule 1, style slender, nearly as long as the ovary, stigma slightly disc-shaped. Berry elliptic or obovate, apex slightly truncate, dark purple, about 12-13 mm long, with persistent perianth outside. Seeds long-ovoid, purple.

I. Growth habits: Cinnamon prefers a warm and humid environment. Young trees prefer shade, while mature trees prefer abundant sunlight. Soil requirements: deep soil layers, loose and fertile sandy soil rich in organic matter are best.

II. Land preparation and fertilization: Choose a field with high terrain and good drainage, and cultivate it carefully. In combination with land preparation, apply sufficient base fertilizer: 3000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphate and potassium fertilizer per mu. Then make high beds and wait for sowing.

III. Sowing: Cinnamon is propagated by seed. It is carried out in two steps: raising seedlings and transplanting. The sowing period is spring sowing. Seedling raising: Before sowing, first soak the seeds in clean water for 48 hours, remove them and let them cool slightly, then sow them in rows at a row spacing of 30 cm on the prepared bed surface, water to preserve soil moisture and promote emergence. Seedlings emerge in about 30 days. After the seedlings are fully established, strengthen field management, and they can be transplanted after 1 year of cultivation. The sowing rate is 20 kg per mu. Transplanting: Plant the cultivated cinnamon seedlings on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 4 x 2 m. Water to preserve soil moisture and promote survival.

IV. Field management: After the cinnamon seedlings are fully established or after transplanting and survival, attention should be paid to intertillage and weeding. Water immediately in dry weather, and drain promptly in rainy weather. Apply topdressing once every spring: 2000 kg of farmyard manure, 15 kg of urea, and 30 kg of phosphate and potassium fertilizer per mu. In the first few years after transplanting, the seedlings grow slowly, so some short-term crops can be intercropped to increase income.

V. Pest and disease control: The main diseases of cinnamon include brown spot disease, which can be controlled with 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture at the early stage of onset. For root rot, spray with 50% Tuzet at the early stage of onset. The main pests include the camphor red longhorn beetle, which can be controlled by soaking absorbent cotton in dichlorvos. For the leaf roller, spray with fenvalerate to kill it.

VI. Harvesting and processing: In autumn after cinnamon has grown for more than 15 years, peel off the bark and dry it in the sun, and it can be sold as medicine. Remove the leaves from the thin twigs that cannot be peeled, cut them into 40 cm long sections, and dry them in the sun to obtain Guizhi. Around Frost's Descent, collect the immature fruits and dry them in the sun to obtain Guizi. After distilling the leaves, small twigs, fruits, and broken cinnamon, cinnamon oil can be obtained.