Detailed Explanation of Ginseng Cultivation Techniques: Methods and Key Points for Growing This Medicinal Herb

Planting Models

GinsengCultivation methods include forest-clearing ginseng cultivation, understory ginseng cultivation and farmland ginseng cultivation. Farmland ginseng cultivation does not destroy forests or soil and water conservation, and can accelerate growth and improve yield and quality, making it a good approach for developing ginseng production.

Cultivated Varieties

Although artificial cultivation of ginseng has a long history in China, to date no excellent bred variety has been developed by breeding departments through various advanced breeding methods according to scientific procedures. Only in production areas have some “farmers' varieties” been formed through long-term artificial and natural selection by ginseng growers, such as “Damaya”, “Ermaya”, “Yuanbang Yuanlu”, “Changbo” and so on. In recent years, the Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other institutions have bred new varieties such as Yellow-fruit Ginseng, and the high-yield, high-quality Ji Ginseng No. 1 and Bian Ginseng No. 1. “Damaya” grows fast and has high yield, but its root shape is poor; “Ermaya” is second to it; “Changbo” and “Yuanbang Yuanlu” have good root shape, but grow slowly and have low yield. Different types of ginseng also show considerable differences in total saponin content. Double-stem ginseng and multi-stem ginseng have not yet formed varieties, and the ginseng currently produced by growers and ginseng farms is seriously mixed in variety. In the future, excellent varieties with relatively high economic benefits, relatively stable and uniform heredity, and strong adaptability and stress resistance should be artificially bred through scientific methods for standardized planting.

Site Selection and Land Preparation

For farmland ginseng cultivation, choose a gentle slope with shelter from wind and facing the sun, long sunshine duration, good drainage, and loose, fertile sandy loam soil, with the slope facing north or northeast. Level ground with good drainage can also be planted. For soil, black oil sand with a soil layer more than 30cm deep is best. Abandoned land with a low groundwater level or land whose previous crop was corn, sorghum or legumes is preferred. For forest-clearing ginseng cultivation, reclaimed mountain forest land or abandoned slope land with a slope below 25 degrees can be selected. For seedling land, a mixture of sandy loam and humus soil is suitable. After selecting the land, where conditions permit, the land may first be burned with firewood, grass and crop straw to eliminate diseases and insect pests, mature the soil and increase fertility. Plow and turn the land from shallow to deep more than 5 times; this can be done in all three seasons of spring, summer and autumn. Fertilization mainly uses green manure, applied at 2500-5000kg per mu, which can be combined with summer plowing and turning of the land. Other organic fertilizers can also be applied to the bottom layer when making beds, or applied at transplanting. But they must be completely decomposed fertilizers, otherwise the plants are prone to disease.

Ginseng avoids direct light, so beds generally use “northeast exposure”, also called “morning exposure” or “dew exposure”. Hillside land mostly uses “east exposure” or “northeast exposure”. For farmland bed making, where the slope is small, the choice of “exposure direction” is not limited by terrain. “Northeast exposure” means the bed surface faces north by east at an angle of about 30°. In addition, different slopes also have a relatively large effect on the leaf area of ginseng,

For bed-making time, beds for summer sowing are made in July-August, and those for autumn sowing and spring sowing are made between September and October. The bed width is 1.1-1.2m, the bed height is 23-26cm, and the bed length is 10-20m, slightly in the shape of a turtle back, with a bed spacing of 1-1.2m. In sandy soil, and in high, dry or arid areas, it should be slightly lower. When making beds, stones, root stubble and stems must be cleared away. Use string lines to divide areas, set beds and orient them, commonly known as “hanging strings”.

Planting Methods

Propagation method: seed propagation, usually using the method of raising seedlings and then transplanting.

1. Raising Seedlings

(1). Seed selection and seed treatment: Select 4-5 year old ginseng plants with thick stems and no diseases or insect pests. When they flower and form green fruit, remove the small fruits in the inflorescence. After the fruits ripen, select those with large fruits and plump seeds for seed use. In early August, treat the seeds by the stratification method, that is, choose a high, dry, well-drained, sunny and wind-sheltered place, place a wooden frame 60cm high, 1m wide and of suitable length on the ground, spread 20cm thick gravel at the bottom of the frame, spread 10cm thick fine sand on it, mix the water-soaked seeds evenly with an equal amount of fine sand, put them into the frame at a thickness of about 10-20cm, and then cover with 10cm of fine sand. Fill soil around the outside of the frame and firm it, cover with matting or set up a shade shed to prevent the temperature from being too high. During August-September, check frequently, keep the temperature controlled at about 15℃, and keep soil moisture at 10-15. After 60-80 days, when the seeds crack, they can be sown. If sowing in the following spring, the cracked seeds can be mixed with sand and put into jars, or buried outdoors, and stored in a cool, dry place. Before sowing, soak the seeds in cold water for about 2 days, and sow after they have fully absorbed water.

(2). Sowing: divided into spring sowing, summer sowing and autumn sowing. Production areas mostly practice summer sowing and autumn sowing. For summer sowing, use water seeds (seeds rubbed and washed out from the fruit) and sow before the middle fu period; for autumn sowing, before the soil freezes, use treated sprouted seeds, and seedlings emerge the following spring after sowing; for spring sowing, after the soil thaws, use seeds that underwent sprouting treatment the previous year, and seedlings emerge in the same year after sowing. Sowing methods include broadcast sowing, dibbling and drilling, but broadcast sowing is mostly used, with 30-40g of sprouted seeds per square meter, or 40-50g of water seeds. For drilling, the row spacing is 6-7cm, and 50-60 seeds are sown per row. For dibbling, the row spacing and plant spacing are each 5cm, and a wooden dibbler can be used. Sow 1-2 seeds per hole. After sowing, cover with soil 5-6cm deep, and cover the bed surface with straw or grass to prevent the bed surface from drying out or soil and water loss.

2. Transplanting

The cultivation system of ginseng production includes the number of seedling years, the number of growth years after transplanting and the number of transplanting times. Transplanting is also called inverted planting; one transplanting is called one inversion, and another transplanting is called two inversions. At present, China's traditional ginseng cultivation systems are basically divided into two types: one is the one-inversion system, that is, transplanting once after raising seedlings, such as the “three-three” system, “two-four” system, “three-four” system, etc.; the second is the two-inversion system, that is, transplanting twice after raising seedlings, such as the “two-two-two” system, “three-two-two” system, “three-two-three” system, “three-three-three” system, etc. Because most ginseng areas in China are located in cold high mountain regions with short growth periods and other characteristics, ordinary ginseng cultivation generally uses the “three-three” system or the “two-four” system, while Bian Tiao Ginseng and Shizhu Ginseng use the two-inversion system.

At present, the “two-three” system, “two-four” system and “three-three” system are mostly used, that is, raise seedlings for 2 years and harvest 3-4 years after transplanting, or raise seedlings for 3 years and harvest 3 years after transplanting.

(1). Transplanting period: generally carried out in autumn when the aboveground stems and leaves turn yellow and wither, and ended before the ground surface freezes. For mountain transplanting, plant shady slope land first, then sunny slope land; plant small seedlings first, then large seedlings. For spring transplanting, it should be carried out immediately after the soil thaws.