Experts offer advice on growing Chinese medicinal herbs
1. Do not plant across regions at will
Since ancient times, Chinese medicinal herbs have had the concept of "regional authenticity." "Authentic regional medicinal herbs" refer to Chinese medicinal herbs that have been proven in practice to be of excellent quality, highly effective, and strongly tied to a specific region. Li Xian'en, associate researcher at the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, gives an example: for the same Coptis chinensis (Chinese goldthread), the effective substances contained in the Sichuan-grown variety are 2.73% higher than those grown in Hubei. Many geographical and ecological factors, such as latitude, altitude, terrain and landforms, all affect sunlight, temperature, soil and precipitation, and play a decisive role in the growth of Chinese medicinal herbs. Licorice and Ephedra sinica are suitable for growing on calcareous soil in the Northeast, North China and Northwest regions; Gardenia jasminoides prefers acidic soil in the South; Saussurea involucrata (snow lotus), dandelion, Cistanche deserticola and Cynomorium songaricum can grow and develop under strong light conditions, while ginseng, Panax notoginseng, Coptis chinensis and Asarum sieboldii can only grow well under weak light conditions. If traditional practices are violated and planting is done across regions at will, along with a lack of cultivation experience, this often leads to massive outbreaks of pests and diseases, low yields, and greatly reduced quality.
2. Buy seeds and seedlings from reliable "leading" companies
Li Xian'en particularly reminds farmers not to readily trust medicinal herb seed and seedling vendors when buying seeds and seedlings. He once saw vendors exaggerate both the yield and purchase price of Cornus officinalis (Asiatic dogwood) several times over. These vendors even signed "formal contracts" with farmers, but the contract period was set at only 3 years. Li Xian'en says that in reality, farmers cannot make money within 3 years. This is because Cornus officinalis must grow for more than 6-7 years before it bears fruit. When the fruit is finally produced and you go to him for purchase, he says the contract has expired. Another example is saffron: sellers say it can grow anywhere, but in reality, except in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area, growing saffron in other regions results in no flowers or very few flowers, so no medicinal material can be harvested. Li Xian'en suggests that to prevent being deceived by advertising and contracts, farmers should best cooperate with local companies of good reputation, sign contracts with them according to the growth cycle of the medicinal herbs, and let them serve as the leading driver. In this way, seeds and seedlings, cultivation techniques and sales channels are all managed in a unified way. Otherwise, as individual operators, farmers producing and selling on their own face far too much market risk.
3. Do not grow medicinal herbs into firewood
If medicinal herb cultivation techniques are not standardized - not pinching off the tops when they should be pinched, not pruning when they should be pruned, not harvesting when they should be harvested, and harvesting randomly when they should not be harvested - the quality of Chinese medicinal herbs will decline and farmers' income will fall. Jin Shiyuan, consultant to Tongrentang and professor of Chinese materia medica, once found that for Hangzhou white chrysanthemum and Panax notoginseng, which take five or six years to reach maturity, some farmers harvested them early. Root and rhizome medicinal herbs should be harvested before flowering or after the flowers fade, but some herb growers harvested during the flowering period. As a result, after they reached the market, even experts could not recognize them. Some farmers, seeing that the current price was poor, left the medicinal herbs in the field to continue growing and waited for prices to rise. But for medicines such as Isatis indigotica (woad root), Angelica dahurica and Angelica sinensis, if they are not harvested that year, they bloom and bolt, and the medicinal roots become "firewood-like" (that is, severely lignified) and useless.
Experts say some Chinese medicinal herbs cannot be planted in successive crops. For example, Rehmannia glutinosa: after one crop, planting must stop for 5-6 years; after a plot has grown ginseng or American ginseng, it cannot be planted again for decades, otherwise the yield will drop by at least half and diseases will break out severely.
4. Strive to avoid blindly following trends
Ma Xiaojun, researcher at the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, proposes that the development of medicinal herb bases must be prevented from overheating. Market demand for medicinal herbs is limited; its total volume is only 0.1% of grain crops, 1.4% of fruit, and 0.28% of vegetables. The annual demand for each medicinal herb is limited, such as 1,800 tons of ginseng and 1,200 tons of Angelica sinensis; any excess will cause enormous waste. Salvia miltiorrhiza, Isatis indigotica and Platycodon grandiflorus have all suffered from low prices and market glut, and some varieties currently also carry this hidden risk. Therefore, when deciding to grow Chinese medicinal herbs, one must not blindly follow trends and should conduct sufficient market research.
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