Analysis of the Current State of Pinellia ternata Cultivation and Development Recommendations
Current State of Pinellia ternata Cultivation and Development Recommendations
The Chinese medicinal herb Pinellia ternata, to distinguish it from the water pinellia, is commonly called "dry" pinellia. It has many local names, such as "wild taro" in Jiangsu, "naogoudan" in Henan, "laoguayan" in Jiangxi, "small pinellia" in Yunnan, "yayutou" in Shandong, "three-step jump" in Hubei, "hemp taro" in Sichuan, and so on. It is the dried tuber of the plant Pinellia ternata in the Araceae family. It has special growth habits: shallow roots and a preference for fertilizer, fear of strong light, fear of high temperatures, preference for moisture, fear of drought, and fear of waterlogging. To meet these growth habits in artificial cultivation, the Heze Run Kang Chinese Medicinal Materials Research Institute in Shandong and relevant researchers have conducted a great deal of research over several decades and summarized much cultivation and management technical experience, but due to various factors, this technology has not been popularized. At present, most Pinellia ternata growers only understand some superficial theoretical knowledge from the internet or books and have not fully mastered practical cultivation and management techniques. As a result, artificial cultivation of Pinellia ternata currently suffers from low yield, poor quality, and unstable yield. Therefore, supply on the market is scarce and the price rises year by year.
Since 2000, the price of Pinellia ternata has steadily risen from 20 yuan/kg to the current 120 yuan/kg (September 10, 2010), increasing every year, unlike other Chinese medicinal herb varieties whose prices fluctuate unstably. Because of the price increase, many new growers are added every year; but increased planting area does not necessarily mean more supply, because most growers only look at the price and imagine the profits, ignoring whether they have the conditions, the technical difficulty, the low yields or even total crop failure caused by disease, and sow the limited tuber resources available on the market that year (fresh tubers used as seed stock in Pinellia ternata cultivation) into the ground. By harvest time, the harvested Pinellia ternata is not even as much as the seed tubers that were planted. So the more that is planted, the greater the amount of seed used, and the less product on the market, reducing the supply of commercial Pinellia ternata year after year. In addition, Pinellia ternata production requires a large amount of labor, and rising labor costs are also one of the main factors causing the annual price increase of Pinellia ternata.
To ease the supply-demand contradiction of Pinellia ternata, meet the needs of pharmaceutical manufacturing and the international market, and increase the income of medicinal herb growers, it is recommended that growers with the right conditions develop it appropriately. The technical staff of the Heze Run Kang Chinese Medicinal Materials Research Institute in Shandong remind growers that Pinellia ternata cultivation must simultaneously meet the following conditions: (1) The soil must be loam or sandy loam, not too acidic or too alkaline, with a pH between 6.5-7.5, and the soil must contain no or very few root-borne weeds and stones; (2) The soil must be fertile, with organic matter content exceeding 1.2%; (3) There must be sufficient water sources, convenient watering, and thorough drainage capability; (4) The terrain should have a certain slope, preferably 5-10 degrees; if there is no slope, multiple ditches should be made. Growers who want to cultivate Pinellia ternata should first check the above conditions one by one to see whether they are suitable. If the above conditions are met, then combine the techniques you have mastered or learned and your economic situation to determine the planting area. According to the current technical level and actual field production, if the above four natural conditions are met and the conditions required for Pinellia ternata growth can be artificially satisfied on a technical basis, generally 120 kg of dried Pinellia ternata can be produced per mu. At the current market price of 120 yuan/kg (September 10, 2010), the benefit per mu can reach more than 10,000 yuan, which is quite considerable. However, do not focus only on high benefits and ignore technical capability and the conditions you have, relying on luck with the year and weather, being careless, following trends, and planting blindly, so as to avoid unnecessary losses to yourself and the market.
Heze Run Kang Chinese Medicinal Materials Research Institute, Shandong Li Hongjun Tel: 0530-3978801
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