Schisandra intercropping pattern offers good returns

Northern Schisandra is derived from the mature dried fruit of Schisandra chinensis of the genus Schisandra in the family Magnoliaceae. The plant is a perennial deciduous woody climbing vine, with woody stems reaching 8-10 m long. It grows wild in forests and forest margins, climbing trees. It flowers from May to July each year, and the fruit ripens from August to early October. The ripe red spike-like berries are picked for medicinal use.

Schisandra cultivation techniques

(1) Suitable growing environment for Schisandra

Schisandra prefers a cool, moist living environment and is shade-tolerant, with a suitable shading level of about 20%. In the first year, seedlings must avoid light exposure, and the understory provides a suitable growing environment for them.

(2) Schisandra grows in sync with forest trees

Schisandra is a perennial plant and bears fruit for as long as 8-10 years. Its woody stems can overwinter naturally at -35°C. When the leaves unfold in spring, if a cold spell occurs, it will not be killed at around 0°C, and it continues to grow after the cold passes.

(3) Regeneration of Schisandra

During the growth and dormant periods, once Schisandra suffers severe frost damage or mechanical injury, its underground roots can still survive naturally. From May to July, many basal shoots will regrow from various parts of the Schisandra rootstock, so Schisandra is a perennial plant that can reproduce on its own.

(4) Cultivation techniques

1. Site selection and land preparation for the seedling field: Choose loose, fertile soil with a deep soil layer and good drainage, such as humus soil or sandy loam. Apply 2500-3000 kg of decomposed barnyard manure per mu, plow deeply 20-30 cm, harrow fine and level, and make beds 120 cm wide.

2. Propagation methods: (1) Seed treatment. Each year in September-October when the berries ripen, select disease-free, red, thick-fleshed, large fruits. Soak the selected fruits in warm water for 3-5 days, rub off the flesh, wash the seeds, skim off shriveled grains, and mix them evenly with 2-3 times their volume of wet sand. Place in a pit 50 cm deep, cover with 10-15 cm of fine soil, then cover with a straw mat. When the seeds crack in May-June of the following year, they can be sown. (2) Sowing. Drill sowing on the prepared bed surface: open horizontal furrows at a row spacing of 10-15 cm, with furrow depth of 2-3 cm, and evenly scatter the seeds into the furrows. After covering with soil, press lightly, water, and keep the soil moist regularly. Seedlings emerge in 20-30 days. After emergence, set up a shade shed 100-150 cm high. When 3-4 true leaves appear, thin the seedlings to a row spacing of 5-7 cm. When the seedlings are 5-6 cm tall, remove the shade shed. About 5 kg of seed is used per mu for seedling raising. (3) Field planting. When planting under forest, trees can be chosen as natural trellises. Tree species with smaller leaves and less vigorous growth are preferable. Hawthorn is a relatively ideal species. Tree saplings can be planted at a row and plant spacing of 3 m x 3 m, with two Schisandra seedlings planted under each tree, one on each side about 67 cm from the tree. (4) If planting in an empty plot, in the second year after seedling raising, on the previously prepared bed surface, dig holes 33 cm long, wide and deep at a plant and row spacing of 100-150 m, in a north-south row direction, then plant the Schisandra seedlings into the holes. Be careful to spread the root system. Then fill the holes with evenly mixed fertilizer and soil, water and firm the soil. In the second year, set up supports for the vines to climb.

3. Field management: (1) Cultivation and weeding. In the seedling field, seedlings grow slowly, so weeding and loosening the soil should be noted. After thinning, cultivation and weeding should be carried out regularly. (2) Topdressing. After thinning, apply 1500-2000 kg of human and animal manure water per mu. After field planting, topdress 1-2 times each year. The first time is before leaf unfolding, and the second time is after flowering, applying 1500-2500 kg of barnyard manure and 30-40 kg of superphosphate per mu. (3) Trellising. After planting in an empty plot, trellises should be set up in the second year. Beside the main vine, erect bamboo poles 300 cm high and 2 cm thick, fixed to a horizontal frame with string for the vines to climb and grow. (4) Pruning. Whether on trellises or on natural understory supports, Schisandra vines should be pruned each year after winter dormancy and before spring sprouting to remove overly dense branches, dead branches, overlapping branches, and diseased and pest-infested branches. This improves ventilation and light penetration and increases the fruiting rate.

4. Pest and disease control: (1) Diseases. The main disease is leaf blight. In the early stage, the leaf tips and leaf margins turn yellow and dry, then spread to the entire leaf. In the early stage, use carbendazim, thiophanate-methyl, or tuzet for spray control. (2) Pests. The main pest is the leaf roller. The larvae roll leaves to cause damage and gnaw the leaf mesophyll. During the adult egg-laying period, spray diflubenzuron No. 3 or BT emulsion for control.

5. Harvesting and processing: (1) Harvesting. A large amount of fruit is produced 4-5 years after planting. In September-October, when the fruit turns purplish red, pick it as it ripens. (2) Processing. Sun-dry or oven-dry. Spread the fruit evenly on a drying mat and air-dry for 3-5 days. When the fruit skin shrinks, stir gently. After 15-20 days, it can be sun-dried. Alternatively, dry at 60°C until half-dry, lower the temperature to 40-50°C and dry until 80% dry, then air-dry until fully dry.

Market analysis of Schisandra

Schisandra has the effects of astringing and securing, tonifying qi and promoting fluid production, and tonifying the kidney and calming the heart. Modern clinical evidence shows that schisandrin A, an active component of Schisandra, has a certain protective effect on liver cells, can prolong the processes of central nervous excitation and inhibition and help them tend toward balance; it can also improve work efficiency and reduce fatigue; moreover, it can regulate the cardiovascular system and improve blood circulation; it has an excitatory effect on respiration and can relieve cough and remove phlegm; it also regulates gastric juice secretion, promotes bile secretion, and lowers blood pressure. Therefore, Schisandra is widely used in the production and formulation of drugs for treating hepatitis, relieving cough and removing phlegm, lowering blood pressure, and tonifying the kidney and securing essence. For example, Hugan Tablets, Renshen Yangrong Pills, Sanbao Capsules, Xiaoqinglong Granules, Tianwang Buxin Pills, Sishen Pills, Shengmai Yin and others all include Schisandra as a chief or adjuvant ingredient.

Schisandra gets its name because its fruit contains all five flavors: sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, and salty. It is not only a widely used Chinese medicinal material, but also a berry resource for health care and nourishment with a distinctive flavor. It has wide uses in beverages, health care, and food products such as alcoholic drinks, beverages, fruit sugar, fruit tea, fruit pulp, jam, cream, and preserved fruit oral liquids.

In recent years, with the extensive development and utilization of Schisandra, especially new development in the health food sector, the annual demand for Schisandra has grown substantially. According to data, in the 1990s the total annual demand for northern and southern Schisandra was about 2000-2500 tons. The price was 25-35 yuan/kg. After 2000, domestic annual demand increased to about 3500-3800 tons, and the price climbed to 50-60 yuan/kg. Annual export volume (mainly to South Korea) reached about 4000 tons, and total annual domestic demand plus exports reached about 7500 tons. In particular, since 2000 and up to now, many South Korean merchants have gone deep into markets and production areas year-round to purchase Schisandra, saying it is for health beverages and re-export. Every year during the new harvest period of Schisandra, domestic pharmaceutical factories and health beverage manufacturers gather with South Korean merchants in the production areas to compete for purchases. Last year in September-October, the production areas had rainy weather, and many Schisandra berries rotted, reducing output. After the weather cleared, South Korean merchants purchased eagerly, and the price of high-quality Schisandra rose again to 85-90 yuan/kg. South Korean merchants are still purchasing in the production areas, and the price has climbed to 120 yuan/kg, with ordinary goods at 90-95 yuan/kg. As the uses of Schisandra continue to broaden, annual demand will increase year by year. Because forest area is retreating deeper and forest land is often reclaimed as farmland, its ecological environment has been damaged, and wild Schisandra resources are becoming fewer and fewer. According to the Heilongjiang Province Wild Medicinal Material Protection Regulations, this species has been listed as a key protected species, and indiscriminate harvesting in the mountains is strictly prohibited. To meet the increasing domestic and international market demand year by year, Schisandra urgently needs to be developed through domestic cultivation.

Economic benefit analysis of artificial cultivation of Schisandra

Schisandra can make full use of newly afforested land on forest farms, wasteland, land returned from farmland to forest, orchard land, and other tree and fruit forest land as natural trellises to develop artificial intercropping cultivation of Schisandra under forest. Excluding the economic benefits of forest trees and forest fruit, the per-mu benefit of Schisandra alone is very considerable. For example, if three-year-old Schisandra seedlings are transplanted, they can begin to bear fruit in the second year and enter full fruiting in the 3rd-4th year. Generally, the yield of dried fruit is 170-230 kg per mu. Calculated at 50 yuan/kg after the new harvest (this year it is 120 yuan/kg), the per-mu benefit should be between 6500 and 11500 yuan. This is much higher than the benefit of growing grain or cotton. Therefore, intercropping Schisandra under forest is a win-win way to achieve both ecological protection benefits and economic benefits.