Licorice is not difficult to grow; master the method and you can grow it well.
At present, there is great demand for licorice products in domestic and international markets. Experts believe that to resolve the contradiction between the demand for licorice products and environmental protection, the most critical thing is to develop the licorice artificial cultivation industry.
From the current actual situation of artificial licorice cultivation, promoting the coordinated progress of planting and fenced breeding, and rationally developing the path of base construction, is practical and feasible. In fact, licorice is not a difficult plant to grow; as long as the soil and moisture are suitable, it can be planted on a large scale. Some people believe that the key to solving the problem of artificially cultivating licorice is now mainly not funding, nor land, but rather improving the quality of artificially cultivated licorice. This requires increasing investment in scientific research and conducting in-depth studies on variety selection, seed collection, water and fertilizer application, harvest years, internal quality, and appearance, among other aspects.
Licorice has strong adaptability and does not have strict requirements for the cultivation environment. It can be cultivated in semi-arid and arid areas with an average temperature of 4°C-12°C and annual sunshine of more than 2600 hours. Choosing sandy soil with deep soil layers, a pH value of 7-8, a groundwater level below 2 m, and soil salt content not exceeding 0.5% for planting can achieve the goals of a high germination rate and high seedling survival rate, fast growth, brightly colored roots and rhizomes, good quality, and high economic benefits. Poor thin farmland returned from cultivation can also be used to grow licorice.
The new variety Luliang licorice is a new variety independent of the eight major categories and five major brands of dried licorice. After trial planting, this variety is not only suitable for artificial cultivation, but also has stronger adaptability and advantages such as resistance to cold, drought, waterlogging, pests and diseases, and disasters. Its growing area can be expanded to a vast space from 28 degrees to 55 degrees north latitude. Luliang licorice has a high content of acids and other active elements, and its glycyrrhizic acid content is 1 times higher than the pharmacopoeia standard.
How to use barren beaches and deserts is a issue of great concern. Luliang licorice is precisely suited to this environment. It has been successfully planted in the Bashang and Taihang Mountain areas and in old river courses such as the Zhanghe, Dashahe, and Naobohe rivers, generally yielding 800 kg-1500 kg per mu. It has now been promoted and planted in more than 150 counties in 13 provinces (municipalities) across the country, covering more than 50,000 mu and generating economic benefits of 36 million yuan. Luliang licorice can adapt to neutral soil. Fine sandy land, loess, black soil, and barren mountains and hills with thicker humus can all be planted. In particular, because licorice has strong stress resistance and tolerance to barren soil, it can make full use of barren mountains, barren slopes, deserts, barren beaches, wasteland, and other such land for planting.