Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Licorice Seedling Cultivation and Transplanting

The licorice seedling cultivation base requires good irrigation conditions, level plots, and fertile soil. There is no limit on plot size; seedlings can be grown in open fields or developed in courtyards. Sowing can be done anytime from April to August each year, with 10 kg of treated seeds sown per mu. Drill sowing is used, with a row spacing of 15 cm, and 120,000 to 150,000 seedlings are maintained per mu. Licorice sown in spring is transplanted in the spring of the following year, while licorice sown in summer and autumn is transplanted in the spring of the third year. The transplanting row spacing is 35 cm, the trench depth is 8 to 10 cm, and the plant spacing is 8 to 10 cm. The flat planting method is used, with 15,000 to 20,000 seedlings per mu. Transplanted seedlings can be harvested in autumn, generally yielding 600 to 800 kg per mu.

Because the flat planting method increases the area over which the roots absorb light, it accelerates root growth. Two years of artificial cultivation produces a yield equivalent to 3 to 4 years of wild growth, and it also enhances medicinal potency. For this reason, the value of artificially flat-planted licorice is far greater than that of wild licorice.