Detailed Explanation of Licorice Trench-Sowing Direct-Seeding Cultivation Technology

Licorice is a deep-rooted plant. Adopting trench-sowing direct-seeding cultivation technology can solve unfavorable factors such as licorice seedling raising, transplanting, low yield, and long growth cycle, greatly improving its economic benefits. **Tekes County in Ili belongs to the northern temperate continental climate type, and its natural geographical environment is very suitable for licorice growth. In 2005, we used the deep-rooted plant trench-planting machine for licorice cultivation for the first time in the whole of Xinjiang, changing the conventional licorice planting model. The trench-sowing direct-seeding cultivation technology is now introduced as follows.

1 Site selection, base fertilizer application, land preparation

Select cultivated chestnut soil with medium to high fertility and no sand or stones in the 1.5-2 m soil layer, with flat terrain and convenient water sources. Apply 2000-3000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu, preferably spread in the field before winter. When trenching, apply 20 kg/mu of diammonium phosphate, 20 kg/mu of oil residue, and 3 kg/mu of urea in the trench rows. For plots with corn or oil sunflower as the previous crop, remove underground roots before winter. In early spring, use a rotary harrow early to loosen the surface soil, with a loosening depth of 1 m.

2 Trenching technology

For trenching timing, operate the machine in reverse gear. The spiral drill bit length is 1-1.5 cm and diameter is 20-25 cm. The trench depth is 1-1.5 m, with equal row spacing of about 85 cm. On top of the trench, make small high ridges 20 cm high, 4 cm bottom width, and 25 cm top width for sowing. This specification uses manual ridge trampling. Using a trenching machine to dig trenches has advantages such as being economical, highly efficient, producing straight and long licorice, high yield, short growth cycle, facilitating pulling and harvesting, and saving labor and time. Dig once, and if the trench is well utilized, it can be planted for 2 years and 2 crops, that is, after the first crop is pulled, manually cover the trench and form ridges for "Baodan" sowing or spring sowing the following year.

For spring sowing, trenches should be dug early. Dig trenches promptly after the soil layer thaws, generally starting at the end of March. Generally, one trenching machine can work an average of 5-6 mu per day, and can work 200 mu in spring.

3 Seed selection

For artificial planting, it is generally advisable to choose Ural red-skinned licorice. It has a taproot, high glycyrrhizic acid content, and the xylem and phloem do not rupture when sliced. The seeds are plump and glossy, with a purity above 90%, and the 1000-grain weight is about 10-12 g.

4 Sowing technology

According to soil moisture conditions, spring sowing, summer sowing, and autumn sowing are all possible. Spring sowing is from mid-to-late March to late April, when there is no frozen soil layer in the 1-1.5 m depth and the surface 5 cm stably passes 12°C. It can be harvested in autumn of the same year. Summer sowing and autumn sowing can be harvested the following year.

For Ural red-skinned taproot licorice, the sowing rate is about 1.5 kg per mu. Soak seeds in 50°C warm water for 10 hours until 80% of the seeds swell, remove them, rinse with clean water, then place them in a cool place to dry in the shade before sowing. Use a trenching machine to form soil ridges, lightly tread them manually, and manually open furrows on the ridges. The row spacing between furrows is 85 cm, with 2 rows sown per furrow, row spacing on the ridge of 5 cm, plant spacing of 3 cm, and sowing depth of 2 cm. Cover with soil and lightly press with the foot. In early spring when the weather is cool, plastic film can be used for mulching.

The seedling retention number per mu is 49000 plants. In the same year, the licorice root grows to a length of about 1 m, 2/3 longer than 3-year-old licorice from seedling transplanting.

5 Field management

5.1 Seedling stage management During the licorice seedling stage, cutworms cause serious damage. When licorice has 2 true leaves, in the evening use 48% Lorsban, with a 16-type sprayer, mixing 15-30 ml of pesticide per bucket, with a dosage of about 60 ml per mu. Keep the nozzle close to the ground and spray along the furrow ridges. Spray 1-2 times depending on the situation.

5.2 Topdressing and watering In the same year, topdress licorice on the ridges twice, once during the phloem formation stage of the rhizome and once during the rapid growth stage, applying 5-10 kg of urea per mu by opening furrows beside the ridges. In the same year, apply foliar topdressing to licorice 2-3 times, using 80 g of monopotassium phosphate, 20 g of humic acid type, 10-15 g of trace element fertilizer, and 25 g of rhizome expansion agent (Gaomeishi) mixed and sprayed per mu.

Watering and water runoff can cause trench collapse, exposing the root system and causing hanging roots or broken roots. Once the trench collapses, the significance of trenching is lost, and licorice growth is affected. Therefore, licorice trench cultivation cannot be watered. Sprinkler irrigation should be used to supplement water, generally 3-4 times.

5.3 Intertillage and weeding Before emergence, about 100 ml of acetochlor emulsifiable concentrate per mu can be used for closed weeding. After emergence, 25-40 ml/mu of 10.8% haloxyfop-R-methyl can be used to control grass weeds.

Intertillage is one link in increasing licorice yield. A specially made large shovel (width 24 cm) can be used for loosening soil and weeding 2-3 times in the wide rows.

6 Harvest

With trench-sowing direct-seeding cultivation, licorice can be harvested in the same year or after 2 years. Same-year harvest is carried out in October, using manual pulling and harvesting. First cut off the aboveground stems and leaves, leaving 4-5 cm of rhizome, then use an iron shovel to dig away soil on one or both sides of the licorice root to a depth of 20-30 cm, pull out the licorice with both hands to a length of about 1 m, then remove the reed head, remove soil, tie into bundles, and dry for sale. Fresh weight @#@136@#@.