Detailed Explanation of Licorice Planting Technology and Market Analysis
I. Market Analysis
Licorice is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Fabaceae family, with its roots and rhizomes used as medicine. Licorice is the king of traditional Chinese medicine and has a very wide range of uses. The underground part of licorice has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, moistening the lungs and stopping cough, quenching thirst and removing phlegm. Most traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions cannot do without licorice, commonly known as "nine out of ten prescriptions contain licorice." The above-ground part of licorice has high crude protein and crude fat content, and relatively low crude fiber content. The stems and leaves contain various trace elements needed by animals, and the feeding effect is similar to that of alfalfa (Medicago sativa), so it can serve as an excellent leguminous forage.
In recent years, the price of licorice has been climbing steadily, mainly for the following reasons: First, the medicinal material is used in large quantities and has a wide range of uses. Second, years of predatory digging have pushed wild licorice to the brink of extinction. Third, licorice needs 2~3 years of growth (including the seedling growth period) before it can be harvested, and many people dare not plant it for fear that the price will fall after planting. According to national customs statistics, since China's accession to the WTO, the export volume of licorice has been continuously increasing, and exported raw materials are gradually transforming into semi-finished products. The increase in demand has led to continuously rising prices.
II. Planting Technology
1. Growth habits. Licorice originally grew wild on desert and semi-desert grasslands and is a plant with strong alkali resistance. It is distributed in continental climate zones. Once its roots become lignified, it is drought-tolerant, waterlogging-tolerant, cold-tolerant, light-loving, and suited to cool and dry climates. It has low requirements for soil, and can generally be planted in ordinary soil. It is especially suitable for planting on newly reclaimed barren hills and hilly land.
2. Propagation methods. Seeds treated with scientific methods and technical processing can be planted by two methods: direct sowing or seedling transplanting.
3. Sowing time and seedling transplanting. Spring sowing in March to April, summer sowing in May to July, and autumn sowing before White Dew are all acceptable. Regardless of which month the seedlings are raised, they can be transplanted to the field around the Spring Festival, with about 12,000 seedlings used per mu.
Transplanting: After the land is leveled, plant flat in furrows at a row spacing of 40 cm, plant spacing of 15~18 cm, and depth of 8 cm, then cover with soil.
4. Fertilization and land preparation. Per mu, 20 kg of urea, 20~40 kg of potash fertilizer, 50~100 kg of superphosphate or 50~100 kg of compound fertilizer can all be used, then apply low-residue pesticide to kill underground insects, deep plow the land 30~40 cm, harrow finely and level, make 60 cm wide high beds for direct sowing, and make 120 cm wide high beds for seedling raising.
5. Harvesting and processing Licorice is used as medicine from its roots. It can generally be harvested from October to December or before spring sprouting. For large-scale planting, a tractor can be hitched to a plow to plow them out, and then workers pick them out by hand. After harvesting licorice, cut off the stems and branches, dig out the roots, remove all soil, chop off the rhizome heads, branch forks, and fibrous roots, sun-dry until half dry, tie into small bundles, then sun-dry completely@#@136@#@. Quality is best when the bark is red, the powder is abundant, and the taste is sweet.