Introduction to the Cultivation Techniques and Medicinal Benefits of Panax notoginseng
A variety in the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae, scientific name Panax pseudoginseng Wall. var. notoginseng (Burkill) Hoo et Tseng, a perennial herbaceous plant. Also known as Tianqi, Shen Sanqi, Shanqi, Jinbuhuan, etc. The roots and rhizomes are used medicinally, and it is a specialty of China. It is mainly produced in Wenshan Prefecture of Yunnan Province and Baise Prefecture of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The plant height is 20-60 cm. The main root is obconical or short-conical. The palmately compound leaves are whorled at the top of the stem. A one-year-old plant has 1 compound leaf, a two-year-old plant has 1-3 leaves, and a three-year-old plant has 3-7 leaves. Each compound leaf has 5-7 leaflets, which are roundish or obovate with finely dense serrations along the edges. It blooms in autumn after two years of cultivation. The umbel is born among the leaf cluster at the top of the stem; the flowers are bisexual and pale yellow-green. The fruit ripening period is from November to December. The ripe berry is red, kidney-shaped or triangular, containing 1-3 spherical seeds.
It prefers a warm, shaded and humid environment, is afraid of severe cold and intense heat, and also fears excessive water. The soil should be loose red soil or brown-red soil, slightly acidic; an average annual temperature of 16.0-19.3°C is suitable. If the temperature remains above 30°C for 3-5 consecutive days during the growing period, the plants are prone to disease. The cultivation site should preferably be an east-facing slope, with a slope of 5°-15° being suitable. Planting in low-lying land makes root rot likely to occur.
Before planting, build a flat-topped shade shed 1.5-1.7 m high, commonly called a "canopy". The shade shed area of each Sanqi garden should preferably be 2-3 mu, and a fence is set around the shed. In early spring, when light is weak and temperatures are low, the canopy transparency should preferably be 60-70%; in early April, as the temperature rises, the transparency should preferably be 50%. Sow from November to December, dibbling a single seed at a row spacing of 5-6 cm, covering with about 1.5 cm of soil after sowing, and then covering the bed surface with grass after earthing up, sowing 1.4 million-1.5 million seeds per hectare. Grade the seedlings by size, with a plant spacing of 15-18 cm, plant the buds downward at a slant, 225,000-300,000 plants per hectare, cover with about 3 cm of soil after planting, and cover the bed surface with grass. Use barnyard manure and plant ash as base fertilizer; before sowing or transplanting, mix phosphate fertilizer and cake fertilizer into the soil, and apply topdressing 2-3 times a year. Pests and diseases include root rot Fusarium scirpi, rust Uredo panacis, powdery mildew Oidium spp., anthracnose Colletotrichum panacicola, damping-off Rhizoctonia solani, short-whiskered mite Brevipalpus spp., and slug Agriolimax spp. In addition, there are also black spot, aphids, inchworms, mealybugs, etc.
Generally harvested four years after planting, yielding 900-1,500 kg of dried goods per hectare.
Bitter and slightly bitter in taste, warm in nature. It has the functions of stopping bleeding and dispersing blood stasis, reducing swelling and relieving pain. It mainly treats conditions such as coughing blood, vomiting blood, abnormal uterine bleeding, traumatic bleeding, and swelling and pain from falls and bruises. It is used among the people as a blood-tonifying and tonic medicine, and has the effect of increasing coronary artery blood flow and slowing the heart rate, and is used to prevent and treat coronary heart disease.