Detailed Explanation of Key Licorice Cultivation and Management Techniques

Licorice, also known as sweet grass root, red licorice, and powder grass, is a leguminous plant, with its root and rhizome used as medicine.

Licorice is a perennial herbaceous plant, 30-40 cm tall. The root is thick and sturdy, cylindrical, with a sweet taste, and the outer bark is brownish-red. The stem is upright, slightly woody at the lower part. The leaves are alternate, and the flowers are papilionaceous, light purplish-red. The seeds are flat and round. The flowering period is June-July, and the fruiting period is July-September.

Licorice is sweet in flavor and neutral in nature, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, moistening the lungs and stopping cough, and harmonizing various medicines, and is regarded as the elder of all medicines. Except for waterlogged lowlands and land with a high groundwater table, which are not suitable for planting, all other land can be used for planting.

I. Cultivation Techniques

① Seed propagation. Sow in early April. Because the licorice seed coat is hard and thick, with poor light and water permeability, it is best to wear down the seed coat before sowing, or soak the seeds in warm water and then store them in moist sand for 1 month before sowing, so as to accelerate seed germination. When sowing, open shallow furrows at a row spacing of 30 cm, with a furrow depth of about 1.5 cm, evenly scatter the seeds into the furrows, cover with about 1 cm of soil, and use 2-2.5 kg of seed per 667 sq m (1 mu).

② Rhizome propagation. Rhizome propagation grows quickly. It is advisable to do this in spring and autumn when digging licorice, using the thick roots for medicine and selecting small rhizomes, cutting them into 12 to 15 cm sections, with 2 to 3 buds per section. Open furrows at a row spacing of 30 cm, with a furrow depth of 10 cm, place the rhizomes in the furrows at a plant spacing of 15 cm, then cover with soil and rake level, firm the soil, and water.

II. Field Management

Keep the soil moist frequently before and after emergence to facilitate the growth of seedlings after emergence, and water timely in dry weather. When the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, thin them out, and after final thinning the plant spacing should be 10-12 cm. Weed timely. After the plants grow larger, rhizomes may be exposed above the ground, so appropriate hilling should be done. Before the ground freezes, apply 2000-2500 kg of miscellaneous fertilizer per 667 sq m. Grain crops can be intercropped to make full use of the land. Once the licorice rhizomes cover the entire plot, no special management is needed.