Introduction trial of black goji berry succeeds in our province
Our website news (reporter Fan Guangnian): Recently, 300 mu of black goji berry planted in the suburbs of Shijiazhuang were in full bloom with abundant fruit. This is the field performance of wild black goji berry seedlings introduced from Qinghai by the Medicinal Plant Research Center of the Institute of Cash Crops, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences.
Black goji berry (Lycium ruthenicum Murr.) is a perennial shrub of the genus Lycium in the Solanaceae family, with a plant height of 20-250 cm. It is much branched, with hard branches that often bend in a zigzag shape. Black goji berry leaves are lanceolate and succulent, the flowers are purple and self-pollinating, and the roots of adult trees extend more than 200 cm into the ground. It is drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant and salt-alkali-tolerant, can endure high temperatures of 38.5°C, grows well in areas where the extreme winter temperature is minus 28°C, and has no strict requirements for soil, but its waterlogging resistance is relatively poor. At present, China's medicinal and health-care black goji berry mainly comes from wild species. It grows on the Gobi desert and barren beaches of the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai and its surrounding areas, and its natural growing environment is relatively harsh.
Black goji berry can be called "soft gold." It is rich in anthocyanins, polysaccharides, organic acids and free amino acids, and is rich in selenium and nutrients such as vitamin C, B1 and B2. Its medicinal and health-care value is significantly higher than that of red goji berry, and it has effects such as scavenging free radicals, anti-oxidation, improving immunity, lowering blood sugar, resisting fatty liver and resisting atherosclerosis. Black goji berry has anthocyanins (red goji berry does not), and its oligomeric proanthocyanidin (OPC) content exceeds that of blueberry (black goji berry contains OPC 3690 mg/100 g, more than 22 times the content of blueberry). It is a high-grade raw material for health products, and its market price is high. This has led to predatory digging and harvesting in its place of origin, and wild black goji berry resources have been severely damaged. To protect wild black goji berry resources, our province carried out an introduction trial in 2014.
After the introduction of black goji berry, multi-point trials were arranged in the plains and mountainous areas of our province. According to observation, the annual branch growth of black goji berry averages more than 50 cm, and it can form 3-6 branches. Its growth amount, plant vigor, and flowering and fruiting capacity are all significantly better than those in its place of origin. Xie Xiaoliang, chief expert for Chinese medicinal materials in Hebei Province, introduced that black goji berry flowers and fruits in the same year it is planted. In plain areas, flowering generally begins in May, fruiting occurs in June, the first batch of fruit gradually matures at the end of June, branches bloom a second time in August, and a second batch of fruit forms in September. Cultivation and management of black goji berry are very simple, and there are relatively few pests and diseases. For 1-2 year old small trees, attention should be paid to pruning the weak branches at the bottom, and cultivating 1-2 central main branches to form a trunk. As the plant grows, it is generally cultivated into a trunk-type multi-layered umbrella-shaped crown, which facilitates later picking and management.
The fruit of artificially cultivated black goji berry in our province is better in appearance and internal quality than wild black goji berry from its place of origin. According to testing by the Medicinal Plant Research Center of the Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, the indicators of moisture, polysaccharides, anthocyanins (malvidin), betaine, citric acid and selenium in the dried fruit are all higher than those of wild black goji berry from its place of origin.
The introduction trial proves that black goji berry can be planted in both mountainous and plain areas of our province. According to yield measurement, the yield of dried fruit is 3 kg per mu in the same year, 30 kg per mu for 2-year-old plants, and 80 kg per mu for 3-year-old plants. It is expected that the yield of dried fruit per mu at the full production stage will be more than 200 kg, with remarkable economic benefits.
It is understood that black goji berry generally does not suffer from diseases or insects, and is simple to manage, requiring only pruning, fruit picking and drying. The planting density per mu is 440-660 plants, and the row spacing and plant spacing are generally 200 cm x 70 cm.