Intercropping nursery stock with medicinal herbs helps villagers increase income and get rich

In the depths of summer, at the nursery stock and medicinal herb intercropping base in Mutun Village, Changxing Township, Runan County, Henan Province, more than 50 women are busy harvesting the medicinal herb Centipeda minima under the Chinese scholar trees (Sophora japonica), and the base is a scene of bustling activity. Bai Jiong, Party secretary of Mutun Village, who was giving on-site guidance, introduced happily: "Under these 30 mu of Chinese scholar trees, everything intercropped is medicinal herbs. The yield per mu reaches more than 1000 jin, and two harvests can be gathered in a year. The market price can sell for seven or eight yuan per kilogram, and the annual output value reaches more than 200,000 yuan."

Bai Jiong has been engaged in flower and tree planting for more than 10 years. From the initial scattered planting, it has developed into the current 30 mu nursery stock base, and has driven the whole village to plant more than 1000 mu of flowers and trees, with more than 10 varieties of flowers and trees.

Bai Jiong found that Chinese scholar trees generally take 4 to 5 years from planting to sale. Chinese scholar trees grow slowly, and in each mu planted with more than 300 Chinese scholar trees, the gaps between the plants are relatively large. Could Chinese medicinal herbs be intercropped in the Chinese scholar tree field? In the spring of 2015, Bai Jiong began trial planting, and after success he would promote it. He bought 50 kilograms of Centipeda minima seeds from a medicinal herb buyer, simply loosened and tilled the soil, skillfully applied farmyard manure, then mixed the seeds with soil and evenly scattered them in the field, weeding and watering regularly. Through scientific management, in less than 6 months, Bai Jiong's Centipeda minima medicinal herb achieved a bumper harvest.

"Centipeda minima is a traditional Chinese medicine with effects such as dispelling wind and dispersing cold. Its growing conditions are not demanding, and its market prospects are good. After the summer harvest, the seeds fall off automatically, so not too many seeds need to be sown again for the second season. By the end of October, the second season can be harvested." Speaking of planting medicinal herbs, Bai Jiong knows his stuff like the back of his hand. "Using the three-dimensional intercropping method not only improves the utilization rate of the land, but also does not affect the growth of the Chinese scholar trees. The economic benefit per mu is more than 3000 yuan higher than that of traditional planting methods."

Feng Minghua, staff reporter Zhang Peiqi