Variety classification and cultivation methods of licorice

Licorice is the root and rhizome of Leguminosae licorice (GlycyrrhizauralensisFischer.), Glycyrrhiza uralensis (G.inflataBat.) or Glycyrrhiza uralensis (G.glabraL.). It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxification, relieving cough and expectorant, tonifying spleen and stomach, reconciling various medicines and so on. Treat sore throat, cough, palpitation, epigastric deficiency pain, ulceration and other symptoms. The main growing areas of licorice: originally wild in the arid steppe calcareous soil of northwest China.

Plant morphology of licorice

Erect genus, alternate leaves, odd status compound leaves, leaflets 7-17, oval-ovate, racemes axillary, purplish red, butterfly flowers. Fruit oblong, sometimes falcate or annular curved, densely covered with brown spiny glandular hairs. Oblate seeds. The florescence is from June to July and the fruiting period is from July to September.

Ecological conditions of licorice

Licorice grows mostly in arid and semi-arid desert steppe, desert edge and loess hilly areas, and it is also easy to breed in the fields and beaches of the Yellow River diversion irrigation area. It has strong adaptability and strong resistance. In China, licorice grows in the northwest, North China and Northeast China. Like dry climate, cold-resistant, wild on dry calcium, good drainage, low groundwater level sandy loam cultivation. Avoid high groundwater level and acidic soil in waterlogged depression. The soil should be neutral or slightly alkaline.

Variety classification and cultivation methods of licorice

1. Licorice: the root is cylindrical, long 30~120cm, diameter 0.6~3cm. The outer skin is loose and tight, reddish brown, dumb brown or grayish brown, with obvious wrinkles and grooves, commonly known as "ditches and ridges" and sparse fine root marks. the lenticels are transversely long and slightly sunken in the center of the section at both ends. The incision shrinks like the size of a pepper eye, which is called a "pepper eye". The quality is solid and heavy, the cross section is fibrous, yellow-white, powdery, with obvious cambium ring and radial texture, with fissures. There are bud marks on the surface of the rhizome and medulla in the middle of the cross section. The breath is slight, the taste is sweet and special.

2. Glycyrrhiza uralensis: the texture of root and rhizome is solid, some have branches, the outer skin is not rough, grayish brown.

3. Glycyrrhiza uralensis: root and rhizome are qualitative, stout, some are branched, the outer skin is rough, grayish brown or grayish brown, hard, woody fiber, small powder. Adventitious buds are numerous and stout.

Licorice powder has a yellowish, flat surface with knife cutting and longitudinal cracks.

(1) Western grass: it mainly includes Ikezhao League in western Inner Mongolia, Bayannur League, Alashan League and northern Ningxia. Northern Shaanxi, northern Shanxi and Gansu Hexi Corridor are classified as this kind of quality. The products here are all authentic licorice, usually cut evenly at both ends, with red color, fine skin lines, "ditch, depression and ridge" and "pepper eye". In the past, they were divided into different places according to their origin.

1. Liangwai grass: produced in Hangjin Banner in the south of Hetao. For the highest grade of licorice, its physique is strong, the outer skin is jujube red, the inner color is goose yellow, and the powder foot.

2. Wangye grass: it is mainly produced in Qikou area of Alashan Banner, and it is also high-grade licorice. Its branches are uniform, its outer skin is darker than the grass outside the beam, and its powder is sufficient.

3. Xizhen grass: it is produced in the town of Etok and Taole and Yanchi in Ningxia. The base strip is also uniform, the skin is reddish brown, and its powder and texture are not as good as the former two, but it is also a high-quality licorice.

In addition, there are Shanghe River grass (Dalat Banner), Xiahe River grass (Baotou area and Tuoketuo Banner) and other producing areas, its quality is inferior. The product is multi-body loose, uneven, the skin color is not good (grayish brown), the powder is not as good as the authentic products, and the inner color is old yellow.

(2) Dongcao: it refers to the products mainly produced in the eastern and northeast regions of Inner Mongolia and Hebei and Shanxi provinces. Its merchandise often takes the Reed head, but does not go to the head and tail. Longer, sometimes branched, the tail is also finer, the epidermis is rough, often semi-floating, light and loose, the section is often fibrous, the section fissures are more, and the powder is not as good as the two grasss. the inner color is yellow or old yellow. It is often called "Hada grass". The northeast has a sweet taste and is often used as food. it was exported to Japan in large quantities in the past. The sweetness of Hebei and central Shanxi is lighter.

(3) Xinjiang licorice: in the past, Xinjiang licorice was rarely used medicinally because of inconvenient transportation and secondary impurities. In recent years, due to the serious destruction of licorice wild resources (especially the authentic producing area of Inner Mongolia), Xinjiang licorice has gradually become one of the mainstream varieties because of its large quantity. There are a large number of distribution to the west of the Hexi Corridor from Xinjiang to Gansu, and the main characteristics of its products are mixed. Licorice from three plant sources can be seen (see the identification of the above three kinds of licorice), especially Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Processing can be included in the above-mentioned western and eastern herbs (see national specifications). Glycyrrhiza uralensis because of its rough gray skin, poor Lignification powder, and stout, sweet but slightly bitter, often known as "nigger grass". It is often used as honey roasted licorice to cover up its color. It is also often used as industrial raw material. Production of licorice extract, licorice tablets and so on.

There are two main cultivation methods of licorice, ⑴ direct seeding, generally adopting strip sowing, row spacing 30-50cm, furrow depth 3-4cm, soil covering 2cm, sowing rate 2-3kg per mu. As there are many bifurcated roots after the live broadcast products come out, the roots are thick and thin, up to less than the prescribed quality standards, and because of its laborious ploughing and labor, this method is generally only used in production. ⑵ seedling transplanting is often used in production because of its high yield, excellent quality, low labor intensity and high economic benefits.