The latest harvest time and method of licorice

Licorice is a perennial herb of Leguminosae, and it is also a traditional Chinese medicine with a long history in China. The main part of medicine is the rhizome of the plant, which has various effects such as heat-clearing and detoxification, antitussive and expectorant and so on. Now the planting area in China is very extensive, when planting licorice, its harvest time and method is also very critical, so when should it be harvested? How to harvest it? Let's take a look at it with the editor.

1. Harvest time

The harvest time of licorice should be reasonably adjusted according to the planting method of licorice. If it is a direct seeding, it will be harvested in the fourth year of planting. If it is rhizome or ramet propagation, it can be harvested in the third year. If it is seedling transplanting, it can be harvested in the following year. Within 3 years of planting licorice, glycyrrhizic acid was secreted more, and then in the fourth year, the content of glycyrrhizic acid reached about 2.5%. So that's why it was harvested in the fourth year after sowing. According to the climate of the planting area and other factors, the harvest is carried out in the spring and autumn, usually in the autumn until the stems and leaves of licorice plants wither.

2. Harvesting method

The harvesting method should also be reasonably determined according to the planting method, if it is direct seeding and seedling transplanting, then it is generally manual and mechanical. During the artificial harvest, the topsoil is now dug up about 25 cm beside the two rows of the plant, exposing the root head of the licorice plant and then grabbing it and pulling it out. Then put the excavated soil in the second row on the first row, and by analogy, it can significantly increase the yield and protect the soil quality. If mechanical harvesting is used, then the plough should be about 35 cm deep and the lateral roots of the plant should be cut off. Then hold the root out, straighten out the root and stem of licorice after harvest, tie it up and process it in time.

3. Processing method

The processing site of licorice should not be too far away, but should be in a high, dry, well-ventilated and clean place. After the fresh grass is harvested, the Reed head, lateral roots and rotten places should be removed. Then cut it into strips of about 30cm according to the level, and then tie it into a small pile to dry. After about 5 days, a large haystack is piled up, and then put in a suitable environment to dry in the shade. Finally, according to national standards to do a good job of baling, or manually reduce the semi-processed licorice cut into slices for air-drying.

The above is a brief introduction to the harvest time and methods of licorice. The harvest time and methods of licorice should be reasonably controlled and adjusted according to the planting method to ensure the yield of licorice and expand the planting benefit. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. I hope it can be helpful to everyone.