Problems needing attention in harvesting and planting of traditional Chinese Medicine in Autumn

Autumn is not only the harvest season of many traditional Chinese medicine, especially root, fruit and seed, but also the planting season of many traditional Chinese medicine. How to choose the appropriate harvest time according to the types and parts of traditional Chinese medicine, to ensure the output and quality of traditional Chinese medicine, and not to plant suitable Chinese medicine in agricultural season, so as to lay a good foundation for the output and quality of traditional Chinese medicine in the coming year? it is an issue of great concern to the majority of medicine farmers.

When Chinese medicinal materials are harvested during the harvest period, according to the law of the formation of yield and quality and the requirements of the Pharmacopoeia, the appropriate harvest years and harvest time of certain traditional Chinese medicinal materials must be determined. The yield and quality of Chinese medicinal materials must not be affected because the growth years are not enough, the harvesting time and technology are not suitable. Root type: Platycodon grandiflorum should be picked and dug from late September to early October, which affects the yield prematurely, but it is difficult to scrape the root skin too late, and it is not easy to dry; Gastrodia elata is harvested in early winter with strong body and high quality; white peony is harvested in September in the third year after planting, and new roots occur too late, affecting yield and quality, and not easy to dry. When root traditional Chinese medicine is harvested, it is necessary to remove soil and useless parts, such as stump stems, leaves, fibrous roots, etc., some need to take advantage of fresh peel, such as Radix Glehniae, Platycodon grandiflorum, Pinellia ternata, Tiannanxing, and some need to take advantage of fresh processing, such as yam, red ginseng and so on. Fruits and seeds: Coix is harvested when the leaves turn yellow and 80% of the seeds are ripe. If the harvest is too late, the mature seeds are easy to fall off, resulting in a reduction in yield; Trichosanthes kirilowii is harvested when the pericarp is white and light yellow, it is harvested too early, the flesh is not thick, the seeds are not mature, too late, the pulp becomes thin, and the yield decreases; cumin is harvested when the pericarp changes from green to yellowish green, and if the pericarp turns yellow, the fruit is easy to fall off. Forsythia is harvested when the fruit is first ripe and the pericarp is still green; Cornus officinalis is best harvested after frosting; papaya should be picked with ripening. Flowers: chrysanthemums are harvested when the petals are straight, 80% of the hearts are scattered, and the flowers are white, usually from late October to early November; saffron is harvested at about 10:00 on the first to second day of flowering, and the pistil stigma and the red part of the style are taken for medicinal use, usually from late October to the first and middle of November. Whole grasses and leaves: barley can be harvested continuously for 5-6 years, 2-3 times a year; Scutellaria barbata can be harvested once in September-October of the planting year, and then once in May, July and September every year; mint is generally harvested 1-2 times a year; Asarum can be harvested 4-5 years after direct seeding, seedlings and transplanting can be harvested 3-4 years; mulberry leaves can only be harvested after frosting. In addition, Cortex moutan is the main traditional Chinese medicine harvested in autumn in our province. The medicinal peony was transplanted for 3-4 years and its roots were dug up in early October.

Many Chinese herbal medicines planted in autumn can be sown or transplanted in spring and autumn. Except for those with special requirements that cannot be planted in autumn (Radix Isatidis blossoms in spring in the second year, affecting the quality of medicinal materials), autumn is generally better. Platycodon grandiflorum should be sowed from early October to early November. Bupleurum should be sowed from late autumn to winter before soil freezing; Radix angelicae dahuricae dahuricus, and Radix Paeoniae Alba should be sowed in mid-late September. Codonopsis pilosula was sown before soil freezing, and seedlings were transplanted in the first and middle of October; Salvia miltiorrhiza was transplanted in October; Gastrodia elata was planted from late October to November; lilies were sown from September to October, seedlings were raised with scales and bulbs were planted; Atractylodes macrocephala was planted from late December to late February of the following year; shoot stem was sown in early October, and rhizomes were planted separately during autumn harvest; peppermint was planted from early to late October. Honeysuckle propagated by cutting before new buds germinated from early September to mid-October; Cornus officinalis was sown from late September to early October; Eucommia ulmoides was sowed from late October to early November; Magnolia officinalis was sown from late October to early November; medicinal peony propagated from late September to early October.

When planting Chinese medicinal materials in autumn, we should fully consider the growth habits of each kind of Chinese medicinal materials and the requirements for the cultivation environment, such as the general root Chinese herbal medicines are afraid of stagnant water, shading Pinellia ternata, continuous cropping of white peony, high temperature of Radix Pseudostellariae, etc., according to the local actual situation to choose suitable Chinese medicinal materials for planting.