Cultivation and processing of medicinal plants

Basics of growing medicinal plants

Our country’s rich flora provides a large group of wild medicinal plants, but in addition to these, large quantities of there are also herbswhich do not grow at all in the wild in our country, or which occur in such small quantities that their cultivation is justified. Our climate and soil conditions are ideal for the cultivation of medicinal plants. The cultivation of medicinal plants as the sole and exclusive branch of production is not profitable, nor would it be economically sound to develop the cultivation of medicinal plants at the expense of other agricultural or horticultural crops. Useful supplementation however, the cultivation of medicinal plants could be a for rotational cropping and expedient use of land lying fallow, which cannot be used for other purposes. The cultivation of medicinal plants can therefore be regarded as a profitable branch of production if it is linked to the production of food and agricultural crops and to the appropriate soil selection by. The quantity and type of herbs to be grown in any given case is determined by demand and the area to be planted, site and climatic conditions. All of these factors must be taken into account when growing medicinal plants, because, as we shall see, the cultivation of medicinal plants is, for the most part, the same as that of other agricultural and culinary crops, but the plant only needs to be given the favourable living conditionswhich it requires during its development. The medicinal plants the main aim of cultivation is the same as for the harvesting of wild plants, i.e. the herbs to be produced must be active ingredients as they must contain higher quantities. Taking these aspects into account, the main rules for growing medicinal plants can be summarised as follows: First and foremost, the right the choice of soil. The soil requirements for each plant are given in the detailed instructions. For the plants to be grown in the wild, both the soil and the location and climate the requirements of wild herbs, which are identical and identical. A very important condition is also the correct choice of seeds, because in many cases old seeds which are incapable of germination are marketed, which, if sown, naturally cause great financial loss to the grower. The seed must therefore be assessed for germination before sowing or a test germination must be carried out before sowing. Annual plants seeds are usually sown in the spring months sowing in March-April in the open air, with the exception of seeds which are very sensitive to frost, such as castor beans and marjoram, – which are sown only at the beginning of May or propagated by planting. Seeds which are difficult to germinate, and which take weeks to germinate, can be accelerated by freezing them. Freezing is done by placing the seeds in damp sand in the open air during the winter and soaking them in warm water before sowing to speed up germination. Biennial herbs, which only bear fruit in the second year, like perennial plants, usually can be sown in June-July. During the winter, growing plants do not need any special protection – very sensitive plants, especially in harsh winters, are covered with dry canopies. Among the more popular annual herbs suitable for cultivation are: Brassica (Sinapis) nigra L., black mustard;CalendulaofficinalisL., marigold; Carthamus tinctoria L., ragweed;Chenopodiumambrosioidos L., sweet-smelling goosegrass; Cnicusbenedictus, sedge; Coriandrum sativum L., coriander; DatuirastramoniumL., linum usitatissimumL., flax;Origanum majorana L., marjoram ; Papaver somniferum L., poppy; Pimpinella anisum L., anise; Ricinus communis L., castor; Sinapis alba L., white mustard; Trigonella foenum graecum L., fenugreek, buttercup. Biennials are: Althaea rosea Cav. var.atropurpurea, black raspberry; Archangelicaofficinalis L., medicinal argan; Carum carvi L.’ French cumin; Digitalis purpurea L., red foxglove; Foen- culum officinale L., fennel; Hyoscyamus niger L., sweet alfalfa; Salvia sclarea L., scarlet sage; Verbascum phlomoides L., ox-tail. Perennial plants: Aconitum napellus L., lizard’s bane; AcornscalamusL., medical calamus; Agrimonia eupatoria L., burdock; Althaea officinalis L., medical chickweed; Anthemis nobilis L., noble peppermint; ArtemisiaabsinthiumL., white verbena; Artemisia dracunculusL., tarragon; Atropa Belladonna L., needlewort; Crocus sativus L., saffron; Gentiana lutea L., yellow-flowered tarragon;GlycyrrhizaglabraL., liquorice; Gypsophila paniculata L., soapwort; Helleborusniger L. , black cohosh; Herniaria glabra L., hyssopus officinalis L., hyssop; Inula Helenium L., magnificent whirl-root; Iris florontina L., magnificent violet; Levisticum officinale K. , medical butterbur; Marrubium vulgare L., medical pemetis; Melissa officinalis L., mentha crispa L., curly-leaved spearmint; Mentha piperita L., peppermint; Menyanthes trifoliataL., bitter-leaved spearmint; Pyrethrum einerariaefolium Tr., insect-flower; Rheum pal matum L., rhubarb; Valeriana officinalisL., cat-root; Veratrumalbum L., white-leaved spearmint. A annual herbaceous plants care must be taken to ensure that the 1. spacing it is an incorrect conclusion that the more densely the plants are planted, the greater the yield. Seeds sown at high density usually fail to develop into young plants due to lack of space. Therefore, seeds sowing seedlings should be sown and care should be taken when sowing not to sow the seeds too deep into the soil, as the weak young plant will not be able to break through the thick layer of soil. The seeds are usually mixed with sand before sowing. Many plants are propagated not by direct sowing but by by planting, cuttings or division by direct sowing. Seedling is used for plants that cannot be sown directly in the open ground for better results. For most of the biennial and perennial plants, seedling establishment is appropriate. Planting consists of sowing the seeds in advance in beds of 120-150 cm in the open air, watering the seeds carefully and then protecting them from wilting by hoeing after emergence and also protecting them from strong sunlight by shading. The half-grown seedlings are thinned as they develop, planted out in a wider row (‘pirooted’) and only once they are fully grown are they planted out in their final location. Cuttings mainly for perennial plants which are by seed sowing, or grow slowly and unsteadily. Cuttings are taken from the parent plants by cutting off the cuttings a few cm below the leaves and planting the cuttings in the hotbed, 5-10 cm apart from each other. These cuttings are kept in a shaded, enclosed space for about two weeks and are gradually acclimatised to sunlight and air. Once the cuttings have become strong and rooted, they can be transplanted to their permanent place for three to four weeks after rooting. The cuttings are made in the same way as for vines. By budding we mean the process whereby the parent tissue, or parts thereof reproductive part during a break in vegetation is distributed into as many parts as can be divided for the purpose of propagation and planted in such divided parts. Propagation by division is carried out, for example, in the case of calla lilies, where the rhizome is cut up, and in the case of saffron, where the young bulbs are separated. In the cultivation of medicinal plants as mentioned above, it is important to determine the correct crop rotation, which for food and agricultural crops is as follows triple crop rotation is recommended:

Fertilisation and for medicinal plants same rules apply to herbs, such as for the cultivation of other crops. It should be noted that most of the medicinal plants are very demanding on the soil and therefore the nutrients removed from the soil must be replaced by manure. The quality of the fertiliser depends on the quality of the soil, so that hard soil is improved with horse manure and looser soil with cattle manure. Artificial fertilisation as soon as we want to replenish certain nutrients in the soil. These fertilisers are now available in many different varieties, and their use is described in the context of general crop production, and their use is also guided by general crop production. As a guide to the quantity of manure, about 200-300 q of natural manure are needed per catastrophic acre; for artificial manure, the varies according to their type. The cultivated medicinal plants for harvesting crops the same rules apply. Source: Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr Gyula Magyary-Kossa,Domestic medicinal plants, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses