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A more sustainable cultivation method for medicinal ginseng
Ginseng has a number of medicinal properties, such as strengthening the immune system. However, the cultivation of ginseng is complex: they grow in endemic ecological places and experience high disease pressure, which has resulted in high pesticide use and reduction of key ingredients. The Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research is developing a cultivation method for 'American ginseng'. Researcher Natalia Moreno: “Consumers worldwide use ginseng. It is great to be able to contribute to a better and more sustainable cultivation method for this product.”
Ginseng is the root of the Panax plant. There are two varieties used for their medicinal properties: Asian ginseng (P. ginseng) and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius). The Asian variant is endemic to the mountains in Asia. American ginseng grows in the forests of north America and Canada and can be cultivated in semi-open fields under shadow cloth and is therefore more commercially interesting. But the cultivation of American ginseng takes a long time and the quality of the product cannot be consistently ensured, due to high disease pressure and variation of the content of key ingredients.
The long life cycle is caused by the plant’s deep dormancy after senescence. It needs prolonged exposure to cold to come out of this dormancy and restart a new growth cycle. Additionally, the seedlings produce only one leaf in the first year and, thereafter, one extra leaf each cycle.
An international wellness company aims to improve the product characteristics of ginseng and has commissioned WUR to develop new cultivation methods. The researchers aim to halve the cultivation period under controlled conditions. This reduces the risk of diseases and pests, and thus requires fewer to no pesticides. To speed up cultivation, WUR is investigating whether the number of leaves can be increased and whether winter and summer dormancy can be shortened. In addition, WUR investigates the most optimum greenhouse conditions to stimulate maximum root growth and quality.
The research into the cultivation of American ginseng is a four-year collaboration between WUR and AMWAY.