Growth of Eight-Year-Old American Growth of Eight-Year-Old American Ginseng in a Red Maple Forest Ginseng in a Red Maple Forest

as Influenced by Lime and Organic as Influenced by Lime and Organic Fertilizer ApplicationFertilizer Application

Growth of Eight-Year-Old American Growth of Eight-Year-Old American Ginseng in a Red Maple Forest Ginseng in a Red Maple Forest

as Influenced by Lime and Organic as Influenced by Lime and Organic Fertilizer ApplicationFertilizer Application

Alain OlivierAlain Olivier

Isabelle Nadeau Isabelle Nadeau

Hakim Ouzennou Hakim Ouzennou

Justin P. Dzaringa Justin P. Dzaringa

Guy-Régis BibangGuy-Régis Bibang

American ginsengAmerican ginseng ((Panax quinquefoliusPanax quinquefolius L.) L.)

• Native species from deciduous forests in the Eastern half of North America

• Medicinal plant • Related to Asian ginseng

(Panax ginseng Meyer)

• Have been intensively harvested

• Endangered in Canada

– Over-harvesting – Destruction and degradation of

their natural habitat (White 1988)

• Less than 20 000 plants left in Canada (Nault et al. 1998)

Wild populationsWild populations

• Since the end of the 19th century• Intensive field-cultivation under

artificial shade structures• Tens of millions of dollars in income every year in Canada only (Statistics Canada)

Field-cultivationField-cultivation

• Lower yield than field-grown roots

• Roots of higher quality

• Higher retail value

• No cost associated

with shade structures

Forest farmingForest farming

Source : John Proctor

Where does wild ginseng grow ?Where does wild ginseng grow ?

• In Québec, wild populations stand :

– In the Southern part of the province

– In mature sugar maple forests

– On rich, slightly acidic (pH 5.9), deep and well drained soils, with abundant litter rapidly decomposed (Nault 1997)

Where can we grow ginseng in Where can we grow ginseng in Québec ?Québec ?

• Most forests available for farming do not correspond to the natural environment of ginseng

– Short growing season

– Very acidic soils

– Nutrient-depleted soils

Soil pHSoil pH

• Affects ginseng growth• Affects shape, size, and

biomass of the roots (Pritts, 1995)

• pH 5.5 doubled yield as compared to pH 4.4 (Konsler and Shelton, 1990)

Source : John Proctor

Calcium content of the soilCalcium content of the soil

• Wild ginseng in New York state grows on soils with high calcium content (Beyfuss, 2000)

• Calcium deficiency restricts root biomass (Stoltz, 1982)

Source : John Proctor

Can we use very acidic Can we use very acidic forests to produce wild-forests to produce wild-

simulated ginseng ?simulated ginseng ?

Material and MethodsMaterial and Methods

• When ? – Fall 1995 - Fall 2003

• Where ?– Experimental Farm of Université Laval

(46° 39' N, 72° 06' W)

– Red maple forest– Very acidic Tilly silty clay (gleyed humo-

ferric Podzol)

– Mor humus of low nutrient status

Initial soil characteristics of the Initial soil characteristics of the experimental site experimental site (October 1995)(October 1995)

Layer Depth (cm)

pH P (mg/kg) K (mg/kg)

Ca (mg/kg)

Om 14 to 0 3.6 2.3 102 272

Ae 0-10 4.1 1.2 71 143

Mehlich III extractable P, K and Ca

TreatmentsTreatments

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5

Control Lime

6 t/ha

Sustane

(5-2-10)

800 kg/ha

+

Bonemeal (2-11-0)

582 kg/ha

T2

+

T3

T4

+

Nutri-Q

(0-0-5 + 5 %

Quintozene)

135 kg/ha

Cultural operationsCultural operations

• A very low level of management was chosen

• Only a few trees and shrubs providing excessive shade were removed prior to sowing

Cultural operationsCultural operations

• Leaf litter removed• Seeds broadcast at a rate of 40 kg/ha,

then incorporated (October 30-31, 1995)

• Lime, organic fertilizer and fungicide applied the same day

• Leaf litter put back above the soil

Cultural operationsCultural operationsRaking leaves and limingRaking leaves and liming

Maintenance Treatments Maintenance Treatments (Spring 1997)(Spring 1997)

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5

Control Sustane

300 kg/ha

T3 T3

+

Nutri-Q

135 kg/ha

Maintenance Treatments Maintenance Treatments (Spring 1998)(Spring 1998)

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5

Control Lime

3 t/ha

Sustane

300 kg/ha

T2

+

T3

T4

+

Nutri-Q

135 kg/ha

N.B. No maintenance treatment was applied after 1998

MeasuresMeasures

• Soil pH• Soil Ca • Ginseng population counts • Leaf area• Root biomass

Experimental designExperimental design

• Randomized complete block design• Five replicates• Plot size : 10 m X 2 m• Data submitted to standard ANOVA• Contrasts

T1 vs T2 : effect of limingT1 vs T3 : effect of organic fertilization T2 vs T4 : effect of adding organic

fertilizer to limeT4 vs T5 : effect of the fungicide

ResultsResults

Soil pHSoil pH

  1996 1997 1999 2000 2003

Trt 0-20 cm 0-5 cm 0-20 cm 0-20 cm 5-20 cm

T1 3,47 2,87 3,46 3,87 3,52T2 3,95 4,39 4,24 4,18 4,08T3 3,49 2,97 3,42 3,80 3,44T4 3,89 4,84 4,66 4,06 4,13T5 3,84 4,22 3,94 4,21 4,20* T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2

T2 vs T4 T4 vs T5

T1 vs T2   T1 vs T2 

Soil calcium content Soil calcium content (mg/kg)(mg/kg)

  1996 1997 1999 2000 2003

Trt 0-20 cm 0-5 cm 0-20 cm 0-20 cm 5-20 cm

T1 378 1436 420 362 502T2 1615 6380 1768 1973 2812T3 447 2721 964 464 690T4 1709 7495 1679 2797 3385T5 1536 6078 1277 3112 3705* T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2

Ginseng density Ginseng density (plant / m(plant / m22))

Trt June 96 June 97 June 98 Sept. 99 Sept. 00 Sept. 03

 

T1 44,5 8,0 4,1 1,6 0,0 0,0T2 64,6 39,5 23,2 8,4 3,2 0,6T3 55,0 17,4 11,2 3,6 1,0 0,3T4 58,4 41,6 25,8 14,8 9,5 0,8T5 61,8 32,5 18,9 9,4 5,6 0,6

*

T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2 T1 vs T3 T4 vs T5

T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2 T2 vs T4 T4 vs T5

T1 vs T2 T2 vs T4 T4 vs T5

T1 vs T2

Ginseng leaf area Ginseng leaf area ((cmcm22))

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2003

Trt

T1 11,0 26,5 40,0 - - -

T2 13,4 54,0 105,6 182,5 311,4 202,7

T3 13,3 44,1 62,4 98,3 125,3 131,5

T4 15,2 57,4 132,5 200,7 474,4 197,9

T5 15,8 54,8 115,2 177,0 416,9 224,0

* T1 vs T2

T1 vs T3

T2 vs T4

T1 vs T2 T1 vs T3

T1 vs T2 T2 vs T4

Ginseng fresh root biomass Ginseng fresh root biomass (g / plant)(g / plant)

  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2003

Trt

T1 0,69 0,33 0,85 - - -

T2 0,78 0,87 2,47 2,95 3,89 5,20

T3 0,87 0,58 1,30 1,44 2,57 3,65

T4 1,01 0,99 3,16 3,02 5,82 5,34

T5 0,98 0,89 2,55 2,59 4,37 4,21* T1 vs T2 T1 vs T2 T2 vs T4 T2 vs T4

DiscussionDiscussion

DiscussionDiscussion

• Very acidic, nutrient-depleted soils of red maple forests in Québec are not suited for ginseng cultivation– Not even one plant left in all of the

control plots

LimingLiming

• Improved :– Ginseng plant density– Ginseng leaf and root growth

• Improvement could be due to :– Increased soil calcium availability

– Lower aluminum toxicity (Nadeau

et al. 2003)

Calcium : a key element?Calcium : a key element?

• Wild populations grow on a wide range of soil pH, but always on calcium-rich soils (Beyfuss 2000)

• Calcium deficiency restricts N, P and K accumulation in leaves (Khwaja et al. 1984)

• Calcium alleviates aluminum toxicity (Brunet 1994)

Organic fertilizationOrganic fertilization• Positive impact on ginseng growth,

although lower than that of liming– Phosphorus and nitrogen in soil are correlated

to root biomass of ginseng (Konsler and Shelton 1990 ; Stoltz 1981)

• Lower ginseng winter survival than with lime – A result of calcium deficiency and/or

aluminum toxicity bringing higher ginseng susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses?

Fungicide applicationFungicide application

• Did not result in better emergence, survival rate, leaf area, nor root biomass of ginseng

ConclusionConclusion

• Soil nutrient management is essential to produce healthy marketable ginseng roots

• Soil calcium content may be critical

• Sufficient quantities of lime have to be added in this very acidic soil in order to make wild-cultivation of ginseng a valuable alternative

AcknowledgmentsAcknowledgments

• Nutrite Hydro-Agri Canada

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

• Jean Coulombe and the team of the Joseph-Rhéaume Experimental Farm

• Jean Collin