Sanming District Forestry Bureau of Sanming City, Sanming 365001, China

Abstract A comparative experiment was carried out on sowing and seedling for seeds of Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai treated by different methods (A-harvesting and sowing simultaneously with episperm removed; B-harvesting and sowing simultaneously with episperm not removed) and different substrate nutrient bags (A-forest land topsoil; B-yellow soil∶coarse sand = 1∶1; C-farmland soil). Results indicate that the seed germination rate of S. glabra seeds harvested and sowed simultaneously with episperm removed and not removed was as high as 97.3% and 97.1%, respectively; the seedling growth of sowing substrate A-forest land topsoil was the highest, the average seedling height, average ground diameter, average main root length, and average lateral root length was 12.1, 0.21, 8.5 and 7.0 cm, respectively.

Key words Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai, Seedling substrate, Sowing technique

1 Introduction

Sarcandraglabra(Thunb.) Nakai is an herb native to Southeast Asia. It is also known as herba sarcandrae or glabrous sarcandra herb, and it belongs to family Chloranthaceae and genus Sarcandra perennial evergreen shrub[1]. The whole herb ofS.glabracan be used as medicine, and it has the medicinal functions of stimulating the menstrual flow and setting a fracture, expelling wind and removing dampness, and promoting blood flow and relieving pain; now, it has been widely applied in medicines, health care products, daily food,etc., and has become a traditional Chinese medicine material with wide medical use and high economic value[1-6].S.glabrais a genuine Chinese herbal medicine developed vigorously in Sanming City and Sanyuan District of Sanming City was awarded the first "Hometown of ChineseS.glabra" in China[5]. In view of the serious excavation of wildS.glabraand the scarcity ofS.glabraresources, in order to cultivate high quality seedlings ofS.glabraand implement artificial cultivation ofS.glabraand development ofS.glabraindustry, we carried out an experiment during 2016 and 2017. With reference to relevant studies[7-16], we carried out sowing and seedling experiment on different substrate nutrient bags forS.glabra, and obtained excellent results. Now, we summarize the experiment as follows.

2 General situation of experimental plot

The experimental plot is situated in Louyuan state-owned forest farm nursery (117°26′32″ E, 26°9′7″ N) in Sanyuan District, Sanming City of Fujian Province. In this nursery, there is convenient irrigation and excellent drainage facilities, and the terrain is open; the soil is sandy loam, loose, highly permeable; the previous stubble crop is soybean and sweet potato; the nursery is free from plant diseases and insect pests, and suitable for seedling cultivation. In the first ten days of December, 2016, the nursery was consolidated and sun-dried, seedling bed was made and disinfection was carried out, and sowing substrate was prepared.

3 Experiment methods

3.1ExperimentdesignIn the first ten days of December, 2016, mature seeds ofS.glabrawere collected from "under-forestS.glabraGAP demonstration base" of Louyuan state-owned forest farm in Sanyuan District, Sanming City. Method for peeling of episperm: composted the seeds for 15-20 d; after the episperms were softened, rubbed the episperms with clear water, cleaned and sun-dried for 0.5 d, then sowed.

Experiment 1: designed two treatments for seeds (A-harvesting and sowing simultaneously with episperm removed; B-harvesting and sowing simultaneously with episperm not removed); the sowing substrate adopted forest land topsoil non-woven fabric nutrient bags, to compare the seed germination rate.

Experiment 2: designed three different substrates (A-forest land topsoil; B-yellow soil∶coarse sand = 1∶1; C-farmland soil), each substrate mixed with 0.5% calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer, and conducted the sowing experiment of non-woven fabric nutrient bags with specifications of 10 cm × 8.0 cm (height × diameter). The above two experiment treatments adopted complete randomized design, with 100 plants per treatment and repeated 9 times.

Technical measures: seeds were sown into the center of the nutrient bags, one seed per bag, seeds not pressed, different substrates designed according to the experiment were covered with 0.5 cm thick soil separately, then covered with a layer of plant ashes to keep warm and moist; above the seedling bed, put up the shading net with shade density of 50%-70% for long-term shading; after seedlings emerged, conducted weeding, topdressing, flood control, drought prevention, pest control, winter cold protection,etc.

3.2SurveyandstatisticalanalysisAfter the seeds were germinated, the germination rate was observed and the seed germination rate was counted after all seedlings were germinated. In middle of November, after the seedlings stopped growing, the seedling height and ground diameter of different experiment treatments were surveyed and counted. According to the average height and ground diameter of different experiment treatments, 3 standard plants (error ± 5%) were selected and the main root length and lateral root length were measured, and the experimental data were statistically analyzed using DPSV software (Version 9.50).

4 Results and analysis

4.1ComparisonofgerminationrateofS.glabraseedstreatedbydifferentmethodsAccording to our survey, the germination rate ofS.glabraseeds treated with episperm removed and not removed was very high, 97.3% and 97.1%, respectively (Table 1). The seed germination rate of the two treatments was analyzed by variance analysis method and significance test, and there was no significant difference between the treatments (Table 2).

Table1GerminationrateofSarcandraglabraseedstreatedbydifferentmethods

Seed treatment Number of sown seedsGermination rate∥%A-episperm removed (harvesting and sowing simultaneously)90097.3B-episperm not removed (harvesting and sowing simultaneously)90097.1

Table2VarianceanalysisandsignificancetestofgerminationrateofSarcandraglabraseedstreatedbydifferentmethods

Variation sourceSquare sumDegree of freedomMean squareF valueBetween treatments0.245 010.245 00.086 0Within treatment45.780 0162.861 2-Total variation46.025 017--

Note:F0.05(1,16) = 4.49.

4.2ComparisonofseedlinggrowthofdifferentsubstratesofSarcandraglabraThrough our survey and the comparison of seedling growth of different substrate nutrient bags ofS.glabra, it is found that the seedling growth of substrate A was the highest, followed by substrate B, and the lowest was substrate C. Specifically, the average seedling height, average ground diameter, average main root length and average lateral root length of the seedlings of the substrate A were 12.1, 0.21, 8.5, 7.0 cm, respectively; the average seedling height was 16.3% and 28.7% higher than that of B and C, respectively; the average ground diameter was 16.7% and 31.3% higher than that of B and C, respectively; the average main root length was 16.4% and 28.8% higher than that of B and C, respectively; the average lateral root length was 16.7% and 27.3% higher than B and C, respectively (Table 3). Through the variance analysis and significance test of seedling growth of three different substrate nutrient bags ofS.glabra, the difference between each treatment reached the extreme significant level (Table 4).

Table3SeedlinggrowthofdifferentsubstratenutrientbagsofSarcandraglabracm

SubstrateAverage seedling heightAverage ground diameterAverage main root lengthAverage lateral root lengthA-forest land topsoil12.10.218.57.0B-yellow soil∶coarse sand=1∶110.40.187.36.0C-farmland soil9.40.166.65.5

Table4VarianceanalysisandsignificancetestofseedlinggrowthofthreedifferentsubstratenutrientbagsofSarcandraglabra

IndicatorVariation sourceSquare sumDegree of freedomMean squareF valueAverage seedling heightBetween treatments32.806 7216.403 3256.748 0**Within treatment1.533 3240.063 9-Total variation34.340 026--Average ground diameterBetween treatments0.009 720.004 833.844 0**Within treatment0.003 4240.000 1-Total variation0.013 126--Average main root lengthBetween treatments15.903 027.951 5289.145 0**Within treatment0.660 0240.027 5-Total variation16.563 026--Average lateral root lengthBetween treatments11.045 225.522 6342.782 0**Within treatment0.386 7240.016 1-Total variation11.431 926--

Note:F0.05(2, 24) = 3.40,F0.01(2, 24) = 5.61,**denotes extremely significant difference.

5 Conclusions and discussions

(i) Simultaneous harvesting and sowing with episperm ofS.glabraseeds removed and not removed have no significant influence on the seed germination rate. Episperms ofS.glabraseeds are thin, and the water permeability is good; under the condition of suitable temperature and humidity, after a short period of time, the decayed seed episperms will be quickly decomposed and absorbed by the soil; therefore, Simultaneous harvesting and sowing with episperm ofS.glabraseeds removed and not removed have extremely little influence on the seed germination rate, both have higher germination rate.

(ii) Sowing and seedling with different substrate nutrient bags have extremely significant influence on the seedling growth ofS.glabra. The seedling growth ofS.glabraseeds sown in that year is small, the roots are underdeveloped, therefore, apart from shading, the growth ofS.glabraseedlings has higher requirements for soil substrate. The substrate A is forest land topsoil, the soil texture is good, the organic matter content is high, the nutrient elements are rich, and the water permeability is good, which are very helpful for the growth ofS.glabraseedlings. The substrate B yellow soil∶coarse sand = 1∶1, soil texture, organic matter content, nutrient elements, and water permeability are slightly worse than forest land topsoil. The substrate C is farmland soil, long-term artificial cultivation and application of chemical fertilizers have changed the physical and chemical properties of the soil, thus the soil is hardened and water permeability is lower, the organic matter and nutrient content required for the seedlings are low, which are not favorable for the growth ofS.glabraseedlings.