Protected cultivation of Goldenseal and Black

cohosh

Sushil Nyaupane North Carolina A&T State University

Introduction• Goldenseal and Black cohosh both are the ornamental and medicinal

herbs which are found especially in the North America.

• According to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),these two species of plants are very economical and endangered species.

• These two plant species are generally found in the shady forest areas.

Goldenseal

Black cohosh

Proverbs• "A weed is a plant whose virtue is not yet known." Ralph Waldo

Emerson

• In China, there is one common proverb that “ Every plant is a medicinal herb”.

• According to study in China (He and Cheng ,1990), the total number of species of medicinal plants used in different parts of the country add up to over ten thousand.

Goldenseal • Goldenseal also known as yellow root (Hydrastis canadensis); a native

medicinal herb.

• This plant is among the top selling herbs in the United States and accounts for more than $18 million in economy so supply usually do not meet the demands.

• Due to specified phytochemical substances and their properties, this plant acts as the healing plant for some of the infections to human.

Goldenseal • The major alkaloids in goldenseal are hydrastine and berberine and this plant

widely regarded as an antiseptic, diuretic, laxative and anti-inflammatory compound.

• Goldenseal are usually 10-14 inches tall, have two or more erect hair stems and having two leaves.

• The leaves of goldenseal are five lobed, toothed which can attain up to twelve inches wide and eight inches long.

• In late April to early May small inconspicuous flowers emerge which looks similar to the ripe raspberry fruit.

Goldenseal • There may be 10-26 small, shiny black seeds in each fruit and this

plant starts to die after the maturation of fruits.

• The yellow rhizome of goldenseal are the prime interest of people .

Black Cohosh • Black cohosh Actaea racemosa (L.) belongs to Ranunculaceae family

and is native medicinal plant .

• It is an herbaceous perennial which gains mature height of over four feet tall and have the potential to grow 18 to 22 inches per month during the growing season.

• The flowers bloom from May to July, often towering over six feet .

Cont..• Usually the seeds develop from August to October in capsules that

make a rattling sound when shaken then we have to decide that they are mature enough to harvest.

• The rhizomes of black cohosh are dark brown to black in color.

• The bioactive compounds of black cohosh are the triterpene glycosides, acetein and 27-deoxyactein, and the isoflavone, formononetin with presence of aromatic acids, tannins, resins, and fatty acids.

Cont..• Due to the presence of those biochemical compounds, this plant can

be used for several purposes like to treat fever, menstrual cramps, arthritis, bronchitis, sore throats etc.

Protected cultivation of Goldenseal• the collection from the public owned lands become illegal and this

certainly putting special restrictions and reluctance to the growers on cultivation of the plant.

• Goldenseal can be generally propagated by rhizome cuttings .

• Goldenseal grows well in a rich, moist, loamy soil with good facility of air and water drainage.

Cont..• If we grow in a forest, then area with other plants such as mayapple,

trillium, black cohosh would be better.

• If we prefer to grow in open field condition, then artificial shade should be maintained.

• Artificial shade can be provided by a wood lath structure, a polypropylene shade structure, or by vining plants growing over a support.

Cont..

Cont..

Cont..• For artificial shade, we can make the structure 7 feet tall or higher with

two ends open to the prevailing breeze.

• We can make raised beds for planting in order to ensure good water drainage and to give warmness to the soil early in the spring.

• Beds should be in range from 2 to 6 inches tall and 3 to 4 feet across with sufficient space between the beds .

• Goldenseal can be propagated from different methods like rhizome pieces, root cuttings, one year old seedlings, or seed.

Cont..It takes generally• 5 to 7 years to grow harvestable roots from seed.• 3 to 5 years to grow from rhizome pieces. • Root cuttings or seedlings usually 4 to 6 years.

• It is preferable to plant goldenseal on a 6 inch x 6 inch spacing in raised beds in the fall season.

• Plants grow best in a slightly acid soil (6.0 to 7.0) but will die out if the pH level drops below 5.5.

Cont..• Plants must be provided with growing conditions similar to those

present in wild sites. This includes moist, well-drained soil high in organic matter. • This herb responds well to organic fertilizers; however, it does not

show a positive response to synthetic fertilizers. • Whole and/ or shredded leaves, bark chips, or a bark and sawdust mix

may be used as mulch. • Generally it takes 3 to 5 years either to harvest roots or divide the

plants. • The yield of goldenseal varies but most commonly reported yields for

artificial shade structures are 1000 to 2000 lb of dried root per acre (Jeanine M Davis, 2000).

Goldenseal rhizome with roots

Protected Cultivation of Black Cohosh

Cont..• Black cohosh, a forest herb native to the Appalachian Mountains region,

spreads by sending out rhizomes, underground stems that spread horizontally and produce roots and shoots.

• The rhizome of this plant is large, knotty and dark brown to black in different areas.

• Black cohosh is most commonly propagated by rhizome cuttings, but may also be propagated by seed.

• This herb performs well in a woods cultivated, wild simulated, or artificial shade environment.

black cohosh root is used primarily to treat symptoms of menopause.

Cont..• polypropylene shade structure or wood lath structure is used when

we want to grow in the open field condition.

• This herb performs well in a woods cultivated, wild simulated, or artificial shade environment.

Cont..• For artificial shade, we can make the structure seven feet tall or

higher with two ends open to the prevailing breeze.

Cont..• This plant is having more tolerance to more light and much soil variations

than goldenseal but the moisture level should be in the optimum range.

• For raised beds, sufficient amount of compost or any other organic material is needed with ideal range of PH 5 to 6.

• Propagation is usually done through seed or rhizome and done in the spring or in the fall season.

• 18-24 inches of spacing could be maintained in 3 foot raised bed and bud should be pointed upright so that shoot emerges upright later.

Cont..• Additionally, in the fall session, the mature seed can be harvested and they

can be sown in the field immediately.

• That mulching with hard wood mulch or leaf mulch of three inches thickness should be done.

• Proper shading is also necessary for these beds (Davis, J.M. et al., 2005).

• Most of the black cohosh is harvested in the fall because at that time they are in their peak weight and bioactive constituents.

Cont..• Shake the roots free of dirt and carefully remove any roots that are

not black cohosh. It is not acceptable to include foreign particles.

• The potential yield of black cohosh per acre of the dried rootstock is estimated 2360 lbs. (Blankley,1999).

Economy of Black cohosh

black cohosh ranked as the eighth top selling herb in the United States with a reported value of $9.7 million (Blumenthal et al. 2006). This is likely an underestimate of the actual market.

Conclusion• These two herbs are also in high demand from the public side so the

commercial cultivation of these plans have an immense scope for the growers with high profitability.

• there are various season extension tools like high tunnel or greenhouse, mulching, raised beds, row cover etc. can be used for the commercial cultivation of these plants in the forest land or in the open field conditions.

• There is a huge scope for commercialization of these herbs and obviously without protected cultivation that is simply impossible.

Let us make Goldenseal bloom

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND CONSIDERATION