Japanese Researchers Succeed in Sprouting Licorice in Mongolian Desert with No Irrigation

Image by Ryosuke Yagi. Some Rights Reserved.

A research group led by Professor Noriyuki Yasufuku of the Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory at Kyushu University, Japan, announced on June 20, 2012, that they had succeeded in their experiment to grow licorice plants in a desert in Mongolia without needing irrigation. The group has been conducting research on preventing desertification using licorice plants, which is often prescribed in Chinese medicine.

It has been pointed out that the excessive picking of licorice plants, which is often found growing in arid lands, can be a factor in causing desertification. Motivated by this fact, they began cultivating licorice using prepared soil and no irrigation in a Mongolian field starting in September 2011. They reported that germination from seeds and roots could be seen under certain conditions.

They have been conducting this field research since 2010, with the cooperation of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, in order to study the characteristics of soil, weather conditions, and underground water resources in the area where licorice grows wild. The study is part of the research activity jointly conducted by the Research Institute for East Asia Environments between Kyushu University, Kyushu University, and Genkai Town in Saga Prefecture, Kyushu. By continuing with more demonstration experiments, they expect to establish technologies for stable harvesting of herbal plants, such as licorice, in desert areas with the aim of greening those areas.

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