Cultivation of Amomum villosum in tropical forests.
Zhou S. Q.
Author Affiliation: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Mouna 666300, Yunnan, China.
Forest Ecology and Management 60 : 157-162
Abstract : The biology and cultivation of Amomum villosum is described. In China it is valuable medicinal herb - seeds, known as 'saren', and fruit shells, known as 'sake', are used for gastric and digestive disorders. It is perennial herbaceous plant (height 1.2 to 2.0 m), moderately shade-tolerant, and grows well in tropical forests. It is indigenous in broadleaved evergreen forests of Guangdong Province, and was introduced to S. and SE Yunnan Province in 1963 since when it has become an important underplanted crop, either in natural forests, or as part of an agroforestry system. A brief account is given of its cultivation in both situations in Yunnan. In the former, planting of seedlings or cuttings is preceded by thinning to give 30-40% light intensity with retention of shade trees (e.g. Terminalia myriocarpa, Pometia tomentosa, Tapiscia yunnanensis, Parashorea chinensis, Nephelium chryseum), and annual yields are about 375 kg/ha (maximum 657 kg/ha). This system is important in the rural economy, and also helps reduce soil erosion and runoff. In agroforestry the herb is established in tree plantations such as rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), Cinnamomum porrectum, Mangifera indica, Albizia chinensis, A. falcataria [Paraserianthes falcataria] and Cassia siamea. In an example given, Amomum villosum seedlings or cuttings were established about 4 yr after the rubber trees (which are planted at spacings of at least 6×6 m), at 1×1 m or 1×0.8 m spacings, with frequent weed control. Economic benefits can be great: a 1-ha plot yielded 189 kg of dried A. villosum fruits per year, with a market price of 34 yuan/kg (compared with 657 kg of dried latex at a price of 6 yuan/kg), or about 4 times the price of latex.