Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): a potential salt-tolerant, highly remunerative medicinal crop for remediation of alkali soils

Abstract

Alkali lands in India occupy about 3.8 m ha. Due to poor physical properties, excessive exchangeable sodium and high pH, most of these lands support a poor vegetative cover. These lands are reclaimed using costly amendments such as gypsum, phospho-gypsum or press mud. In recent times many of the medicinal plants are in great demand for both internal requirements and export. However, as these crops are nonconventional in nature, farmers are not convinced to cultivate them on fertile lands. The marginal lands, specially those affected by salinity, sodicity and waterlogging problems when profitable returns are not possible through routine food or agricultural crops, could be successfully utilized for the cultivation of some high-value stress-tolerant medicinal crops with marginal inputs. Results reported in this study indicate that liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn.) also known as Mulahatti, which is quite remunerative and high in demand, could successfully be grown on alkali soils. Besides getting (2.4–6.1 tonnes/ha forage per annum), a root biomass of 6.0–7.9 tonnes/ha could be obtained in three years of growth fetching about Rs 6.0 to 8.0 lakhs/ha, i.e. Rs 2–2.65 lakhs/annum/ha. Besides, the sodic lands could also be reclaimed substantially in terms of reducing soil pH and exchangeable sodium percentage by growing this crop.