Although harvested pounds increased by over 37% from year 2000 levels, strains on the wild populations, are beginning to show. A wild harvester can easily wipe out entire populations of a species in an area in a short period of time. Sufficient harvest volumes of medicinal herbs for the consumer can only be consistently achieved with the incorporation of cultivated material into the supply channel.
As conventional crops like tobacco become less viable and farmers are looking at medicinal herbs as alternative crops. Many farmers are beginning to grow and market medicinal herbs for the natural products industry.
Herb growers and farmers have the potential to profit from the cultivation of many medicinal plant species.
The medicinal herb market fluctuates in a way that differs from many agricultural markets. It is immature by industry standards and not as well organised as other commodities. It is also under pressure from government agencies to ensure safe products which has many herbal product companies and regulatory agencies working together to develop standardised quality measurements and procedures.
This means that it is an industry in constant flux! This can present an opportunity for a grower or value added entrepreneur, but it also means growers must maintain a level of flexibility that they may not have needed in other industries.
The problem for herb farmers is that high quality seed and planting stock can be difficult to obtain and very expensive, especially for organic material. Large quantities of viable seed are not readily available commercially.
Many of the medicinal herb seed dealers collect from the open field. The herb seeds are wild-crafted and the seed is extremely variable. Germination rates have not been tested. This leads to sporadic plantings in the field.
Many medicinal herb seeds have very specific and long stratification requirements. Germination can be very slow and unpredictable. Rootstock can be difficult to obtain and store and some decay easily.
Plugs or transplants are a more viable way to insure crop uniformity but there is an extreme shortage of nurseries providing large volumes of medicinal herb planting stock.
In order for herb farmers to be successful in providing a cultivated supply of quality herbs for the increasing public demand, diverse propagation methods need to be explored and utilised to provide them with sufficient volumes of quality planting stock.
Jalur Salju Sdn Bhd has the expertise, knowledge and equipment to micro-propagate a variety of medical herbs for your industry. Call us and let us work out a plan for you.
