Effects of Photoperiod and Shading on Growth and Yield of Licorice

Growth and yield of licorice were investigated under the different conditions of photoperiod and shading in order to establish its cultural practice for the domestic production with the aim to substitute the import. The photoperiod was adjusted to 8, 10, and 12 h by shielding plants from the light with blackout curtain. Large seedlings(11-20g) appeared to be affected by photoperiod since around 65 days. Most of growth parameters, including plant height, number of leaf, fresh and dry weight of plant and root, were the highest in 12 h photoperiod among all the photoperiod levels, excepting stem diameter which was the highest in 10 h photoperiod(4.5mm). Each photoperiod was similar to each other in root length and diameter. Small seedlings(4-10g) showed a similar trend to large seedlings. The results from field photoperiod experiment demonstrated that 12 h photoperiod was also the best among three photoperiod treatments in plant height, stem diameter, number of leaf, root length, fresh and dry weight of plant and root. The effect of shading was tested under the three levels of control (0%), half-shading (55%), and full shading (90%). Shading remarkably suppressed the growth and yield, compared to no-shading. Although plant height and root length were little affected by the shading, stem and root diameters were heavily reduced.