In The Depths Of The Desert, Cistanche Deserticola Enters The Harvest Season, And Farmers Search For Gold in The Sand Sea

At present, in Hotan, located in the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, 103800 acres of "desert ginseng" Cistanche has entered the harvest season. Farmers are using shovels to "gold rush" in the sand sea, picking the abundant fruits buried under the yellow sand. At the Hetian Wind and Sand Control Station, local farmers are busy harvesting Cistanche deserticola grown at the roots of red willows. Waving a shovel, they quickly dug up the yellow sand, dug out fresh cistanches covered with yellow scales, and then buried the yellow sand.
Kurban Maimaiti, a farmer from Hetian Yingwu Sitang Township, is an experienced excavator who earns over 20000 yuan annually through the harvesting of Cistanche deserticola.

Harvest of Cistanche deserticola

The scientific name of Cistanche deserticola is Dayun. It is a plant that parasitizes the roots of the desert tree, the red willow, and has extremely high medicinal value. It is known as the "Desert Ginseng" and is a precious traditional Chinese medicinal herb.
Hotan, located in the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, has been exploring the cultivation of Cistanche deserticola under the red willow forest since 2007. After years of practice, it has successfully developed an industrialized desertification control model for Cistanche deserticola.
The bountiful harvest of Cistanche not only brings good economic benefits to the ecological desertification control work in Hotan, but also solves the bottleneck constraint of high ecological desertification control costs. The Cistanche industry has become an important channel for farmers along the sandstorm to increase their income and strengthen the collective economic strength. Nowadays, many local villagers not only earn money by digging Cistanche deserticola, but also become rich and increase their income in the deep processing industry chain of Dayun.
Tian Laiqun, the manager of Xinjiang Pengcheng Ecological Agriculture Technology Development Co., Ltd., said: "This year, more than 8000 acres of Cistanche deserticola were harvested. After harvesting, they were processed, dried, and manually sliced, which were then sold to the retail market. The dried parts were distributed to the Anguo Medicinal Materials and Traditional Chinese Medicine Distribution Centers in Bozhou and Hefei, Anhui, and some were vacuum packaged and mainly sent to Southeast Asia and other places. "
As of now, Hotan has completed the inoculation of 103800 acres of Cistanche deserticola under the red willow forest. During the November harvest season this year, it is planned to excavate 42000 acres of Cistanche deserticola, with an expected yield of 680 tons. At the same time, Hotan plans to achieve full coverage of 150000 acres of red willow forest land for inoculation with Dayun by 2030, and build a sand industry comprehensive development demonstration base integrating sand growing forest fruit and medicinal herb planting, and desert sightseeing tourism.

Harvest of Cistanche deserticola

In the practice of sand prevention and control, the local area actively explores the development of ecological and economic industries, and has embarked on a sustainable development path of "using ecological industries to support ecological engineering", truly achieving the goal of a win-win situation for ecological protection and economic development. The red willows, red willows, and other trees and shrubs parasitized by Cistanche deserticola have strong windbreak and sand fixation abilities, greatly improving the ecological environment.
Abbas Aisa, the head of the Hetian Wind and Sand Control Workstation, said, "By adjusting the industrial structure, this year at the sand control station, in addition to planting Cistanche deserticola, we also experimented with planting vegetation such as peanuts, protein mulberry, ramie, and licorice. Starting next year, we will continue to expand the planting of these crops that have been successfully experimented with. "
Development model of the entire industry chain

(1) The scale of planting continues to expand
In recent years, the planting area of Cistanche deserticola in Hotan region has shown a continuous growth trend. With the increasingly mature technology of artificial cultivation of Cistanche deserticola, more and more farmers have seen the economic and ecological benefits brought by Cistanche deserticola, and their enthusiasm for participating in planting continues to rise.
Taking Yutian County as an example, many farmers plant ecological forests such as Salix and Haloxylon ammodendron in low yield fields at the forefront of sandstorms, and inoculate the roots with Cistanche deserticola. The planting area of Salix and Haloxylon ammodendron in the county has reached 214000 mu, ranking first in the country. Not only that, the planting area of Cistanche deserticola in other counties and cities in Hotan area is also constantly expanding. According to statistics, the planting area of Dayun in Hotan area will be 386100 mu in 2024, with an expected yield of 70700 tons and an output value of 566 million yuan.

Harvest of Cistanche deserticola

Farmers actively participate in the cultivation of Cistanche deserticola, partly because it has extremely high medicinal value and is known as the "desert ginseng" with a large market demand; On the other hand, the government has also introduced a series of preferential support policies to encourage farmers to participate in planting, responsible for leveling the land, planting seedlings, simple drip irrigation, and subsequent management. According to the principle of "whoever invests, who plants, who benefits", state-owned unused sandy land will be transferred to village collective management. The village will start from reality and sign land lease contracts for sand control with farmers who are willing to develop the sand industry. Afforestation and sand control will be carried out to develop the sand industry, so that the masses and cooperatives can become rich in sand control and sand control while becoming rich.
(2) Complete processing and trading system
Hotan region focuses on promoting the development of the entire traditional Chinese medicine industry chain and continuously improving the processing and trading system. At present, two traditional Chinese medicine industrial parks have been built in Hotan City and Luopu County, providing a good platform for the development of the Cistanche deserticola industry.
The Yutian County Traditional Chinese Medicine Trading Market is bustling with activity, with a unique herbal fragrance permeating the air. Various rare medicinal herbs are neatly arranged on stalls of all sizes. This is not only a trading venue for traditional Chinese medicine such as Cistanche, but also an important hub connecting growers, pharmaceutical companies, and markets. The China Uyghur Medicine Trading Center in Hotan City also plays an important role, providing strong support for the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry.
At the same time, a large number of well-known pharmaceutical companies have settled in Hotan area, such as Xinjiang Xinwei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. These pharmaceutical enterprises have 12 national drug approved brands, and their products cover many series, such as Chinese herbal pieces, formula granules, traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations, etc. Their curative effects are recognized by the masses and sold well throughout the country. The settlement of pharmaceutical companies has brought new development opportunities for the Cistanche deserticola industry, not only improving the processing level of Cistanche deserticola, but also expanding sales channels, promoting the rapid development of the Cistanche deserticola industry.

Cistanche deserticola - a bumper harvest for farmers

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(3) Research supports industrial upgrading
The Hotan region actively cooperates with universities and establishes research institutes, providing strong scientific research support for the upgrading of the Cistanche deserticola industry.
Yutian County signed an agreement with Peking University to jointly establish the Cistanche Research Institute, and cooperated with Peking University and China Agricultural University to establish the "Cistanche Research Institute". These research institutes have gathered numerous experts and scholars who are dedicated to studying the cultivation techniques, medicinal value, and product development of Cistanche deserticola. Through scientific research innovation, a series of key problems such as germination, parasitism, artificial inoculation, frost damage prevention and control, high and stable yield, and mechanized production of Cistanche deserticola have been successfully solved, setting a precedent for large-scale planting of parasitic plants and achieving high and stable yield.
Scientific research assistance is not only reflected in the improvement of planting technology, but also promotes the development of the entire industry chain of Cistanche deserticola industry from source planting to brand building. For example, the company is collaborating with multiple universities and research institutions such as the National Agricultural Product Preservation Engineering Technology Research Center (Tianjin) and the School of Food Science and Engineering at Tianjin University of Science and Technology to develop a series of products including freeze-dried Cistanche deserticola tablets, pressed Cistanche deserticola candies, Cistanche deserticola wine, and Cistanche deserticola beverages. Meanwhile, through brand building, a series of traditional Chinese medicine products with regional characteristics and brand influence have been created, enhancing the added value and market competitiveness of Cistanche deserticola.
Outlook for future development prospects
The Cistanche deserticola industry holds a pivotal position in the Hotan region. As a local characteristic industry, it not only plays a key role in ecological governance, but also injects strong impetus into economic development.
On the one hand, the Cistanche deserticola industry continues to contribute to the improvement of the ecological environment in Hotan region. By extensively planting sand plants such as Salix and Haloxylon ammodendron and inoculating them with Cistanche deserticola, the desert has been effectively stabilized, reducing sandstorms and creating a more livable living environment for local residents. Meanwhile, the cultivation of Cistanche deserticola has also promoted the development of biodiversity, providing habitats for wildlife and further enriching the ecosystem.
However, the Cistanche deserticola industry also faces some challenges in its development process. For example, product quality varies greatly, and some growers may abuse fertilizers and pesticides in pursuit of high yields, which affects product quality and market trust. In addition, the industrial chain still needs further improvement, and the deep processing and brand operation links are relatively weak, lacking competitiveness in the market.

Cistanche male benefits

Despite facing challenges, the prospects of the Cistanche deserticola industry in the Hotan region remain broad. With the continuous advancement of technology, standardized planting management can be strengthened in the future to improve product quality. By establishing a sound product quality inspection mechanism, strengthening market supervision, and cracking down on counterfeit and inferior products, we aim to enhance the healthy development of the entire industry. At the same time, we will increase investment in science and technology, promote technological innovation in industries, develop new varieties, technologies, and processes, expand the industrial chain, and increase the added value of products.
In terms of brand building, we will strengthen the promotion and publicity of Hetian Guanhua Cistanche, and enhance the product's visibility and reputation. By establishing industry associations and promoting local government support, we aim to build well-known brands, establish industry image, and increase product market share.
The government should also fully leverage its role in policy guidance and industrial services to optimize the environment for industrial development. Intensify support efforts, formulate and implement industrial support policies, provide more policy and financial support, and provide better guarantees for industrial development.
In summary, the Cistanche deserticola industry holds significant strategic importance in the Hotan region and will continue to make greater contributions to ecological and economic development in the future.

Xinjiang is the province with the largest desert area in China, with 1.66 million square kilometers of land, accounting for over a quarter of the desert area. In the past, when facing the desert, most people could only sigh at the sand. In recent years, Xinjiang has vigorously developed the desert economy, planted characteristic crops in the desert area, and sought ecology and benefits from the desert, benefiting more and more people.