Cultivation of Anemopsis californica under small-scale grower conditions in northern New Mexico Research Report 758 Charles A. Martin and Robert Steiner1 Agricultural Experiment Station • College of Agriculture and Home Economics ABSTRACT ceous perennial with reputed medicinal properties Anemopsis californica (Nutt.) Hook. & Arn. was native to riparian habitats of northern Mexico and cultivated in upland irrigated felds and in a ripar- the southwestern United States. Called by vari- ian area using techniques typical to small-scale ous names including yerba del manso, manso, yerba growers in the American Southwest. Research was mansa, lizard-tail, and swamp root (Kress, 2006), it carried out in the high-altitude, semi-arid environ- has traditionally been and continues to be used for ment of northern New Mexico at the Sustainable medicinal and antiseptic purposes by indigenous Agriculture Science Center of New Mexico State and Hispanic cultures in its geographic range. Eth- University in Alcalde, New Mexico, during the nobotanical sources report it being used for the 1998–2000 growing seasons. Dormant crowns treatment of colds, chest congestion, stomach ul- were obtained from native stands in late March of cers, and as a wash for open sores (Bean & Saubel, 1998 and 1999 and transplanted into prepared, 1972; Swank, 1932). Manso extract is also a tradi- furrowed, pre-irrigated seedbeds at two locations, tional treatment for uterine cancer (Artschwager- a sandy loam upland soil and a clay loam riparian Kay, 1996). Recent studies validate the in vitro an- soil, and at two planting arrangements, bed tops timicrobial and anti-cancer properties of Anemopsis (BT) and furrow bottoms (FB). The experimental essential oil (Medina et al., 2005; Medina, 2006). design was a Randomized Complete Block Design Anemopsis typically grows in wet, especially some- (RCBD). Both sites were furrow irrigated. Crowns what alkaline or saline marshy places, lowlands, and and roots were harvested after two growing seasons, riparian habitats (Plants For a Future, 2006), but dried, weighed and counted to determine plant can also be found in open areas such as alkali seeps survival. Survival for both 1998 and 1999 plantings that indicate high water tables. was consistently higher for FB treatments at both Anemopsis has the potential to become a widely riparian and upland sites, though survival over- used herbal cold remedy in the rapidly-growing all was considerably higher in the 1999 planting. medicinal herb industry in North America, but be- Survival rates by site were not consistent between cause native plant populations are located mostly in planting years. Root dry matter weight (DMW) sensitive riparian habitats, its availability for mass means after adjusting for survival rates were greater marketing remains limited unless it can be brought in FB treatments at both sites for both planting under cultivation. No mention of it being culti- years, and greater for both treatments in the upland vated as a crop appears in the ethnobotanical lit- site for both 1998 and 1999. These results indicate erature (Medicinal Plants of the Southwest, 2006). that Anemopsis californica can be established under Estimates of the productive capacity from native irrigated upland conditions, using a preferred plant- Anemopsis stands have not been determined since ing position in furrow bottoms. the area of distribution of manso in riparian com- Anemopsis californica (Nutt.) Hook. & Arn. in munities currently has not been quantifed. In any the family Saururaceae (Benson, 1959) is an herba- case, native stands could be depleted or the species 1Agricultural Specialist, Sustainable Agriculture Science Center, Agricultural Experiment Station, Alcalde (P. O. Box 159, Alcalde, NM 87511), and Professor, Economics and International Business, respectively, both of New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. To fnd more resources for your business, home or family, visit the College of Agriculture and Home Economics on the World Wide Web at aces.nmsu.edu could even become endangered if over-harvested, so Table 1. Soil test results of riparian and upland sites, at it is important that methods be developed to make 0–15 cm (0–6 inch) and 15–30 cm (6–12 inch) depths, Anemopsis a cultivable crop. The National Center NMSU Agricultural Experiment Station, Alcalde, NM. for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs has placed Report provided by Laboratory Consultants, Ltd., 211 Anemopsis californica on a list of herbs at risk of Shakespeare, Lordsburg, NM 88045 being lost due to overharvesting, claiming that as Riparian site Upland site “a possible substitute for Goldenseal, Yerba Mansa 0-15 cm 15-30 cm 0-15 cm 15-30 cm could experience skyrocketing demand.”(National Bicarbonate 6 3 4 5 Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs, Nitrate-N, ppm 34 10 5 4 2006). In New Mexico, acreage in riparian areas OM, % 2.4 1.6 1.1 0.5 pH, S. U. 7.2 7.3 7.6 7.7 and subsequently all riparian species, including Sand, % 25.6 39.6 79.6 89.6 Anemopsis, continue to be reduced as a result of Silt, % 34.8 28.8 10.8 2.8 urban development and other activities. Clay, % 39.6 31.6 9.6 7.6 Farmers typically create furrows and raised row Classifcation Clay Clay Sandy Loamy beds with a lister plow or cultivator in order to Loam Loam Loam Sand direct and control irrigation fow down the row, Water holding but planting manso on the tops of such beds may capacity, cm/dm 1.92 1.92 1.1 0.83 reduce the accessibility of this wetland species to moisture needed to survive, establish and grow. upland feld consisting of a Fruitland sandy loam Planting manso in the furrow allows the crown [coarse-loamy, mixed (calcareous), mesic Typic Tor- direct access to irrigation water but then obstructs riorthent], consisting of 79.6% sand, 10.8% silt, machinery traffc down the row, limiting weed con- and 9.6% clay in the 0–15 cm (0–6 inch) layer, at trol options. Plant placement on bed tops or furrow an altitude of 1741 m (5726 feet) (Table 1). Both bottoms therefore becomes an important consider- sites were prepared identically before planting by ation in determining optimal stand establishment disk harrowing, rototilling, and bed shaping using methods for this new crop. Site selection is another a rolling-tine cultivator, then pre-irrigated before important factor to be studied since most agricul- transplanting. The cultivator was set to form beds tural lands in New Mexico are irrigated upland approximately 36 inches from bed top to bed top, areas. and each plot consisted of four rows 12 feet in Research was conducted at the New Mexico length. Dormant Anemopsis crowns were obtained State University Sustainable Agriculture Science from a native population in a riparian area of San Center in Alcalde, New Mexico, with the aim of Juan Pueblo approximately 2 km (1 1/4 mile) determining the feasibility of cultivating this native from the experiment station. Roots and crowns species under small-scale farming conditions typical (hereafter referred to as roots) were dug up in late of this region. Since most growers in this area use March of 1998 and 1999 by hand, washed to re- food or furrow irrigation, this trial compared the move soil, and planted one foot apart in the plots survival and root production of manso plantings on at two planting treatments, bed tops (BT) and furrowed bed tops (BT) versus plantings on the fur- furrow bottoms (FB). Planting dates were March row bottoms (FB) at two different sites, one a ripar- 22, 1998 and March 24, 1999. Each treatment ian area and the other an upland irrigated feld. was replicated three times at both sites. Irriga- tion requirements have not been established for MATERIALS AND METHODS Anemopsis, so irrigation timing and duration were This trial was conducted from the spring of 1998 based upon a practical soil “feel test” of the upland through the fall of 2000 at the New Mexico State site BT treatment (Herrera, 2000). Weed growth University Sustainable Agriculture Science Center was controlled by hand and by machine mowing at Alcalde in north central New Mexico, USA. to just above the heights of the manso leaf rosettes. Two sites were chosen, one in a riparian area with Each set of plants was allowed to grow two seasons soil made up of clay loam (Abiquiu–Peralta com- before being dug up in mid-October of the second plex, 25.6% sand, 34.8% silt, 39.6% clay, in the growing season, after the plants became dormant. 0–15 cm [0–6 inch] layer) at an altitude of 1,738 Digging area averaged 30 cm (one foot) in depth m (5,716 feet), the other in a previously fallow and radius from the crown. Roots from 3.05 m Research Report 758 • Page 2 (10 feet) of two interior rows of each plot were Table 2. Anemopsis plant survival after two seasons of growth. Survival is given as percent initial plant density removed, washed, dried in a precision laboratory per 6 m (20 feet) of row. dryer at 65°C for forty-eight hours, then weighed. Site Plant survival was determined by subtracting dead plant numbers within the sample area at the time Riparian Upland of harvest from the initial plant count at the time FB BT FB BT of transplanting and then converting the ratio 1998 98ab 73b 82ab 55b to a percentage. The experimental design was a 1999 87 82 98 93 randomized complete block (RCBD) with a two- Means with same letter designations indicate signifcant treatment level factorial structure–site (upland or riparian) differences at p ≤ .05 and plant placement (BT or FB) being the two factors. One-way and two-way analysis of vari- Table 3.