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There is good and bad news about ginseng collection and production in Pennsylvania, and likely much of Appalachia, according to a new study conducted by Penn State researchers.
The reality, researchers contend, is that customers and consumers in Asia view the forest-farmed ginseng roots to be very similar in quality to truly wild plant material.
To reach their conclusions, the researchers utilized a confidential, annual survey sent to ginseng sellers over eight years in Pennsylvania to examine the extent to which forest farming and planting of commercially acquired seeds may contribute to wild ginseng harvest amounts.
Pennsylvania has exporting about 1,000 pounds of dried ginseng roots like this one in most years during the past decade, and researchers are trying to better understand where it all is coming from, since most forestlands in Pennsylvania are privately owned, and harvesting from public lands is not permissible
Forest farmers in Pennsylvania often are planting seeds acquired in online purchases from places outside the state. That germplasm threatens to weaken the gene pool of the plant, which is well adapted to thrive in Appalachian forests.
A forest farmer digs out a ginseng plant in a private forest plot. The researchers found a geographic overlap between study participants who planted seeds and the top wild ginseng harvest counties, suggesting planting activities are contributing to higher harvest amounts.
