In May James Heselden, who is currently in his 2nd year of his PhD study at the University of Lincoln, had the opportunity to visit the Department of Herbal Crop Research at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science in South Korea. The visit provided a deep dive into techniques and ongoing challenges in the cultivation of ginseng, a perennial crop deeply rooted in both tradition and modern scientific research.

Upon arrival at the institute, James and his colleagues were shown the essentials of ginseng horticulture. In this they learnt how it takes 3 years for a plant to produce seeds, 4 years to reach low-grade maturity and 6 years to reach top-grade maturity. This session also highlighted the critical issue of fungal rot, which can severely diminish the value of ginseng crops within just two weeks of infection.

The tour included visits to various growing areas, where they discussed the specific climatic needs essential for ginseng cultivation and were able to view their experimental polytunnels. Traditionally, ginseng has been grown in small, shaded structures which mimic the shaded low-canopied forest the plant is found in naturally; however, a key part of the department’s active research focuses on innovative shading techniques. Specifically, they aim to enhance protection against increasingly severe weather conditions caused by climate change, whilst also improving yield potential, and ensuring worker safety from internal temperatures reaching 50°C (122°F) during summer.

The potential for integrating robotic systems in various agricultural tasks was a topic of considerable interest for both James and the department. These discussions covered the use of robots for navigating crop tunnels and enhancing pest and disease control with minimal pesticide use. Past projects by Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems (L-CAS) and Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology (LIAT) into robot-assisted phenotyping, and strawberry transportation were also interesting points of discussion.

“Visiting the research facility and interacting with experts not only expanded our understanding of the complexities involved in ginseng cultivation but also illuminated the cutting-edge approaches being developed to tackle these challenges and where we will be likely to see agricultural robots operating in the future.” – James Heselden