Pine pollen is derived from the male flower spikes (male strobili) of pine species including Pinus yunnanensis, Pinus massoniana and Pinus tabuliformis. All commercial pine pollen in China is harvested manually in mountain forests without mechanical collection equipment. The whole workflow consists of six major stages: pre-harvest preparation, field picking of flower spikes, shade-drying and pollen separation, multi-stage fine screening for impurity removal, low-temperature dehydration, and hermetic storage, together with standardized eco-friendly harvesting regulations.

1. Pre-Harvest Preparation

1.1 Judging the Harvest Window

The flowering period is extremely short, lasting only 10 to 15 days; no pollen can be collected for the rest of the year once the window closes.

• Low-altitude core areas in central Yunnan: Mid-March to early April; harvesting in high-altitude zones is delayed until mid-to-late April.
• Masson pine in the Yangtze River basin and Chinese red pine in northern China: April to May.

Maturity Identification Standard: Male flower spikes turn golden or purplish-yellow from greenish unripe buds. Gently squeezing the spikes releases fine golden pollen without sticky sap. Immature green spikes yield barely any pollen, while fully bloomed spikes lose all pollen to wind dispersal.

1.2 Weather & Tool Requirements

1. Mandatory weather rules: Harvest only on sunny days between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., after all forest dew has fully evaporated. Picking is forbidden on rainy mornings or dewy days, as damp flower spikes easily turn moldy and become unusable.
2. Harvest tools: Breathable bamboo back baskets, gauze storage sacks, short branch scissors, long hooked poles for high branches, bamboo mats for air-drying, 200-mesh stainless steel fine sieves, and collection trays.
3. Source site screening: Prioritize natural wild pine forests far away from mines, factories and farmlands to avoid contamination from heavy metals and drifting pesticides.

2. Manual Mountain Picking (Core Field Operation)

1. Target picking parts: Only fully mature male flower spikes on the middle and lower parts of pine trees are clipped. Follow the eco-friendly rule of “harvest three spikes and leave one intact”: retain flower spikes on treetops and main trunks to avoid over-harvesting that suppresses the tree’s growth in the following year. Cutting live branches is strictly prohibited.
2. Operation methods
   • Short Yunnan pine trees: Pluck flower spikes directly by pinching their base.
   • Tall pine trees: Pull branches down with long hooked poles before cutting off the spikes.
   • Cover spikes with gauze sacks during picking to prevent pollen loss from wind.
3. On-site sorting: Discard green unripe buds, insect-eaten and black moldy spikes on the spot; only plump mature spikes are placed into breathable bamboo baskets. Sealed plastic bags cannot be used for storage, as trapped moisture causes mildew.

3. Shade-Drying & Pollen Separation (Separating Pollen from Spikes)

Freshly picked flower spikes must never be exposed to direct intense sunlight, as high temperatures destroy active nutritional ingredients in pollen:

1. Spread flower spikes evenly on bamboo mats or breathable gauze nets in a 10–20 cm thin layer, and air-dry naturally in cool, ventilated spaces for 2 to 3 days.
2. Once the spikes turn brittle after drying, tap and rub them gently with wooden sticks to release fine pine pollen, which is collected in trays underneath.
3. Perform a rough sieve to remove large debris such as flower stalks and bark, yielding a crude pollen mixture.

4. Multi-Stage Fine Screening & Purification

The industry adopts repeated filtering with standard 200-mesh fine sieves to remove impurities in two steps:

1. Coarse screening (80–100 mesh): Remove large contaminants including flower stems, wood chips, sediment and fallen leaves.
2. Fine screening (200 mesh): Filter out tiny plant fibers and dust to obtain smooth, pure raw pollen. Premium export-grade pollen undergoes an extra water rinsing and dust removal process to further reduce heavy metal and impurity content.

Material Loss Note

After air-drying and multi-layer screening, merely around 0.7 jin of refined dry pine pollen can be extracted from 100 jin of fresh pine flower spikes, resulting in severe raw material loss and limited supply.

5. Low-Temperature Dehydration & Stabilization

Screened crude pollen still contains residual moisture and must be dried to a moisture content ≤8% for long-term storage:

1. Standard industrial process: Low-temperature vacuum drying at 30–40°C with constant temperature control to prevent high-temperature damage to amino acids and active substances.
2. Simple folk processing: Spread pollen thinly in cool ventilated areas for air-drying with regular turning; direct sunlight exposure is forbidden.
3. Dryness standard: Qualified pollen is loose, smooth and lump-free, non-sticky to touch, and flows freely when poured.

6. Hermetic Storage

Fully dried qualified pine pollen is immediately packed into light-proof, food-grade aluminum foil bags or ceramic cans, and stored in cool dark environments to block moisture and pests. Before raw materials enter processing factories, unified tests for heavy metals, pesticide residues and moisture content are conducted; only batches meeting standards can be processed into health supplements and food products.

Supplementary Eco-Friendly Harvesting Regulations

1. Harvesting is banned within a 3-kilometer radius of mines and factories.
2. Pine trees under 10 years old are not picked to guarantee sustainable forest reproduction.
3. Open flames and smoking are prohibited during mountain harvesting to prevent forest fires.
4. Live tree branches shall not be felled; only mature flower spikes are trimmed. Moderate flower picking reduces nutrient consumption of pine trees and facilitates their growth.

16/06/2026