Detailed Explanation of the Key Points of Scientific Cultivation Techniques for Lipu Taro

Lipu taro is named after its place of origin, Lipu County, Guangxi. Lipu taro is larger than ordinary taro, and is rich in nutrients with a finer texture, and is praised with the title “King of Taros”. Because Lipu taro sells very well on the market, growing Lipu taro has broad prospects, attracting many people to plant it one after another.

Scientific Cultivation Techniques for Lipu Taro

1. Land preparation and trenching. After the land is prepared, open trenches at a row spacing of 80-100 cm, with a trench width of 50 cm and a trench depth of 35 cm, then apply fertilizer in the trenches.

2. Fertilization. Taro has a high fertilizer demand and a long growing period. First, apply sufficient base fertilizer: 2000 kg of high-quality organic fertilizer per mu, and 60 kg of 48% potassium sulfate compound fertilizer (16-16-16), applied in trenches according to row spacing. Topdressing should be applied in split applications, 2-3 times in total during the seedling stage, the plant development stage and the peak corm growth stage, mainly with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

3. Sowing. The sowing time is after Qingming (that is, early April), with a plant spacing of about 50 cm, the seed 3-5 cm from the ground surface, and a soil cover thickness of 5 cm. Plastic film mulching cultivation can also be used.

4. Watering. Taro is intolerant of dry soil; when drought occurs, the leaves turn yellow and wither, but excessively wet soil with standing water is also unfavorable for root growth. During the seedling stage, the soil should have sufficient bottom moisture, and watering should be strictly avoided. During the seedling stage, keep the soil alternately dry and wet, and pay attention to drainage when it rains.

5. Intertillage and hilling. During the seedling stage, combine with topdressing, carry out intertillage to remove weeds and warm the soil; at the end of the seedling stage, carry out intertillage and level the cultivation trenches into flat ground. After that, hill up once about every 20 days, with a thickness of 7 cm, for a total of two times. The purpose of hilling is to inhibit the sprouting and growth of the terminal buds of daughter taro and granddaughter taro, reduce nutrient consumption, allow the taro to fully expand and produce a large number of adventitious roots, and increase drought resistance. As the farming proverb says: “If you don't hill taro, it's as good as not planting it”. Along with hilling, according to the density of leaf area distribution and the season, remove excess side buds as early as possible, so as to avoid consuming nutrients and restricting the growth of daughter taro.

Environmental Requirements of Lipu Taro

1. Temperature requirements. Taro originated in hot and humid zones, and in the long course of cultivation has formed cultivation types such as water taro, water-dry dual-purpose taro, and dry taro. But whether water taro or dry taro, both require high-temperature and humid environmental conditions. The corm of taro begins to sprout at 13-15℃, the optimum growth temperature during the seedling stage is 20-25℃, and the optimum growth temperature during the plant development stage is 20-30℃. A relatively large day-night temperature difference is beneficial to the corm.

2. Light requirements. Taro is relatively tolerant of weak light, and its requirements for light intensity are not very strict. It grows well under scattered light, and the formation and expansion of the corm require short-day conditions.

3. Soil requirements. Water taro is suitable for growing in water, and paddy fields, low-lying land or water ditches should be selected for cultivation. Although dry taro can grow in dry land, it still retains the ecological type of a marsh plant, and moist areas should be selected for planting. Taro is a fertilizer-loving crop, and its corm is formed in the underground soil layer, so loam or clay loam rich in organic matter and with deep soil layers should be selected, with soil organic matter of 1.05%, available nitrogen of 62.5 ppm, available phosphorus of 11.25 ppm, available potassium of 62 ppm, and a pH value of 5.5-7 being most suitable.

Control of Main Diseases and Pests

1. Taro blight. It is a fungal disease, mainly damaging leaf stalks, leaves and corms, with the peak incidence period from June to August. It is prone to occur under high temperature, high humidity, or alternating rain and sunshine; excessive dense planting and biased application of nitrogen fertilizer, with vigorous growth, lead to severe incidence. Control method: focus on prevention; start applying chemicals in mid-May before the disease occurs. Protective fungicides such as mancozeb can be selected, and respectively mixed with phosethyl-Al, metalaxyl, Anke, etc., used alternately, spraying once every 7-10 days. When applying chemicals, pay attention to the weather, choose to spray before rain, and at the same time spray the liquid evenly, so that the leaf back, leaf surface and leaf stalk are all sprayed.

2. Soft rot. It is a bacterial disease, damaging the underground corm and the base of the leaf stalk, and can occur throughout the growing period. Control method: strengthen fertilizer and water management; when diseased plants are found, pull them out promptly and take them away, and at the same time scatter lime around the diseased holes. Chemical control: agricultural streptomycin and chlorothalonil can be used to drench the roots; when applying, it can be applied once each before fertilization, after hilling, and after cutting daughter taro. At the same time, in areas with severe incidence year after year, agricultural streptomycin should be added to every application, strictly guard against underground pests and control moisture.

3. Taro leaf spot disease. It only damages leaves. Control method: chlorothalonil and thiophanate-methyl can be used for control starting at the early stage of incidence, and sprayed once more after an interval of 7-10 days.

Harvesting and Storage

Generally, harvesting can begin when the Frost's Descent season arrives. Stop irrigation 20 days before harvesting, and the best harvesting time is after the dew has dried on a sunny day. Taro is harvested around Frost's Descent when the leaves turn yellow, the roots wither and the corm is fully mature, which has a relatively large impact on yield. For seed taro, it must be harvested only after full maturity; before harvesting, first cut off the aboveground part, and after the wounds dry and heal, choose a sunny day for harvesting. For seed taro, corms that are disease-free, free of mechanical wounds, and weigh about 50 g should be selected. After drying in the sun for one day, store them. During storage, wait until the taro is naturally air-dried, then place the taro upside down, put one layer of taro and cover with one layer of fine sand; they can be stacked in a single layer or multiple layers, and attention should be paid to removing damaged or diseased taro to avoid infection. The storage temperature is preferably 10-15℃, and they must not be frozen. After harvesting, cut off excess daughter taro, and be careful to avoid damage caused by bumping and rubbing during harvesting, handling and storage.

Because Lipu taro is deeply loved by everyone, it is also a hot-selling product on the market, with an average selling price of more than 3 yuan per jin, standing out among many taros and becoming their “bellwether”. So growing Lipu taro is still profitable, and maybe it can even lead you onto the road to wealth!