Taro Summer Cultivation Management Measures and Technical Key Points
Taro, also known as yu or yunai, is the underground corm of a plant in the Araceae family; its shape and flesh vary by variety, and the type commonly eaten is the small taro. It is a perennial tuberous plant, often cultivated as an annual crop. The leaves are shield-shaped, and the petioles are long and thick, green or purplish-red; at the base of the plant a shortened stem forms, gradually accumulating nutrients and enlarging into a fleshy corm, called “taro” or “mother taro”, which may be spherical, ovate, elliptical or block-shaped. Each node of the mother taro has a brain bud, but the axillary buds at the middle and lower nodes are the most active, producing the first tiller and forming a small corm called a “daughter taro”; from the daughter taro come “granddaughter taros”, and under suitable conditions, great-granddaughter or great-great-granddaughter taros and so on can form.
Basic information on taro
Taro is a perennial tuberous plant, often cultivated as an annual crop. The leaves are shield-shaped, and the petioles are long and thick, green or purplish-red; at the base of the plant a shortened stem forms, gradually accumulating nutrients and enlarging into a fleshy corm, called “taro” or “mother taro”, which may be spherical, ovate, elliptical or block-shaped. Each node of the mother taro has a brain bud, but the axillary buds at the middle and lower nodes are the most active, producing the first tiller and forming a small corm called a “daughter taro”; from the daughter taro come “granddaughter taros”, and under suitable conditions, great-granddaughter or great-great-granddaughter taros and so on can form. It likes high temperatures and humidity, is not drought-tolerant, is relatively shade-tolerant, and has the characteristics of an aquatic plant, so it can be cultivated in either paddy fields or dry land. The root system has weak absorption capacity, and the entire growing period requires sufficient water; it has wide adaptability to soil, and fertile, deep clay soil with strong water retention is suitable; seed taros begin to sprout at 13-15°C, the optimum growth temperature is above 20°C, the corm forms under short-day conditions, and the optimum temperature for development is 27-30°C. If low temperature and drought occur, growth is poor and yield is seriously affected.
Summer cultivation management measures for taro
1. Rush the stubble and prepare the land
Apply sufficient base fertilizer. After the previous crop of potatoes or wheat is harvested, rush the stubble and prepare the land, applying 10,000 jin of farmyard manure per mu and, in the furrows, 100 jin of phosphate fertilizer and 30-50 jin of potassium fertilizer. To promote early seedling development, also apply an additional 20-30 jin of ammonium sulfate as seed fertilizer.
2. Strive for early planting and rational close planting
As the saying goes: “For summer planting there is no such thing as too early; the earlier the better.” According to experiments, planting summer taro 10 days earlier can bring maturity 15 days earlier, increase yield by 400-600 jin per mu, and make the “daughter taros” plump and solid with higher starch content and good quality. The planting period generally should not be later than late June. If too late, the later stage is affected by low temperature and cannot mature normally, which both reduces yield and lowers quality. To save time, it is best to place the seed taros on a hotbed about 15 days before planting, spray water to promote sprouting, and keep the temperature at about 30°C. When the sprouts have grown to about half an inch, select healthy, disease-free sprouts as seed taros and cut off the tail to encourage rooting. If the sprouts have grown well but the land is not yet prepared, they can be placed in a cool place to harden the sprouts, to prevent them from growing too long and being damaged at planting. To achieve the goal of early planting and high yield, interplanting in wheat fields can also be practiced.
When planting, plant deep and cover shallow, which the masses call “hiding the taro”. Generally open furrows 5-6 cun deep, water immediately after planting, and after the water has completely infiltrated, cover with 1 cun of soil. If rain occurs after planting, loosen the soil in time, but prevent damage to the young taro sprouts. Summer taro has a shorter growth period and smaller plants, so attention should be paid to rational close planting; generally 500-800 more plants per mu than spring-planted taro, with a plant spacing of 0.8-1 chi and a row spacing of 1.5-1.8 chi, about 4,000 plants per mu. If the soil is fertile and fertilizer and water are sufficient, the row spacing can be appropriately increased and the density reduced; otherwise it should be denser. But generally the number of plants per mu should not exceed 4,500.
3. Do a good job of field management
Taro requires soil with good permeability. Therefore, in field management, loosen the soil more often: before emergence, shallow hoeing after rain without damaging the sprouts; during the leaf-clustering stage, deep hoeing after rain without damaging the roots; after hoeing, if rain occurs, hoe again once the soil moisture is suitable. After “Start of Autumn”, the “daughter taros” begin to multiply in large numbers, and the newly formed “daughter taros” send out new leaves, becoming “second sprouts”. After “White Dew”, the “second sprouts” have basically all emerged, and the main stem begins to turn yellow. At this time, take advantage of the soil moisture to earth up, burying all the “second sprouts” in the soil, and in conjunction with earthing up, apply 15-20 jin of compound fertilizer per mu. If earthing up is too early, the main stem remains dark green, the “second sprouts” can re-emerge from the soil, affecting taro enlargement and leading to reduced yield; if earthing up is too late, the “daughter taros” will grow into “green-headed taros” with high water content and poor quality. Therefore, the timing of earthing up should be flexibly controlled according to the time, the site and the growth condition.
4. Harvest at the right time
The harvest period for summer taro should be appropriately later. On the premise of ensuring no frost damage, it is best to delay until after “Frost's Descent”. If harvested too early, the “daughter taros” are not plump and solid, have high water content, and yield is low; if harvested too late, they are prone to frost damage and do not store well. Harvest should be done on a clear, warm day, preferably dug in the morning, dried in place, and stored in the afternoon.