How much was maca per jin in 2019? Plus seedling-raising techniques
Maca is a natural food that is very rich in nutrients. According to the color of its peel, it can be divided into yellow maca, black maca, purple maca, red maca, and so on, among which the yellow one is relatively common and also has a relatively good taste. Maca has the effect of nourishing the body, and it has relatively high requirements for the growing environment. So how much was maca per jin in 2019? Plus seedling-raising techniques.
1. How much was maca per jin in 2019?
The price of black maca from Yun'an, Lijiang is roughly 90-160 yuan per jin; the price of purple maca is 80-120 yuan per jin; the price of yellow maca is 60-70 yuan per jin; Peruvian black maca is more expensive, basically 400-700 yuan per jin.
Maca has high yields, a relatively short growth cycle, and the cost input is not too large. After the price was hyped up, many people saw considerable profits and planted it on a large scale. It became very difficult for large amounts of maca to circulate in the market, and therefore the price fell sharply. At the same time, before some corresponding maca products could be developed, their prices plummeted.
2. Maca seedling-raising techniques
1. Seed selection and disinfection
Maca seeds are very small, with a thousand-grain weight of 0.5-0.7 g. Therefore, for maca seedling raising, plump, uniform, and glossy seeds should be selected. Before sowing, soak the seeds in a 300-fold formalin solution for 15 minutes to disinfect them, take them out, and dry off the moisture before sowing.
2. Seedbed preparation
Maca seeds are very small. Therefore, the preparation of the substrate soil used for seedling raising and the seedbed land has stricter requirements. The substrate soil should use fully rotted mountain base soil that has been dried in the sun and then crushed, with a uniform size. The ratio of substrate soil is generally soil: humus = 4:6. Before use, it must be disinfected with thiophanate-methyl, carbendazim, etc., and can only be used after being piled and covered for 10-15 days. For open-field small arch shed seedling raising, the seedbed land should be selected as sandy loam plots facing the sun, with good ventilation, convenient irrigation and drainage, and where the previous crop was not a cruciferous crop. Thirty days before sowing, turn and dig the seedbed land and irrigate it, then cover it tightly with film so that the weed seeds in the seedbed land fully germinate. Seven days before sowing, thoroughly remove the weeds on the seedbed, deep plow and disinfect, and make beds 1.0-1.2 m wide and 15-20 m long. The length of the seedbed should not exceed 20 m; otherwise, the temperature and humidity of the small arch shed are not easy to control, and it is easy to cause seedling scorching.
3. Seedling-raising methods
Maca is only suitable for planting in high-cold mountainous areas. These areas basically have no guaranteed water source and are typical rain-fed field areas. Therefore, maca must be raised as seedlings according to the local rainfall seasons and water source guarantee conditions. According to the year-round rainfall conditions, the maca seedling-raising time in Lijiang is from mid-April to May. If seedlings are raised too early, after the seedlings are transplanted, the lack of water cannot guarantee the survival of the transplanted seedlings; if seedlings are raised too late, after the seedlings are transplanted, the growth period in the field is insufficient, which will cause reduced yield and affect income. In view of the growth characteristics of maca, in order to increase the multiple cropping index and land utilization rate, reduce production costs, and avoid seasons unsuitable for open-field growth, methods such as greenhouse seedling raising, open-field small arch shed seedling raising, and open-field seedling tray raising are adopted.