How to Grow Taro: A Detailed Guide to Planting Methods and Timing
In recent years, taro has become popular with the public, and farmers have begun to plant it one after another. So when should taro be planted? What are the planting times and methods for taro?
Taro planting time
Under normal circumstances, taro is suitable for cultivation in spring, generally mostly around January to March (Start of Spring), and harvested in late summer or autumn (August to October).
Taro planting methods
1. Carefully select and prepare the land, and apply sufficient base fertilizer. Taro should not be planted after taro itself; continuous cropping for one year reduces yield by 20—30%. Planting on land where the previous crop was sweet potato is best, followed by a peanut crop, while planting after a previous crop of corn and other grass-family crops reduces yield by 30%. The edible organ of taro is the underground corm, and taro roots are distributed deep, so it is best to choose a field with fertile, loose soil, strong fertilizer and water retention, deep, fertile, loose soil, convenient drainage and irrigation, and where taro has not been planted in the previous year.
2. Sowing time. Taro is sensitive to frost and prefers a warm, humid climate. Sowing is generally carried out after the local last frost; sowing too early easily causes seed rot. Taro has a long growth period and can only germinate above 13—15°C, so planting generally begins around early to mid-March (with plastic film cultivation where conditions allow, planting can be advanced to before February).
3. Sun the seed and promote germination. To ensure uniform emergence, 15-20 days before sowing the seed should be sunned to promote germination, or germinated in wet sand, etc. During germination, the stored taro can first be sunned for 1-2 days, then the seed taro arranged closely in the germination bed; during germination, attention should be paid to keeping moisture, with the temperature controlled at 18-20°C, and after 15-20 days, when the sprouts are about 1 cm long, they can be sown.
4. Plant at a reasonable density to increase per-plant yield. Density should be determined according to variety, soil, water and fertilizer; where conditions are good, plant more densely, and where conditions are poor, plant more sparsely. From the perspective of economic benefit, planting 4500—6000 plants per mu is reasonable. Use a wide-and-narrow row cultivation method, sowing at a plant spacing of 27-33 cm, a wide row spacing of 60 cm, and a narrow row spacing of 30 cm.