How should yam be planted to achieve a yield of 11 tons per mu?

A yam yield of 11 tons per mu is impossible. There are many factors that affect yield, such as soil texture, variety, selection of rhizome heads and seed pieces, ditch depth and width, fertilizer mixing, trellis height, cultivation management, pest and disease control, etc. Under normal circumstances, yam yield per mu is around 500-2500 kg.

The yam cultivation techniques are as follows:

1. Choosing the planting site

The product of yam is actually the underground tuber, and its fibrous roots are relatively fine, so it has very strict requirements for the soil. Moreover, yam can neither suffer from drought nor waterlogging, so the soil layer should preferably be deep and well aerated, with high organic matter content. If it is sandy soil, use slightly acidic sandy soil, but the best soil type is still yellow clay loam, which is very conducive to the growth and rooting of yam. After the planting site is chosen, deep plowing of more than 40 cm should be carried out in winter, and the soil should be well sunned. After spring begins, directly form beds and prepare the land with a bed height of 50 cm and a width of 1.4 m, then plant two rows, build the drainage ditches around the field well, and if the field length exceeds 20 m, we should also enlarge the waist ditches, so that water can be drained quickly during the rainy season. Moreover, yam cannot be continuously cropped; it is best to rotate every 3 years.

2. Fertilizing and sowing

To grow yam well, applying enough basal fertilizer is also very important. For each mu, we can use about 2,000 kg of fully decomposed organic fertilizer, or 45 kg of imported compound fertilizer, then add about 50 kg of superphosphate as basal fertilizer. In March to April each year, when the temperature rises above 12 degrees and the soil temperature has stabilized, remaining above 10 degrees all along, we can choose a day without rain for planting. Before planting, we can first slowly open the planting ditches according to a row spacing of 50 cm, then open ditches between the two planting rows to apply the prepared basal fertilizer, and immediately cover it with soil. Place the root heads upright in the planting ditches at a plant spacing of about 25-30 cm, and be careful never to place them upside down. One piece per hole is enough. If using aerial tubers for planting, one aerial tuber per hole is enough, and to allow the root system to grow quickly, place it horizontally in the planting ditch, then cover it with 4 cm of soil.

3. Cultivation management

In the early stage of growth, we should weed in time. Generally, weeding should be done once every half month until the stems and vines can climb halfway up the trellis, after which it is enough to remove the weeds. Dig out some soil from the bed ditches and fill it between the rows inside the trellis, so that a high bed is formed inside the trellis, which makes drainage very convenient during the rainy season. Although yam is relatively drought-tolerant, we should also water appropriately in order to achieve a high yield. During its germination period and tuber formation, it must be kept moist. Generally, around the first topdressing, if it has not rained all along and the soil turns white, then water lightly 1-2 times, only enough to make the surface layer of the soil moist. If during the transition from summer to autumn there is a long dry period, pour cool water to resist drought.