A Detailed Guide to Yam Cultivation: Pay Attention to Four Points for a Bumper Harvest
Yam is a plant used both as food and medicine. Its flesh is tender and fine, its stems thick and juicy, sweet and starchy, with a sticky texture. It is nutritious, strengthening to the body, and beneficial for beauty, and it is delicious whether eaten raw or cooked, which is why it has become a regular guest on people's dining tables, attracting many farmers to cultivate it. So, how do you grow yam? Below we introduce the cultivation methods for yam.
1. What varieties of yam are there?
There are many varieties of yam, such as water yam, iron stick yam, little white mouth yam, ox leg yam, hemp yam, fine hair yam, lingzhi yam, and others. Among them, water yam has a very high water content and breaks at the slightest touch; iron stick yam is a relatively slender type of yam, with flesh that is comparatively fine and firm; little white mouth yam is hailed as the most delicious yam, bringing the advantages of appearance, taste and nutrition to the extreme; ox leg yam has a very thick and sturdy appearance and a very starchy texture.
2. How do you grow yam?
1. Planting time
Our country is vast, and planting times vary greatly from place to place. Generally, planting can begin once the ground temperature stabilizes at around 10 degrees. In East China, planting is generally done around Qingming; in North China, generally in late April; in Northeast China, generally in early April; and in the Yangtze River basin, generally in early to mid-April.
2. Planting plot
The plot for growing yam should be fertile, well-drained sandy soil. Choose a field of sandy loam or loam with high, dry terrain, good drainage, deep soil layers and a loose texture. The soil should preferably be slightly acidic to neutral, and the soil texture should be consistent from top to bottom. If there is a relatively thin layer of heavy clay in the lower layer, it should be dug out when trenching.
3. Land preparation and trenching
Before planting yam, prepare the land. In winter, plow the soil deeply; in spring, till the soil shallowly. Then dig deep surrounding trenches around the field, about 1 m deep and 0.6-0.8 m wide. If the plot is too long, also dig cross trenches to aid drainage.
4. Seed tuber sowing
(1) Selecting seed tubers: 20-25 days before planting, select a suitable variety. Cut disease-free tuberous roots into several small segments 15-20 cm long, mark the top and bottom ends, dip each cut surface in slaked lime powder, then lay them horizontally in the sun to dry for several days, until fine cracks appear at the cut ends.
(2) Opening shallow trenches: Stretch a rope down the middle of the plot and, along the rope, open shallow trenches at a row spacing of 1 m, 5.6 cm deep. In the trenches, use 10-12 cm thick steel bars to punch holes one by one at a plant spacing of 20 cm, going down to the bottom of the loose soil layer.
(3) Placing seed tubers: Place the top ends of the seed tubers horizontally over the holes along the direction of the trench, to guide the new tuberous roots to extend vertically downward. After placing one trench, immediately cover with soil and form ridges 10 cm high.
(4) Applying base fertilizer: Deeply plow the soil between the rows on both sides of the planting trench to 20-30 cm, apply base fertilizer, and mix it thoroughly with the turned soil.
5. Field management
(1) Seedling management: After yam seedlings emerge, first promptly remove diseased and weak seedlings; second, apply foliar fertilizer; third, promptly spray pesticides to control pests and diseases. Before planting yam, water the soil thoroughly; after seedlings emerge, water lightly once every 10-15 days, and do not water excessively.
(2) Vine management: Yam is a vine crop, so trellises must be set up; bamboo poles can be used to build the trellis. To prevent the trellis from falling over, it can be built in a “人” (inverted V) shape, with the bamboo poles crossed and fixed at a 45-degree angle, buried 20-30 cm deep in the soil at the bottom, and the crossed poles tied tightly and firmly. To avoid affecting light exposure, the trellis should not be too high and the rows should not be too dense, so bamboo poles 1.3 m to 1.5 m long are preferable.
(3) Reasonable drainage: As the saying goes, “drought makes them flat, flooding makes them round.” During the growing period, yam should be watered reasonably to maintain soil moisture. Depending on how dry or wet the soil is, water frequently in small amounts, and do not flood-irrigate.
(4) Pest and disease control: The main diseases of yam are brown spot and anthracnose, and the main pest is the yam sawfly; spraying can be used for control.
6. Timely harvest
Yam is generally harvested after Frost's Descent, once the stems and leaves have withered. If harvested too early, the yam contains more water and breaks easily. If it is not needed for market right away, it can be left to overwinter in the field and harvested before sprouting in mid-to-late March of the following year.
3. What should be noted when growing yam?
1. Yam cannot be grown continuously; generally it should be rotated once every 3 years.
2. If yam encounters rain, the soil can become compacted; loosen the soil and till shallowly immediately to maintain good soil permeability.
3. Yam should be weeded promptly; weeds compete for nutrients and affect the normal growth of yam.
4. Yam is very afraid of waterlogging; do not water too much normally, and pay attention to drainage during the rainy season.
The above is an introduction to yam cultivation methods; pay attention to four points and you can achieve a bumper harvest!