Toon Sprouts, Known as the "Fertility Herb": Latest Price per Jin, plus Transplanting Conditions, Timing and Methods

Toon, also known as toon sprouts, chuntian, chunzhuangtou, and large red toon tree, is a fairly common and rather expensive vegetable in China in April. Because it has anti-aging properties and some effect on infertility, it is called the “fertility herb”. It is currently sold in many regions, so what is the latest price of toon sprouts per jin? Can they be transplanted? When should they be transplanted? How should they be transplanted?

Latest price:

The highest price for one jin of toon sprouts is around 50 yuan.

The yield per mu of toon varies by region, and greenhouse cultivation differs from open-field cultivation. Generally, greenhouse cultivation harvests three flushes: the first flush costs more than 40 yuan per jin, the second flush costs a few yuan per jin, and the third flush costs about 1 yuan per jin. Overall, the factors affecting price are season and region. Areas where toon seedlings grow have lower prices, while areas where toon seedlings do not grow have higher prices; prices are lower in season and higher out of season. Therefore, the price needs to be viewed according to the actual situation.

Why is it so expensive?

At present, the toon sprouts sold on the market are not locally produced, but come from vegetable greenhouses in the south. Due to low yield and high transportation costs, toon sprouts sell at high prices in the northern market, and most toon sprouts are mainly sold to restaurants.

The toon sprouts on the market mainly come from Yunnan and Guangxi, because the higher temperatures in the south mean toon sprouts are harvested earlier. Moreover, the yield of toon sprouts itself is not high, and they are not planted on a large scale like other vegetables, so this high-price phenomenon appears for early-spring toon sprouts.

Air transport also raises the price of toon sprouts to a large extent. To ensure freshness, preservation measures must also be taken during transit. Toon sprouts wilt four or five days after being picked from the tree, so they generally must be packed and transported immediately after being harvested from the production area.

Transplanting time:

The season for transplanting toon seedlings should be chosen for the period when root regeneration is suitable and leaf transpiration is at its lowest. In temperate regions with four distinct seasons, the dormant period from after leaf fall in autumn and winter to before bud break in spring is generally most suitable. For most regions and most tree species, late autumn and early spring are best.

Late autumn refers to the period when the aboveground part enters dormancy while the root system can still grow; early spring refers to the time when temperatures rise, the soil has just thawed, the root system can begin to grow, and the buds have not yet sprouted. During these two periods, because the tree body has rich stored nutrients, the soil temperature is suitable for root growth, and the air temperature is relatively low, the aboveground part has not yet grown and transpiration is low, it is easy to maintain and restore the balance dominated by water metabolism.

Transplanting methods:

1. Raising seedlings. Toon seedlings can be raised by two methods: asexual propagation and sexual propagation. Asexual propagation refers to root-sucker seedling raising and branch cutting seedling raising, which are generally adopted by the public. The methods are simple and easy to carry out, and management is relatively easy, but the propagation coefficient is small, making it difficult to rapidly provide large quantities of seedlings. Large-scale off-season production of toon sprouts in solar greenhouses requires a large and concentrated number of seedlings, generally using seed propagation and cultivation or tissue culture technology for rapid propagation, but the latter has not yet truly been put into use in actual production. Therefore, the method of sowing seeds for sexual propagation of seedlings is the main approach in current production.

2. Transplanting. Transplanting of seedlings used for both timber and vegetables: for developing courtyard economies and ecological construction on retired farmland, large seedlings can be appropriately used for transplanting. Select strong seedlings with a diameter of more than 1 cm and a plant height of more than 1 m and transplant them before leaf sprouting in spring. The tree pit should be dug as large as possible, with a diameter of 1 m and a depth of 0.8—1 m. Apply sufficient fertilizer and irrigate in time. For saplings transplanted in autumn, irrigate enough overwintering water before the soil freezes, and take proper freeze-protection measures for the saplings.