A Detailed Explanation of the Producing Areas, Yield per Mu, and Income per Mu of White Peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) Cultivation

White Peony, also known as Qingyang Shen, is a fairly common plant of the genus Paeonia in the Ranunculaceae family in our country. Because it has the effects of nourishing the blood and regulating menstruation, calming the liver and relieving pain, it is widely used as medicine. At present, it is cultivated in many areas, so where does White Peony come from? How many jin per mu? About how much money can be earned from growing one mu?

Where does it come from?

It is distributed in China in Anhui, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places. White Peony - the original plant is a perennial herb, 50-80 cm tall. The root is thick and fleshy, usually cylindrical or slightly spindle-shaped. The stem is erect, smooth and hairless. The leaves are alternate; with long petioles; bipinnately trifoliolate compound leaves, the leaflets are elliptical to lanceolate, 8-12 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, with an acuminate or acute tip, a cuneate base, and entire margins; the leaf margins have very fine papillae; the upper surface is dark green, the lower surface is light green; the veins are raised on the lower surface; the leaf base is often reddish. The flowers are very large, solitary at the apex of the branches of the flowering stem; each flowering stem has 2-5 flowers, and the flowering stem is 9-11 cm long; there are 3 sepals, leaf-like; about 10 or more petals, obovate, white, pink, or red; stamens numerous, anthers yellow; carpels 3-5, separate. Fruits 3-5, ovate, with the apex hooked and curved outward. The flowering period is May-July. The fruiting period is June-July. White Peony grows on hillsides, in thickets or grassy areas of valleys, and is mostly cultivated in plains. It is distributed in Anhui Province, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places. It is cultivated throughout the country.

How many jin per mu?

White Peony was originally one of Bozhou's main products. In earlier years, local annual output accounted for about 70% of the national output. However, with the rise of surrounding producing areas, Bozhou's White Peony production capacity and share have declined noticeably compared with 5 years ago, accounting for about 50% of the national total. White Peony generally has a growth cycle of 4-5 years, with a per-mu yield of about 1,500 kg of black roots (unpeeled fresh White Peony), which after drying is about 700 kg. The general new harvest period is July.

When planted in continuous cropping land in old producing areas such as Bozhou, after 4-5 years, the per-mu yield is mostly 500-650 kg; while when planted in fresh land such as in Shanxi, the per-mu yield can reach about 1,000 kg.

About how much money can be earned from growing one mu?

Planting costs:

1. Seedlings: planting input per mu is 3,200 plants × 0.6 yuan/plant = 1,920 yuan/4 years, averaging 480 yuan.

2. Fertilizer input: each mu requires 300 yuan of fertilizer input, applied in two rounds, one as base fertilizer and one as topdressing after two years.

3. Pesticide input: each mu requires soil conditioner and insecticide, 150 yuan, averaging 40 yuan per year.

4. Labor input is 800 yuan; each mu requires 100 yuan for planting, 200 yuan for management, and a total of 500 yuan for weeding, topdressing, etc.

5. Land leveling and digging costs are 2,000 yuan.

6. Land rent can be set according to the local land rent situation: combining the above five items, approximately 4,880 yuan is spent.

From this it can be seen that for large-scale White Peony cultivation, the average planting cost per mu can be greatly reduced.

Planting profit:

Revenue (4 years): calculated at an annual dried product yield of 2 kg per plant, with 3,000 surviving plants per mu, and a guaranteed minimum price of 5 yuan per kg for fresh product. 3,000 × 2 kg × 5 yuan/kg = 30,000 yuan/mu, averaging 7,500 yuan/mu per year.

Calculated at the current price of 10 yuan/kg for annual dried product per kg: 3,000 plants × 2 kg/plant × 10 yuan/kg = 600,000 yuan/year, averaging 15,000 yuan per year. After deducting planting input and land rent, the annual income per mu of White Peony should be between 6,000 yuan and 13,000 yuan.