How Much Does a Jin of Cilantro Seed Cost? High-Yield Varieties and Planting Methods Explained

Cilantro is a fairly common vegetable in daily life. Its distinctive aroma can remove the gamy and muttony smell of meat, so many people like to use it as a seasoning or eat it raw. So how much does a jin of cilantro seed cost? Which high-yield varieties should be planted? How do you grow it?

Cilantro seed price

At present, cilantro seed on the market costs about 12.5 yuan per jin. Market prices may differ slightly from place to place, so for specific price details, please consult your local farmers' market.

Which varieties are good to buy?

1. Beijing Cilantro

A local variety from the suburbs of Beijing, with a long history of cultivation. The tender plant is about 30 cm tall with a spread of 35 cm. The leaves are green, turning darker green or developing a purple tinge under low temperatures. The leaf stalks are slender and light green. Yield per 667 sq m is 1500-2500 kg. It is relatively cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant, and can be cultivated all year round.

2. Purple-Flower Cilantro

Also known as purple-stem cilantro. The plant is short and grows flat on the ground. The plant height is 7 cm, with a spread of 14 cm. It is early-maturing and can be eaten about 30 days after sowing. It is cold-tolerant, strongly drought-resistant, and has few pests and diseases. Yield per 667 sq m is generally about 1000 kg.

3. Yuanyang Autumn Cilantro

A local variety from Yuanyang County, Hebei Province. The plant is tall; the tender plant is 42 cm tall with a spread of more than 30 cm, and a single plant weighs 28 g. The tender plant is soft and tender in texture, with a strong aroma and good quality. It is disease-resistant, heat-resistant, drought-resistant, and fond of fertilizer. Yield per 667 sq m is generally 1200 kg.

4. White-Flower Cilantro

Also known as green-stem cilantro, it is a local variety from the suburbs of Shanghai. It has a strong aroma, is late-maturing, cold-tolerant, and fond of fertilizer, with few pests and diseases, but its yield is low, at 600-700 kg per 667 sq m.

5. Shandong Large-Leaf

A local variety from Shandong. The plant height is 45 cm; the leaves are large and deep in color, and the leaf stalks are purple. It has little fiber, a strong aroma, and good quality, but its heat tolerance is relatively poor.

How do you grow it?

1. Variety selection

There are not many cilantro varieties, and basically all of them can be used for greenhouse cultivation, such as purple-flower coriander and white-flower coriander.

2. Land preparation and fertilization

Choose fertile land with strong water- and fertilizer-retention capacity. Deeply plow the soil before sowing and apply enough organic fertilizer as base fertilizer. Use 3000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure or 2000 kg of human excrement and urine per mu as base fertilizer. After mixing the fertilizer and soil evenly, break up the clods and level the surface. Make two high beds in a 4-6 m wide greenhouse.

3. Sowing

Winter cilantro is generally sown from early October to mid-November and harvested successively from late November to March of the following year. Before sowing cilantro seed, crush the fruit coat and rub the seeds apart to separate them, so that seedlings emerge evenly. You can sow dry seeds or sow after sprouting; the latter can bring emergence 7-10 days earlier and produce neat seedlings. Before sowing, cover the greenhouse with film, carefully level the bed surface, irrigate thoroughly, and after the water seeps in, scatter a thin layer of soil, then broadcast evenly and cover with soil about 1 cm thick.

4. Post-sowing management of winter cilantro

After sowing cilantro seed, keep the soil moist and not hardened to ensure neat emergence. When the seedlings are 2 cm tall, begin topdressing, and you can apply quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer with irrigation water. When the seedlings are 3-4 cm tall, carry out intertillage, weeding, and thinning. Do not water too much during the seedling stage. When the seedlings are about 10 cm tall and enter the vigorous growth period, water frequently to keep the surface soil moist, and combine watering with 1-2 topdressings, mostly with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. Cilantro has fairly strong cold tolerance. Temperature management for winter cilantro in the greenhouse is to strengthen ventilation in the early stage, keeping the daytime greenhouse temperature no higher than 25°C, and in the later stage to pay attention to heat preservation and cold protection, keeping the daytime greenhouse temperature at 15-20°C and the nighttime temperature not lower than 5°C, so as to favor growth. Multiple layers of cover can be used to promote growth.

5. Pest and disease control

The main disease of cilantro is leaf blight, which can be controlled in the early stage of onset by spraying zineb or thiophanate-methyl, once every 7 days, spraying alternately 2-3 times. The main pest is aphids, which should be controlled by spraying in time.

6. Harvesting

Winter cilantro in the greenhouse can be harvested by thinning about 45 days after sowing, when the seedlings are 15-20 cm tall. After each harvest, apply fertilizer and water once to promote growth. Harvest 3-4 times in total, and the yield per mu can reach about 1000 kg.