Differences Between Taro and Xiangyu, Plus 2018 Per-Mu Profit and Planting and Harvest Times
Taro, also known as taro and yunai, is the underground corm of a plant in the Araceae family; its shape and flesh vary by variety, and the kind usually eaten is small taro. So what is the difference between it and xiangyu? What is the profit per mu in 2018? When is it planted and harvested?
What is the difference between taro and xiangyu?
Xiangyu, also known as xiangshen, dilizi, and tuluaner
It is a perennial climbing herbaceous plant of the Fabaceae family, usually cultivated as an annual. Its tuberous roots are spherical, resembling small potatoes, 2-7.5 cm in diameter, with a yellowish-brown skin and white flesh, and this is the edible part sought through cultivation. Because its flesh resembles that of tuber crops, but its taste is neither that of sweet potato nor yunai, nor that of potato, and is instead like chestnut, sweet and aromatic, with a lingering aftertaste, it is named xiangyu.
Taro, also known as qingyu, yunai, and so on, belongs to the Araceae family and the genus Colocasia
It is a perennial tuberous plant, often cultivated as an annual crop. The leaves are shield-shaped, and the petioles are long and thick, green or purplish-red; the base of the plant forms a shortened stem, which gradually accumulates nutrients and enlarges into a fleshy corm, called “taro” or “mother taro”, spherical, oval, elliptical, or block-shaped, and so on. Each node of the mother taro has a bud, but the axillary buds at the middle and lower nodes are the most active, producing the first tiller and forming a small corm called a “daughter taro”; from the daughter taro, “granddaughter taro” then develops, and under suitable conditions, great-granddaughter or great-great-granddaughter taro can also form, and so on.
What is the profit per mu in 2018?
Calculating the cost of taro cultivation based on labor, contracting fees, watering, and other inputs, the cost per mu is about 6,000 yuan. The average yield from cultivating one mu of taro is about 2,000 kg.
Assuming the average market price of taro is four yuan/kg, the income from cultivating one mu of taro is 8,000 yuan, and after deducting the cultivation cost, the net profit per mu of taro is 2,000 yuan.
When is it planted and harvested?
Red taro
The plant height is 90-100 cm, the leaves are broadly ovate, and the petioles are light purple. The mother taro is relatively large and nearly round; each plant has 7-10 daughter taros, which are plump, with thick brown skin, white flesh, and bright red buds, and the yield per plant is 0.85-1 kg. It contains more starch and is of good quality. The fresh taro can be eaten and can also be dried. Medium-maturing. The growth period is 210-240 days, the planting period is February-March, and it is harvested in September-October, with a yield of 1,500-1,700 kg per mu.
White taro
The sprouts are white, and the petioles are green; in other respects it is basically the same as red taro. The taro of white taro and red taro is rarely eaten directly because it does not easily soften when boiled; it is generally mashed to make cooked products such as taro cakes. What people eat directly is the “daughter taro” formed from the first tiller as a small corm, which is the taro about the size of an egg commonly seen in supermarkets.
Jiutou taro
The plant height is 80-90 cm. The leaves are broadly ovate, and the petioles are green. The mother taro and daughter taros grow in clusters, with slightly more daughter taros; the corms are obovate, brown, and white-fleshed. The yield per plant is 1.5 kg, the flesh is smooth, and the taste is mild. It is eaten as a vegetable and dried for medicinal use. Late-maturing, with a growth period of 270-300 days. The planting period is February-March, it is harvested in November-December, and the yield is 2,500-3,000 kg per mu. The flavor of Jiutou taro is slightly better than that of white taro and red taro.
Betel nut taro
The plant height is 80-150 cm. The leaves are broadly ovate, and the petioles gradually transition from green from bottom to top to coffee-red, all the way to the leaf core. The corms are long elliptical, dark brown, white-fleshed, with coffee-colored streaks. The mother taro is large, and the daughter taros are long ovate, 3-5 cm in diameter and up to 20 cm in length, commonly called taro stalks in the Fuzhou area. Betel nut taro
Each plant has 6-10 daughter taros. The yield per plant is 2.5-3 kg. It has a high starch content and a strong aroma, hence the name xiangyu. Its moisture tolerance is poorer than that of other varieties, and its storability is relatively good. Late-maturing, with a growth period of 240-280 days. The planting period is February-March, and it is harvested from November to January of the following year, with a yield of about 3,000 kg per mu.