In 2017, the price of sesame rose by 30% in half a year. How should farmers grow it to achieve high yields?

According to market data, in recent years, the price of sesame has risen from 6 or 7 yuan per jin to 8 yuan 90, but now the sesame market is in short supply, so sesame dealers have no choice but to use imported sesame, as much as 70%. In 2017, not only did domestic output decline, but abroad, countries like India also had insufficient output because of natural disasters last year, thus causing a large increase in sesame prices!

In recent years, there have been two reasons for the decline in sesame planting area:

1. Sesame is greatly affected by weather and farmers “live at the mercy of the weather”, so yield cannot be guaranteed

2. From planting to harvest, it basically all relies on labor, the work is heavy, and most young people in rural areas go to other places to work

Some of the two points above are uncontrollable factors, but some can be avoided by us. If we farmers can master sesame cultivation techniques, the harvest will certainly be quite substantial. Let's take a look below at some key points for growing sesame, such as how to resist lodging and increase yield

1. The main reasons for lodging are two points: first, poor lodging resistance of the variety, and second, relatively serious pests and diseases. So we should try to choose varieties resistant to pests, diseases and lodging, and also pay attention to preventing pests and diseases during the growing period. In addition, maintain a good soil environment, do careful cultivation, deepen the plow layer, and hill up soil high during intertillage. When fertilizing, although nitrogen fertilizer is very important, do not apply too much, to prevent growing too tall, as being too tall also makes lodging easy. When there is too much rain, drain the waterlogged fields, and during dry periods do not flood-irrigate heavily.

2. To increase yield, the main measures are thinning and final thinning of seedlings at the seedling stage, timely weeding, and topping at the right time. In addition, when topdressing, apply seedling fertilizer early, apply heavy fertilizer before flowering, and supplement fertilizer during the flowering period. Applying phosphate fertilizer and potassium fertilizer from just flowering to full flowering can increase the weight of sesame and raise its oil content. If the soil lacks potassium, using plant ash at the early flowering stage is also a good choice.

Finally, many farmer friends may ask whether sesame prices will fall very sharply if more people grow it. Although the planting area has increased this year, and India and African countries also had a good sesame harvest this year, prices may fall a little, but they will not fall too low. Because overall, domestic supply and demand for sesame itself is still unbalanced, and sesame cultivation requires high labor costs, so the risk of expanding planting will not be too great for the time being.