The Latest Purple Yam Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Purple yam, also known as purple ginseng or purple huai yam, is rich in various vitamins, proteins, amino acids and trace elements, and has extremely high nutritional value and dietary therapy value, and is grown in many regions. So how should purple yam be cultivated? Let's find out together.

1. Site Selection and Land Preparation

Purple yam is suited to plots with convenient drainage and irrigation, loose and fertile soil and a deep soil layer, with well-aerated sandy loam or loam being ideal. Clayey or overly hard soil is unsuitable, as it will affect the growth and development of its tubers, causing branching or deformity, and affecting yield and quality. Before planting, deep plow in advance, use the sun to bleach the soil white, disinfect and sterilize it, then prepare the land and make beds. Generally the bed surface is about 50 cm wide, the bed height is about 30 cm, and the ditch width is about 30 cm. The bed surface should be leveled and finely raked.

2. Sowing

Before sowing, first select disease-free seed tubers, remove the soil from them, and cut them into tuber pieces about 5 cm long and weighing about 40-50 grams. After cutting, smear the wounds with lime or plant ash, and once the wounds are dry, they can be sown. When cutting the pieces, be sure to disinfect the knife to avoid infection by pathogens. The sowing time is generally chosen around Qingming, using a single-plant, single-row method, generally controlling the plant and row spacing at 30×80 cm, planting about 2,800 plants per mu, and using about 130 kg of seed per mu. When planting, open a furrow in the bed surface and apply fertilizer, put compound fertilizer or farmyard manure into it, cover with a layer of soil, and then place the seed tubers in.

3. Field Management

After sowing, cover with plastic mulch. After covering with plastic mulch, tie and press down the edges tightly, and the plastic mulch should also be pressed down with clods of soil to prevent the wind from blowing it apart and destroying it. After the seedlings emerge, break the mulch in time to prevent the young leaves from touching the plastic mulch and being scorched. Black plastic mulch is preferable, as the effect is better. After the seedlings emerge, set up trellises in time to guide the vines. Thin bamboo poles can be used to build an A-frame trellis, and the supports should be inserted firmly and tied tightly so they are not blown down by the wind.

4. Fertilizer and Water Management

In addition to applying base fertilizer at sowing, purple yam has a relatively large fertilizer requirement during its growth period, so timely topdressing is also necessary. Generally, when the stems and vines have fully covered the trellis, apply 25-35 kg of compound fertilizer and 10 kg of urea per mu as topdressing, and during the growth period, spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate and urea solution several times to prevent premature leaf aging. Summer is hot and rainy, and water accumulates very easily, causing waterlogging. To prevent waterlogging damage, do a good job of drainage and moisture control. And in July-August, during a continuous week of drought weather, irrigate in time to keep the soil moist.

The above is an introduction to purple yam cultivation techniques. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please follow us.