Latest Prices for Water Chestnut Seeds and a Detailed Guide to Cultivation Methods
The water chestnut is the fruit of the water chestnut, an annual herbaceous aquatic plant of the genus Trapa in the family Trapaceae, also known as wind water chestnut, black water chestnut, water chestnut, etc. It originated in the warm regions of Europe and Asia, but only our country and India have domesticated and cultivated it, and in southern China it is cultivated most extensively, especially in the Taihu Lake region of the lower Yangtze River and the Pearl River Delta. Below let us take a look together at water chestnut seed prices and cultivation methods!
How much is a jin of water chestnut seeds?
The price of water chestnut seeds is about 10 to 15 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on seed quality, variety, place of origin and market. There are many cultivated varieties of water chestnut, and choosing excellent varieties is the foundation for high yield and also the key to seizing the season, entering the market early and improving economic returns. For raw consumption, large-fruited early and mid-season varieties (two-horned water chestnut) can be chosen; for high yield, late-maturing black water chestnut varieties can be planted.
What varieties of water chestnut are there?
1. Shajiao water chestnut: a mid-maturing variety, sown at Qingming and Guyu, harvested at Liqiu and Chushu. Its rhizomes are tough, its leaves are small and densely grown, and its fruit is small. The yield per mu is 400 to 600 jin. The skin is green-white and thick, and it is suitable for cooked consumption. It resists wind and waves and tolerates deep water and lean soil.
2. Shuihong water chestnut: an early-maturing variety, sown at Qingming. Tender water chestnuts begin to be harvested at Liqiu, and mature water chestnuts are harvested at Chushu and Shuangjiang. The fruit is relatively large, and the water chestnut flesh has a high water content. The yield per mu is 800 to 1000 jin. It is suitable for raw consumption, does not tolerate deep water and does not resist wind and waves.
3. Xiaobai water chestnut: a mid-to-late-maturing variety, sown at Qingming and harvested from Bailu to Shuangjiang. Its flesh is firm and suitable for cooked consumption. The fruit is relatively small, and the yield per mu is 600 to 1200 jin. It has strong growth vigor, relatively strong resistance to wind and waves and a relatively wide range of adaptability, and is suitable for deep-water cultivation.
4. Daqing water chestnut: a mid-maturing variety, sown at Qingming and harvested from Bailu to Shuangjiang. Its quality is medium, the fruit is large, the skin is green-white, the fruit skin is thick and the flesh is firm. It is suitable for cooked consumption, and the yield per mu is 1000 to 1200 jin.
5. Nanhu water chestnut: an early and mid-maturing variety, sown at Qingming and harvested from Chushu to Shuangjiang. Its quality is good, the flesh is firm with a japonica-like texture, and the fruit is medium-sized. The yield per mu is 1000 to 1200 jin. During growth it requires a moderate water level and fertile soil, and its resistance to wind and waves is relatively weak.
Cultivation methods for water chestnut
1. Seedbed selection: For raising seedlings, choose a field that is sheltered from wind and faces the sun, has fertile soil, a water depth of 10 to 50 cm and convenient drainage and irrigation. Before raising seedlings, duckweed, Spirogyra and the like in the water surface of the seedbed should be thoroughly removed. For greenhouse seedling raising and planting, the frame should be covered with film in advance.
2. Sowing method: In the Yangtze River basin from Chunfen to Qingming, choose a pond sheltered from wind, with relatively shallow water, fertile soil and convenient drainage and irrigation as the seedling pond, and sow by dibbling for seedling raising at a row spacing of 1 m square. The seeding rate per mu is 65 to 90 kg, which can supply 8 to 10 mu of water chestnut pond.
3. Transplanting and setting out: Seedlings should be planted the same day they are lifted. Generally, for shallow-water water chestnut, the row spacing is 1.5 to 2 m and the hole spacing is 1.5 to 2 m, with one bundle of about 2 to 3 water chestnut seedlings planted per hole; for deep-water water chestnut, the row spacing is 2.5 to 3 m and the hole spacing is 2 to 2.5 m, with one bundle of about 8 to 10 water chestnut seedlings planted per hole.
4. Reasonable fertilization: The fertilizer demand of water chestnut is relatively concentrated. Before planting, 2000 kg of pig manure or decomposed mud manure can be applied per mu. After germination, 5 kg of urea can be applied per mu as a quick-acting fertilizer. After flowering, in 2 to 3 applications combined with disease and pest control, 2 to 3 packets of strong yield-increasing agent or 2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate can be used for foliar spraying.
5. Timely weeding: There are many kinds of aquatic weeds in water chestnut ponds, such as banping grass, centipede grass, moss grass and so on, which must be removed manually in time, otherwise they will affect the photosynthesis of water chestnut. Generally, weeds are removed once every 10 days after transplanting until the water chestnut covers the water surface.
6. Disease and pest control: Common pests of water chestnut include aphids, leafhoppers and so on, which can be controlled in the early stage of damage by spraying trichlorfon or decis diluted with water. The common disease is mainly water chestnut blast, which can be controlled in the early stage of onset by spraying validamycin plus carbendazim diluted with water.
7. Timely harvesting: Water chestnut matures 20 to 30 days after flowering. For use as a vegetable or for raw eating, it is harvested when the sepals have fallen off and the fruit skin has not yet fully hardened. For cooked eating, processing or seed preservation, it must be harvested when fully mature. Early-maturing varieties are harvested once every 5 days, and late-maturing varieties once every 7 days.