The Latest Prices of Yew Seeds and a Detailed Guide to Planting Methods

Yew is the general name for plants in the genus Taxus of the family Taxaceae, and is recognized worldwide as a rare natural anti-cancer plant on the verge of extinction. Because yew grows slowly under natural conditions and has poor regenerative capacity, for a long time no large-scale yew raw material forest base has been formed anywhere in the world. Let us take a look below at yew seed prices and planting methods!

How much does a jin of yew seeds cost?

The price of yew seeds is about 200 to 300 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on the seed variety, quality, market and so on. In propagation, yew can be propagated by seed or by cuttings, with seedling raising and transplanting being the main method. The plant height and stem diameter of yew seedlings grow slowly in the first two years after emergence, with plant height generally increasing by about 10 cm per year. After one year from transplanting, growth speeds up, and the increase over 3 to 5 years can reach 20 to 30 cm.

What types of yew are there?

1. Northeast yew: Northeast yew is also called purple yew, red cypress pine, Japanese yew, etc. It is produced in the Laoyeling, Zhangguangcailing and Changbai Mountain areas of Jilin, and is cultivated in Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other provinces, and is also distributed in Japan, Korea and the Soviet Union.

2. Yunnan yew: Yunnan yew is also called southwest yew. It is produced in northwestern and western Yunnan, southwestern Sichuan and southeastern Tibet, and is also distributed in Bhutan and northern Myanmar.

3. Tibetan yew: Tibetan yew is also called Himalayan yew. It is a tree species unique to Tibet and a national first-class key protected wild plant. It is distributed in Afghanistan, Nepal and the Tibet region of mainland China, among other places.

4. Chinese yew: Chinese yew is a species endemic to China. It is distributed in southern Gansu, southern Shaanxi, western Hubei, Sichuan, eastern Guizhou and other places, and is a national first-class key protected plant.

5. Southern yew: Southern yew is also called beautiful yew, red Torreya, purple yew, etc. It is distributed in the provinces and regions south of the Yangtze River basin as well as Henan and Shaanxi. It is cultivated in Nanjing and Shanghai, and is a national first-class key protected wild plant.

How are yew seeds propagated?

1. Seed collection and germination: The fruit ripening period of yew is from October to November. Harvest when the fruit turns deep red in mid-to-late October. The seeds have physiological after-ripening and need one year of moist sand storage before they can germinate. The seeds are often treated by outdoor natural moist sand storage stratification to increase the germination rate.

2. Timely sowing: Yew is generally sown in early spring. After the seeds have been stored for 1 year, when 30% of the seeds have cracked open and turned white, sieve out the seeds, disinfect them in a 0.2% potassium permanganate solution for 10 minutes, then rinse them clean with water and sow. Drill sowing is the main method, but broadcast sowing can also be used.

3. Post-sowing management: When sowing yew, cover with rice straw so that the soil is just not visible. Build a shade shed during the seedling stage with 60% light transmittance, then lay moss to protect the seedlings, protect the seedbed from sun and rain, and keep the soil loose and moist at all times. The general seed emergence rate is above 70%.

How should yew be managed during the seedling stage?

1. Strengthen management: After yew emerges, tending and management must keep up. Pay attention to watering in time to keep the soil moist and prevent damage from high temperature and heavy rain. Spray Bordeaux mixture once a week to prevent seedling diseases, or use an 800-fold dilution of Topsin solution.

2. Overwintering of seedlings: Yew overwinters in the first winter after sowing and emergence. The most difficult part of management is that after overwintering the seedbed is prone to frost heaving, forming dry cracks and suffering freeze damage. In winter, an arched shed must be used to keep seedlings warm, and it is best to add straw curtains over the plastic film.

3. Transplanting and hardening off: After 1 year of cultivation, yew seedlings should be transplanted and hardened off. Transplant the seedlings to open-field seedling beds at a spacing of 25 to 30 cm, build a 1.5 m high shade shed with six parts shade and four parts sun, and when the seedlings turn yellow, apply dilute urea water or light manure water as a top dressing.

Yew planting and management techniques

1. Forest land selection: For yew, plots on the middle-lower slopes, at the foot of slopes, in Cao gullies, and on shady slopes of mountain bays with a slope of less than 35 degrees, a soil pH of 4.5 to 7.0, high fertility, moisture and good drainage can all be used as afforestation land.

2. Land preparation and fertilization: Yew afforestation land should be prepared in strips or holes. The hole specification is 40*40*30 cm (length*width*height). Under different land conditions, base fertilizer can be applied in combination with land preparation according to the soil fertility situation.

3. Afforestation density: The general afforestation density of yew is 1100 plants per mu, with a spacing of 60*400 cm. When afforesting in artificial young forests, the density should be determined according to the actual canopy closure of the young forest. The principle is to plant in open spaces outside the crowns of young trees where light conditions are good.

4. Afforestation time: The transplanting time for yew is from October to November or from February to March before budding. Plant 1 seedling per hole, water after planting and provide appropriate shade to increase the survival rate.

5. Planting management: After afforestation, yew should be tended 2 to 3 times each year, with hoeing and tending twice in May to June and August to September. Starting from the second year, top dressing should be applied in combination with hoeing and tending each May. Starting from the fourth year after afforestation, raw materials can be harvested each year by pruning branches and leaves or by digging out the whole plant.