A Detailed Guide to Maca's Latest Growing Conditions and Environmental Requirements
Maca is a plant of the Brassicaceae family, with a root like a small round radish. It is a completely natural food and also a medicinal material of extremely high medicinal value, with strong potency, and it is extremely expensive on the market. Many people, attracted by its high price, have had the idea of growing it, but it cannot be grown in just any region. It is quite demanding about its growing environment, and can only be grown in specific environments. Let's take a look at its growing conditions below.
1. Suitable altitude
To cultivate maca artificially, this condition must first be met. Maca is suitable for growing in the cold highland zones of mountainous areas at an altitude of 3200-4000 m. Because maca is a cold-tolerant plant of the highlands, it is not suitable for growing at lower altitudes, and the high-altitude condition is also the main point limiting the artificial cultivation of maca. When planting, this environment must be overcome, especially altitude sickness, so the cultivation cost is relatively high and the yield is relatively low.
2. Temperature
Many plants have temperature requirements. For example, tropical plants are very difficult to keep alive in temperate regions. Maca has rather special temperature requirements. It likes an environment with a large temperature difference between day and night. The greater the temperature difference, the more favorable it is for its growth, and the greater its medicinal efficacy will be. In our country, an environment with such a large temperature difference can only be found near the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This place belongs to the tropics and subtropics, and the temperature difference in this region is above 20-30 degrees, which can satisfy the temperature difference required for maca's growth.
3. Soil
Maca also has relatively strict requirements for soil. For the soil in which it grows, it is best to choose well-drained sandy soil, and the pH value of the soil is best slightly acidic. Moreover, maca has an extremely strong ability to absorb soil fertility. If the soil fertility is insufficient, it is not suitable for its growth. After each harvest, the planting site must be left to recover for several years before it can continue to be planted.
4. Rain
Abundant rain is also one of the conditions limiting its cultivation. Generally, plants growing at low latitudes have relatively high requirements for rain. When planting, in addition to abundant rain, it is best to have a freshwater lake or river nearby, which makes irrigation convenient and meets its water needs.
The above are the growing conditions for maca. As for maca's growing conditions, at present in our country only the Yulong Snow Mountain area of Lijiang, Yunnan, meets its growth requirements. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.