Latest Prices of Dodder Seeds and a Detailed Guide to Growing Them
Dodder, also known as bean parasitism, rootless grass, yellow silk and so on, is an annual parasitic plant of the genus Cuscuta in the Convolvulaceae family, a harmful weed in soybean-producing areas that also damages crops such as flax, ramie, peanut and potato, and its seeds are used medicinally to tonify the liver and kidneys, enrich essence and strengthen yang, and stop diarrhea. Let us now take a look at the prices of dodder seeds and how to grow them!
How much is a jin of dodder seeds?
The price of dodder seeds is about 50 to 60 yuan per jin, but it varies with seed quality, variety, place of origin and market. Dodder prefers a hot and humid climate, has no strict soil requirements and is fairly adaptable. Wild dodder is commonly found on plains, wasteland, grave mounds, field edges and in plots of plants of the Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Polygonaceae and Lamiaceae families, and it most prefers to parasitize legumes, reproducing and spreading by seed.
Sowing methods for dodder
1. Seed collection: Collect dodder seeds in mid to late October, when the capsules are about to mature but have not yet split open, dry them in the sun and thresh them, then put them in cloth bags and hang them under the eaves, avoiding rain and direct sun. This is because dodder must go through the low temperatures of winter before it can germinate and grow normally.
2. Land preparation and fertilization: Dodder has no special soil requirements, and any soil suitable for growing soybeans will do. When sowing soybeans, apply sufficient base fertilizer, generally 50 kg of superphosphate, 10 kg of urea and some organic fertilizer per mu.
3. Sowing method: The best host for dodder is soybean, followed by broadleaf weeds such as sesbania. Sow after the soybeans are planted but before they emerge. When sowing, mix 20 grams of dodder seeds per mu with 2 kg of dry fine soil, scatter the mixture, then brush the soil over the seeds with a broom to cover them; covering the seeds is also optional.
How to grow dodder
1. Reasonable fertilization: Fertilization must be done well when growing dodder. Apply 15 kg of nitrogen fertilizer, 20 to 30 kg of phosphate fertilizer and 10 to 15 kg of manure fertilizer per mu. On fertile plots, apply less base fertilizer so that both the host and the dodder are taken into account.
2. Growth control: Dodder spreads very quickly, and the host, having lost large amounts of water and nutrients, grows slowly or stops growing. Therefore, the excessive growth of dodder must be controlled to prevent the host from declining and dying too early.
3. Cultivation and weeding: After the soybeans emerge, carry out one round of cultivation and weeding. Cultivate shallowly to avoid damaging the roots. Weeds must be completely removed during the growing period. Once the dodder has twined around the soybean plants, weeding can be reduced or stopped, and there is no need to use herbicides.
4. Timely harvest: Dodder is harvested before the soybeans. Harvest when more than 50% of the capsules have turned black, more than 30% have turned yellow, and 10 to 20% have gone from green to yellow. For small areas, pull the plants up by hand and thresh them together; for large areas, a rice and wheat harvester can be used.
5. Farming the following year: If dodder will not be grown again on the same plot the next season, then in places with freshwater irrigation, aquatic crops such as rice should be grown as much as possible, while in dry areas, gramineous crops such as corn and sorghum should be grown.