How is the outlook for balloon flower cultivation? Market conditions and profitability analysis
Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus) belongs to the Campanulaceae family and is a herbaceous perennial, also known as "earth ginseng" and "bellflower". It has the effects of dispersing lung qi, soothing the throat, resolving phlegm, and discharging pus. In South Korea, North Korea, Japan, various Southeast Asian countries, and the northeastern region of China, eating balloon flower as a vegetable is very common, especially in South Korea, where the high standard of living creates a large demand for fresh balloon flower. Below, let us take a look at the cultivation outlook and cultivation profitability of balloon flower!
The cultivation outlook for balloon flower
Wild balloon flower is distributed throughout the country. At present, dried wild balloon flower on the market costs about 16 yuan per kilogram. Nationwide, only three major production areas remain: Chifeng in Inner Mongolia, Taihe County in Anhui, and Zibo in Shandong. In recent years, due to continuous planting year after year, yields have fallen again and again (balloon flower is sensitive to continuous cropping). In some places, what was once a 10,000-mu base now has only a few thousand mu left. The contradiction of demand exceeding supply has caused the price of balloon flower to rise. Dried product has risen from 7 yuan/kg to the current 16 yuan/kg, and fresh export-grade product has risen from 3 yuan per kilogram to the current 5 yuan per kilogram.
The cultivation profitability of balloon flower
Growing balloon flower is the same as growing other crops. Its advantage is that it does not occupy the busy farming season; it is sown during the slack farming season (from the 11th lunar month to March of the following year) and harvested during the slack farming season, with most of the growing period lasting one year. Each mu requires an input of 10,000 jin of barnyard manure or 100 jin of compound fertilizer, valued at 100 yuan; 2 kilograms of seed, priced at 160 yuan; and labor at about 300 yuan, totaling 560 yuan. The average annual yield is more than 1,000 kilograms, with high yields reaching 1,500 kilograms. Calculated at an export product rate of 70%, that is 700 kilograms. At the current purchase price of 4 yuan/kg, the income per mu is 2,800 yuan. In addition, 300 kilograms of substandard product, processed into medicinal material (with a drying ratio of 3:1), becomes 100 kilograms. At the current purchase price of 10 yuan/kg, that is 1,000 yuan. There is also seed income: each mu produces 20 kilograms of seed in the same year, and at 40 yuan/kg that is another 800 yuan. Total income per mu is 4,600 yuan. After deducting costs, the income per mu is more than 3,800 yuan.
The cultivation conditions for balloon flower
Balloon flower prefers a cool climate, is cold-resistant, and likes sunlight. It is suitable for cultivation in hilly areas below 1,100 meters above sea level, in semi-shaded, semi-sunny sandy loam, and grows better in neutral sandy loam rich in phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. The seed life is 1 year, and storage at low temperature can extend seed life. When dry-stored at 0-4°C for 18 months, the germination rate increases by 3.5-4 times compared with storage at room temperature. The seed germination rate is 70%. At a temperature of 18-25°C, with sufficient moisture, seedlings emerge 15 days after sowing.