What should be noted when planting yams?
What should be noted when planting yams? We also ask experienced readers to share their advice. The farming website Zhongdiwang has compiled the key points to note when planting yams, listed in detail below for readers' reference. Point one: Choose plots with loose soil, so yam tubers expand easily. Loose soil is important for yam roots...
What should be noted when planting yams? We also ask experienced readers to share their advice.Zhongdiwang has compiled the key points to note when planting yams, listed in detail below for readers' reference.
Point one: Choose plots with loose soil, so yam tubers expand easily:
Loose soil is crucial for the elongation and expansion of yam roots. The planting trench should be dug to a depth of about 1 m. Sandy loam is loose and breathable, warms up quickly, and produces good early seedlings, which helps the tubers elongate; heavy clay soil is cold and hard with poor aeration, which is not good for root elongation, but it is fertile and has lasting fertility.
Whatever the soil type, if conditions allow, mix in more than 1000 kg per mu of cow or horse manure or crushed crop straw (wheat straw or rice husks also work). This both increases soil organic matter and improves soil permeability. Large stones, bricks and tiles, and gravel in the soil should be removed to avoid damaging the roots. Digging the trench is best done before the soil freezes, which helps weather the soil and form a good soil structure. Irrigation should be done as early as possible to help raise the soil temperature sooner.
Point two: Apply enough base fertilizer for yams, and if conditions allow, cover with plastic film:
Apply more than 3000 kg per mu of well-rotted chicken or duck manure or pig or sheep manure as base fertilizer, more than 50 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer, and about 50 kg of diammonium phosphate. If conditions allow, also add 100 kg of microbial fertilizer and soybean cake fertilizer, and 1 kg each of boron, zinc, and iron micronutrient fertilizers, mix thoroughly with the soil, and fill it into the planting trench. After watering thoroughly, sow only when the soil temperature rises to 15°C.
After sowing, cover with plastic film to raise temperature and preserve moisture. Be sure to remove the film promptly at the end of May to help the roots grow downward.
Point three: Yam seed tubers must be treated, which can prevent disease and pests:
After sowing, yams are prone to root rot and damping-off. The simplest method is to treat the yam seed tubers, soaking them in 1000x fludioxonil (Celest) or 1500x azoxystrobin, and spraying the trench with the solution before sowing, to ensure the yam seedlings do not die during the seedling stage.
There are many underground pests in spring, mainly mole crickets, wireworms, white grubs, and cutworms. A fairly effective method is to spray 1500x phoxim along the trench. Or use high-concentration thiamethoxam sprayed into the trench to control underground pests, which has better results and higher safety.
Point four: Protect stems and leaves during the mid-growth stage of yams:
In the mid-growth stage of yams, there are many rainy days and high humidity, which easily triggers anthracnose, brown spot disease, Cercospora leaf spot disease, brown rot disease, and viral disease. You can spray 1500x azoxystrobin plus 600x copper hydroxide, once every 15 days, for a total of 2 to 3 sprays.
Brown rot disease can be treated by drenching the roots with the above method, especially after heavy rain. For viral disease, the key is to control whiteflies and mites well. Pay attention to topdressing chemical fertilizer; in the mid-growth stage, topdress 2 to 3 times, applying about 25 kg per mu each time of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer. Be sure to remove yam beans promptly to reduce nutrient consumption.
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