What causes deformed yam?
A normal yam has a straight, long cylindrical shape, but in recent years, as the cultivated area has expanded, many problems have also appeared during planting, for example, many yam growers have grown deformed yams. Deformed yams do not appear on the market and affect economic returns, so what causes deformed yam? Let's take a look with Qinnong Network.
1. Hard objects in the soil
When planting yam, the soil needs to be deep plowed and trenched 1-2 m, and the soil should be leveled and crushed. This is to prevent foreign matter in the soil from obstructing yam growth and causing deformity. However, if the trenching is not done carefully, so that stones, gravel, and other hard objects remain in the soil, and when backfilling the soil the hard objects are also not crushed, this becomes one of the causes of deformed yam growth.
2. Improper fertilization
When planting yam, some yam growers apply various kinds of base fertilizer in order to make it grow faster and yield more. This leads to an excessive amount of base fertilizer or failure to mix it fully with the soil, causing the seedlings and base fertilizer to come into direct contact, which burns some buds and roots, causing the tubers to grow deformed and producing deformed shapes such as branching and multiple heads.
3. Applying incompletely decomposed organic fertilizer
During the yam growing period, sufficient nutrients are needed, so in addition to applying enough base fertilizer, fertilizer must also be applied continuously afterward to supplement nutrients, and applying organic fertilizer is best because it is rich in various elements and can increase what yam needs for growth. However, if it is not fully decomposed when applied, it will ferment and heat up after being applied, which can also cause root burning and make yam develop snake-shaped and gourd-shaped deformities.
4. Unbalanced nutrition
During the tuber expansion period, yam needs many kinds of nutrients, such as the common potassium, calcium, boron, and many trace elements, but some yam growers, in order to save time and effort, always apply only one kind of fertilizer, resulting in overly single nutrition and a lack of the other nutrients, producing deformities such as branching and flat heads.
5. Pests
Many pests harm the root system and tubers of yam, such as wireworms, white grubs, mole crickets, and root-knot nematodes, these common pests. They gnaw on or bite through the root system and tubers of yam, causing yam to grow slowly, preventing the tubers from growing normally, and producing deformities.
The above is the introduction to the causes of deformed yam brought by Qinnong Network. In general, the causes of deformed yam are the several kinds above. Everyone should pay attention when planting. For more agricultural knowledge, please stay tuned to Qinnong Network.