What is the price of Millettia speciosa seeds? A detailed guide to planting methods
Millettia speciosa, also known as pig trotter taro, Jinzhong root, mountain lotus root and so on, is a vine of the legume family Millettia genus, distributed in China's Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places, growing in shrubland, open woodland and open fields. Its root used as medicine has the effects of tonifying deficiency and moistening the lungs, strengthening sinews and activating collaterals. Now let us take a look at Millettia speciosa seed prices and planting methods!
How much is a jin of Millettia speciosa seeds?
The price of Millettia speciosa seeds is about 150-180 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on seed quality, variety, place of origin and market. At present, Millettia speciosa has not yet been industrialised in China, and many growers mistakenly believe that once planted it will successfully yield a bumper harvest. They do not realise that Millettia speciosa has many different germplasm sources, and different sources differ to a certain extent in morphological characteristics and yield. Only by choosing a high-quality, high-yield variety can a successful harvest be achieved; otherwise it may fail. It can be said that the seed source determines the success or failure of planting.
Sowing methods for Millettia speciosa
1. Seed collection: Millettia speciosa seeds mature around mid-October each year. When the pods have all turned yellow but have not yet split open, pick them, then sun-dry them, remove the pods and discard the bad seeds.
2. Germination treatment: Put Millettia speciosa seeds in 55°C warm water for 10-15 minutes, remove and soak for about 7 hours. After the seeds have fully absorbed water, add an appropriate amount of fine sand and stir evenly. After mixing, sprinkle another layer of fine sand. Once the seeds show white sprouts, they can be sown.
3. Weeding and pest killing: Before sowing Millettia speciosa, spread a mixture of 500 ml of 1.8% abamectin emulsifiable concentrate, 80 ml of glyphosate and 25 kg of fine sand per mu for sealed weeding and pest killing. Apply base fertiliser 3 days later, then plough the land and divide it into beds.
4. Sowing method: When sowing Millettia speciosa, the row spacing is 25 cm. The trench dug must not be too deep. After sowing the seeds, cover them with a thin layer of sieved soil. The sowing rate is about 0.6 kg per mu, with a density of 40,000-60,000 plants.
5. Post-sowing management: After sowing Millettia speciosa, water and fertilise in time. Especially just after sowing, keep the seeds sufficiently moist. When fertilising, the fertiliser concentration should not be too high, to prevent burning the seeds. Seedlings emerge about 13 days after sowing.
Planting methods for Millettia speciosa
1. Transplanting management: The planting density of Millettia speciosa is about 300-500 plants per mu. The best time for planting is in the afternoon when the sunlight is weaker. It is best to plant with a soil ball into the hole. The planting depth should preferably be 1 cm above the soil ball surface or level with it. After planting, water thoroughly.
2. Timely weeding: In the early stage of planting, Millettia speciosa grows slowly. Manual weeding or spraying herbicides can be used to remove weeds between the ridges. When spraying herbicides, be careful to spray when there is no wind, to prevent the herbicide from drifting onto the Millettia speciosa plants.
3. Fertiliser and water management: Millettia speciosa is drought-tolerant but not waterlogging-tolerant. About 1 month after planting, once branches have emerged, topdressing can begin. Take 2 jin of compound fertiliser per mu and dilute it in 400 jin of water for single-plant watering. About 3 months after planting, the total topdressing amount per mu is 40 jin. After that, fertilise once a year around October.
4. Pruning and training: For plants not used for propagation, thin out and prune the strong vigorous branches. For plants kept for propagation, take one bottle of Yuhualing No. 2 and dilute it in 30 kg of water for foliar spraying. After spraying 2-3 times consecutively, plants planted in March-April can enter the flowering stage in June-September.
5. Thinning flowers to promote fruit: Before flowering, spray Millettia speciosa once with Yuhualing No. 2 to promote flowering and pod setting, prompting a large amount of nutrients to be concentrated for supply to the underground rhizome growth. After the Start of Autumn, spray Yuhualing No. 5 to promote rapid rooting and continuous swelling of Millettia speciosa.
6. Pest and disease control: For Millettia speciosa leaf spot disease, spray 600-fold solutions of each of 50% carbendazim wettable powder + 80% mancozeb for control. For lepidopteran pests, use 1000-fold solutions of 5% abamectin emulsifiable concentrate, 5% abamectin-chlorpyrifos granules or 2.5% abamectin-hexaflumuron emulsifiable concentrate for control.
7. Harvesting and processing: Millettia speciosa is best harvested in autumn and winter when the soil is dry. A tillage machine can first deep-plough once between the rows, after which it is harvested manually. Those without the conditions can dig the tubers by hand. After harvesting, store in a cold room at 0-5°C for half a month, or slice and dry, or vacuum-pack fresh slices, etc.