What Is the Price of Yew Seeds? A Detailed Guide to Planting Methods
Yew is the general name for plants of the genus Taxus in the family Taxaceae, and is recognized worldwide as a rare, endangered natural anti-cancer plant. Because yew grows slowly under natural conditions and has poor regenerative capacity, for a long time no large-scale yew raw material forest base has been established anywhere in the world. Below, let us take a look at yew seed prices and planting methods!
How much does a jin of yew seeds cost?
The price of yew seeds is about 200-300 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on the variety, quality and market of the seeds. For propagation, yew can be grown from seeds or from cuttings, mainly by raising seedlings and transplanting them. The plant height and stem diameter of yew seedlings grow slowly in the first two years after emergence, with plant height generally increasing by about 10 cm per year; after one year from transplanting, growth accelerates, and the increase over 3-5 years can reach 20-30 cm.
What types of yew are there?
1. Northeast yew: Northeast yew is also called purple yew, red cypress pine, Japanese yew, etc. It is produced in the Laoyeling, Zhangguangcailing and Changbai Mountain areas of Jilin, and is cultivated in Shandong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other provinces; it is also distributed in Japan, Korea and the Soviet Union.
2. Yunnan yew: Yunnan yew is also called southwest yew. It is produced in northwestern and western Yunnan, southwestern Sichuan and southeastern Tibet, and is also distributed in Bhutan and northern Myanmar.
3. Tibet yew: Tibet yew is also called Himalayan yew. It is a tree species endemic to Tibet and a national first-class key protected wild plant. It is distributed in Afghanistan, Nepal and the Tibet region of mainland China.
4. Chinese yew: Chinese yew is endemic to China and is distributed in southern Gansu, southern Shaanxi, western Hubei, Sichuan, eastern Guizhou and other places. It is a national first-class key protected plant.
5. Southern yew: Southern yew is also called beautiful yew, red torreya, purple yew, etc. It is distributed in the provinces and regions south of the Yangtze River basin as well as Henan and Shaanxi, and is cultivated in Nanjing and Shanghai. It is a national first-class key protected wild plant.
How are yew seeds propagated?
1. Seed collection and germination: The fruit ripening period of yew is October to November. Harvest in mid-to-late October when the fruit turns dark red. The seeds undergo physiological after-ripening and need one year of moist sand storage before they can germinate. The outdoor natural moist sand stratification method is often used to treat the seeds to increase the germination rate.
2. Timely sowing: Yew is generally sown in early spring. After the seeds have been stored for 1 year, when 30% of the seeds have cracked and shown white, sieve out the seeds, disinfect them in a 0.2% potassium permanganate solution for 10 minutes, then rinse them clean with water and sow. Drill sowing is the main method, but broadcast sowing can also be used.
3. Post-sowing management: When sowing yew, cover with rice straw until the soil is no longer visible. Build a shade shed during the seedling stage with 60% light transmittance, then lay moss to protect the seedlings, protecting the seedbed from sun and rain and keeping the soil loose and moist at all times. The seed emergence rate is generally above 70%.
How should yew be managed during the seedling stage?
1. Strengthen management: After yew seedlings emerge, tending management must keep up. Pay attention to watering in time to keep the soil moist and prevent damage from high temperatures and heavy rain. Spray Bordeaux mixture once a week to prevent seedling diseases, or use an 800-fold solution of Topsin.
2. Seedling overwintering: Yew overwinters for the first time in the first winter after sowing and emergence. The most difficult part of management is that after overwintering the seedbed is prone to frost heaving, forming dry cracks and suffering freezing damage. In winter, an arched shed must be used to keep the seedlings warm, and it is best to add straw curtains over the plastic film.
3. Transplanting and hardening off: After yew seedlings have been cultivated for 1 year, they should be transplanted and hardened off. Transplant the seedlings into open-field seedling beds at a spacing of 25-30 cm between plants and rows, and build a 1.5 m high shade shed with six parts shade and four parts sun. When the seedlings turn yellow, apply dilute urea water or light manure water as a top dressing.
Yew Planting and Management Techniques
1. Woodland selection: For yew, choose plots on the middle and lower parts of hillsides, at the foot of slopes, in gullies and mountain bends on shady slopes with a slope of less than 35 degrees and a soil pH of 4.5-7.0. Plots with high fertility, moisture and good drainage can all be used as afforestation land.
2. Land preparation and fertilization: Yew afforestation land should be prepared in strips or pits. The pit specifications are 40*40*30 cm (length*width*height). Under different land conditions, base fertilizer can be applied in combination with land preparation according to the soil fertility.
3. Afforestation density: The afforestation density of yew is generally 1100 plants per mu, with a spacing of 60*400 cm between plants and rows. When planting in young artificial forests, the density should be determined according to the actual canopy closure of the young forest. The principle is to plant in open spaces outside the crowns of young trees where light conditions are good.
4. Afforestation time: The transplanting time for yew is October to November or February to March before budding. Plant 1 seedling per pit, water after planting and provide appropriate shade to increase the survival rate.
5. Planting management: After yew afforestation, tending should be carried out 2-3 times each year, with hoeing and tending twice in May-June and August-September. Starting from the second year, top dressing should be applied together with hoeing and tending each May. Starting from the fourth year after afforestation, raw materials can be harvested each year by pruning branches and leaves, or the whole plant can be dug out.