How much does a Luo Han Guo seedling cost per plant? With planting methods
Luo Han Guo (Siraitia grosvenorii, also known as monk fruit) is a perennial vine of the genus Siraitia in the Cucurbitaceae family, also called immortal fruit, false bitter melon, and jin bu huan. It is among the first batch of valuable medicinal and edible Chinese medicinal materials announced by the Ministry of Health, with effects of clearing heat and cooling blood, promoting fluid production and relieving cough, lubricating the intestines and expelling toxins, softening skin and beautifying the complexion, and moistening the lungs and resolving phlegm. Its cultivation value is very high. Let us take a look at Luo Han Guo seedling prices and planting methods below!
How much does a Luo Han Guo seedling cost per plant?
The price of Luo Han Guo seedlings is about 4 to 8 yuan per plant, but prices vary greatly depending on seedling quality, variety, place of origin, market, and purchase quantity. In China, Luo Han Guo is mainly produced in Guilin, Guangxi, among which Yongfu County and Longsheng County are the hometowns of Luo Han Guo with relatively long planting histories. Yongfu has been planting Luo Han Guo for more than 300 years, and Longsheng County has been planting Luo Han Guo for more than 200 years. 90% of China's Luo Han Guo is produced in Yongfu County and Longsheng County.
What varieties of Luo Han Guo are there?
1. Qingpiguo: The Qingpiguo plant is robust, with relatively high yield, strong adaptability, early fruiting, good productivity, and medium quality. It is widely used in production, with a cultivation area accounting for more than 90%, and can be planted in both mountainous areas and plains.
2. Lajiangguo: Lajiangguo is bred from seedlings of Changtanguo. The fruit is elliptical, oblong, or pear-shaped. It has wide adaptability and is suitable for planting in mountainous or hilly areas. The plant grows vigorously and has good quality.
3. Changtanguo: Changtanguo is currently the variety with the best quality among cultivated varieties. The fruit is long elliptical or ovate-elliptical, the peel is tender, with sparse soft hairs, the fruit apex is slightly sunken, and the peel has obvious fine vein lines.
4. Hongmaoguo: Hongmaoguo has very strong adaptability, the plant grows robustly, and the yield is relatively high. The young vines and young fruits are densely covered with red verrucose glandular scales. The fruit is small, short and round like a pear.
5. Dongguaguo: The Dongguaguo plant grows robustly, the fruit is long cylindrical with both ends even, shaped like a winter melon, the seeds are melon-seed shaped, the leaves are triangular heart-shaped, and the fruit is densely covered with soft hairs. The yield is good, and it is suitable for planting in low mountainous areas.
Luo Han Guo planting techniques
1. Land selection and preparation: Luo Han Guo is a short-day crop and likes humidity, fog, and coolness. After selecting the land, plow and harrow in the winter of the previous year, then plow once more several days before planting, make beds and open holes, apply 5 kg of decomposed barnyard manure per hole, mix the fertilizer with soil and pile it into mounds ready for planting.
2. Planting method: Luo Han Guo is generally planted between March and April, with about 400 plants per mu, two plants per hole. In cold northern areas, plant around Qingming on a warm sunny day; southern areas can plant earlier; areas without frost in winter can plant in autumn or winter.
3. Building trellises and supporting vines: After Luo Han Guo is planted, begin building trellises, spread small bamboo or branches on top of the trellis, insert a small bamboo beside each plant, remove the side branches on the vine stems when the seedlings are 17 to 20 cm tall, and gently tie the main vine to the bamboo with straw or hemp rope when the seedlings are 30 cm tall.
4. Weeding and topdressing: Weeding and topdressing of Luo Han Guo must be carried out multiple times each year. Apply thin human manure water once in April to May, apply decomposed barnyard manure once after the main vine reaches the trellis in May, and during the flowering and fruiting period from June to September apply a mixed fertilizer of barnyard manure, peanut bran, phosphate fertilizer, etc. once every 7 to 15 days.
5. Artificial pollination: Luo Han Guo is pollinated when the plants bloom between June and July, but artificial pollination must be completed in the morning; pollination in the afternoon has poor results. Collected pollen should be used the same day. If it is to be kept until the next day, it must be dried and stored, otherwise it will lose its germination ability.
6. Wintering management: Before the Start of Winter each year, mound soil around the base of Luo Han Guo to a thickness of about 15 cm, then cover with a layer of grass to prevent the tubers from freezing over winter. Around Qingming the next year, remove the covering and dig away the soil to expose the tubers, and at the same time cut off the dead vines to facilitate the growth of new shoots.
Pest and disease control of Luo Han Guo
1. Root-knot nematode disease
[Damage] After infection, tumor-like growths of varying sizes form on the fibrous roots, and tumor-like lumps form on the tubers. In mild cases, the plant's root absorption of water and nutrients is affected; in severe cases, the roots and part of the tubers completely rot.
[Control] Use newly reclaimed land for planting, select disease-free tubers as seed, and practice crop rotation. After disease occurs, exposing the base and cutting off the tumor-like growths before applying tung oil has a certain control effect.
2. Yellow squash beetle
[Damage] The larvae bite off the roots in the soil, and the adults bite notches in the leaves or eat the entire leaves, causing the plants to wither and die.
[Control] When adults cause damage, spray with 90% trichlorfon or 80% dichlorvos at 1000 to 1500 times dilution.
3. Fruit fly
[Damage] The larvae bore into and feed on the flesh, and the damaged fruits turn yellow and fall early.
[Control] Remove damaged fruits promptly. During the adult activity period, spray with 50 g of 90% trichlorfon and 1.5 kg of brown sugar mixed with 50 kg of water.
4. Red spider mite
[Damage] It damages Luo Han Guo leaves, tender vines, and fruits, and in severe cases causes leaf and fruit drop.
[Control] When it occurs, spray with 80% dichlorvos at 800 times dilution or 40% dimethoate at 800 times dilution plus 20% tetradifon at 800 times dilution.