Chongqing purple yam reaches a yield of 3,000 kg per mu

Original title: Trial planting of purple yam succeeds in Guxi Town, Tongnan

Villagers dig up purple yam.

Yam, also called Chinese yam, usually has white flesh, but have you ever seen a purple yam? Recently, 50 mu of purple yam was trial-planted in Xima Village, Guxi Town, Tongnan District, and is about to go on the market. The highest yield per mu can reach 6,000 jin, with a pre-sale price of about 18 yuan per kg.

It is understood that, as seen on site, green vines and leaves climb over rows of crossed bamboo frames, and yams grow beneath ridge after ridge of soil mounds. These plants look not much different from ordinary yams, but the yams they produce are purple.

Grower Liu Tao held a bamboo board and gently scraped away the surface soil to dig out the yams. "Digging yams requires gentleness. If the skin is damaged or the yam is broken, it won't fetch a good price," Liu Tao said. This spring, he heard that Guang'an, Sichuan had purple yam, which was very popular on the market and sold at a relatively high price. So, together with other villagers, he raised more than 200,000 yuan, transferred 50 mu of mountain land, bought seedlings, molds and fertilizer, and began trial-planting purple yam. Half a year later, the yams in the field are now thick and long, and a bumper harvest is in sight. "These 50 mu of yam will be harvested at the end of the month, and the total output is expected to reach more than 80 tons."

The success of the trial planting made Liu Tao overjoyed. He said that this year was the first time planting, and due to lack of experience, the yield was not yet considered high. They plan to transfer more land in 2016 and expand the planting area to more than 300 mu. At the same time, he has reached agreements with more than 40 households in the village to provide them with seedlings and technology, and to encourage everyone to plant together.