How to grow taro

Taro is a perennial tuber plant, often cultivated as an annual crop. The leaf is shield-shaped, the petiole is long and hypertrophic, green or purplish red; the base of the plant forms a short shrinking stem and gradually accumulates nutrients to form a fleshy bulb, called "taro" or "mother taro", spherical, ovoid, oval or massive, and so on. The mother taro has a brain bud in each node, but the axillary buds in the middle and lower nodes are the strongest, and the first tiller occurs to form a small corm called "son taro". Under suitable conditions, great-grandson or great-grandson taro can be formed. Sex likes high temperature and humidity, is not tolerant to drought, is more tolerant to shade, and has the characteristics of aquatic plants, which can be cultivated in paddy field or dry land. The absorptive capacity of root system is weak, sufficient water is required in the whole growing period, and the clayey soil with rich, deep and strong water retention is suitable for wide adaptability to soil. the seed taro begins to germinate at 13: 15 ℃, the optimum temperature for growth is more than 20 ℃, the corm is formed under the condition of short day, and the optimum temperature for development is 27: 30 ℃. In case of low temperature and drought, the growth is poor, which seriously affects the yield.

The germination stage of ①. The optimum teething temperature of taro is 13-15 degrees Celsius, and 12-13 degrees Celsius can germinate normally. The appropriate temperature season must be sown in time, not too early or too late. The southern part of China should be planted in February, the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins in the first and middle of March, and the North China in mid-March and late March to early April. In addition to selecting early-maturing varieties, the planting period can be arranged in May in the cold region of Northeast China. If cultivated in protected areas, it can be planted 5-15 days in advance according to local climatic conditions.

In areas with a short frost-free period, open-field cultivation can not meet the growth period of taro, so artificial protection can be used to raise seedlings, setting up sunny beds, hotbeds and greenhouses to promote budding, and the temperature should be kept at about 20 degrees Celsius. When the bud is 4-5 cm long, the seedlings can be planted.

② at seedling stage. As the peasant proverb goes, "when you see the seedlings are divided into three parts, they will be half harvested." It shows that Miaoquan and Miaowang are the basis of a bumper harvest. It usually starts from the first leaf to the end of the fourth leaf. The south has entered the first ten days of April, the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins are in late April, the North China region is in the middle and last ten days of May, and the Northeast region is from late to mid-June. This period is mainly to improve the ground temperature, promote the increase and elongation of roots, diligently row weeding, less watering, squatting seedlings, so that the plant sturdy, lay a good foundation for the growth stage, this period temperature in 20-25 degrees Celsius is the most suitable for taro growth.

The pubertal stage of ③. The optimum temperature is above 25 degrees Celsius. The south enters May, the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins are in June, North China is from the end of June to early July, and the northeast is July. During this period, the natural temperature is sufficient for the growth and development of taro, and the main contradiction is the management of fertilizer and water, which should be the fierce attack of fertilizer and water to promote its exuberant growth. The suitable temperature for bulb formation is 28-30 degrees Celsius during the day and 18-22 degrees Celsius at night.

① light intensity. Taro is a temperature-loving crop, and the light saturation point of photosynthesis is about 51x. In cultivation, the intensity of light must cooperate with the temperature in order to facilitate the formation of growth organs of taro. If the light weakens, the temperature decreases accordingly, and the air humidity increases, so the respiration decreases. Only in this way can it benefit the metabolic balance of taro. If the light increases and the temperature increases accordingly, it is beneficial to the accumulation of photosynthates. In protected cultivation, special attention should be paid to the close coordination of light and temperature in order to facilitate growth and corm formation. When the light is strong and the temperature is high, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide is more beneficial to the accumulation of photosynthates.

② light quality. Also known as the composition of light, it plays an important role in the growth and development of taro. Under blue-purple light (short wave light), the leaves of taro are large and thick, and the petioles are thick and short. And it is beneficial to the synthesis of vitamin C.

The effect of ③ illumination time on corm formation. Long light time is beneficial to aboveground growth, and short light time promotes the formation of corm. But from the production point of view, in the early stage of vegetative growth, longer light and higher temperature are required to promote the increase of leaf area, and then transferred to a shorter sunshine environment to promote the formation of bulbs.

Raising seedlings in order to meet the growth of taro, it is best to raise seedlings 20-30 days before the final frost in spring, using sunny beds or hotbeds, extending from east to west, choosing a higher topography, leeward to the sun. Bed soil thickness varies according to varieties, generally about 10 cm, should not be too deep, because the bed soil is too deep, transplanting late easy to hurt roots, slow seedlings slow. The bed temperature should be 20-25 degrees Celsius. Humidity should be appropriate, keep moist, in order to hold the soil with hands, hand sewing with water, but it is appropriate not to drop. When the bud grows to more than 4 cm, it should be cultivated early without frost in the open field. It can be in February-March in South China, early April in the Yangtze River Basin, late April in North China, and early and mid-May in Northeast China. In this way, the plant the Summer Solstice can be closed in front and maintain a larger assimilation area. when the temperature becomes cool gradually, the sunshine becomes shorter, which is beneficial to the tillering and expansion of the corm, and the yield can be increased. Water taro is generally planted when the seedling height is more than 25 centimeters, in order to prevent it from being flooded and can not grow and develop normally.

Planting taro is more shade-resistant and should be planted properly. The size of the mother taro in the dense planting field was close to that in the sparse planting field, and the number of daughter taro decreased, but the seed taro was not small, and the yield per 667 square meters increased significantly. Generally speaking, the row spacing of multi-seed taro is 80 cm, and the plant spacing is about 20 cm. It can produce 3000-4500 kg of taro per 667m2, and more than 5000 kg. This planting method is convenient to operate in the field, such as soil cultivation, weeding, watering, topdressing and so on. Taro should be planted deeply, the cultivation depth generally requires 16-18 cm, the soil with sufficient fertilizer and water should be closely planted, and it is best to plant it in trenches, covered with soil fertilizer or fine soil to cover the seed taro and slightly expose the tip of the bud. Soil moisture should be watered 3-5 days before planting, and small water should be irrigated before planting. Before taro cultivation, we should apply sufficient basic fertilizer, rake the field, and irrigate 6-7 cm deep, sun for 3-5 days, wait for water to 3-5 cm deep, and then insert it in the mud according to a certain plant spacing. After taro slow seedling, dry water, sun border, improve soil temperature, make taro grow well.

Taro like water taro is very strict on water conditions, which is related to the growth habit and origin of taro. Both water taro and dry taro like the humid natural environment.

The temperature at the seedling stage is low and the growth is slow, so we should draw more hoes to increase the soil temperature and keep the soil moist. In the middle and later stages, exuberant growth needs adequate water supply, and if the climate is dry and the temperature is high, more watering is needed. As a result of cultivating the soil into ridges, it can be watered from the furrow, each watering should be 6-10 cm away from the top of the ridge, always keep the soil moist, and then water again when the water in the ditch is almost dry. Summer high temperature season, in the morning or evening watering, autumn temperature drop should be watered at noon, so as not to hurt the root. Attention should be paid to waterlogging in the rainy season.

After the water taro is planted and survived, the water can be released to dry the beds, increase the ground temperature and promote its growth. In the future, when fertilizing and cultivating the soil, the water can be drained to facilitate operation. From now on, the water in the taro will always be kept at 5-7 cm. When the summer temperature is high, the water in the bed should be kept at about 15 centimeters, and the water should be constantly changed to cool down. After the Beginning of Autumn, the weather turns cool, and the water depth should be kept at 5-7 cm. Before harvest, the water should be dried to dry the field to promote the transfer of nutrients in the leaves to the bulb and increase the yield for harvest.

Taro like fertilizer taro growth period is long, need a lot of fertilizer, strong fertilizer tolerance, in addition to the application of sufficient base fertilizer, but also many times of topdressing. In the seedling stage, the growth is slow and needs less fertilizer, which mainly depends on the nutrients stored by the taro seed itself. after that, the plant growth is accelerated, and the fertilizer requirement increases gradually, combined with weeding, soil cultivation and watering at the same time. Generally cultivate the soil 3-4 times, topdressing 3-4 times, and gradually increase the amount of topdressing, mainly nitrogen fertilizer in the early stage, promote aboveground growth, form a certain leaf area, and lay a good foundation for corm formation. In the vigorous growth period, the soil has been ridged, and long-acting fertilizers such as rotten livestock and poultry manure or cake fertilizer can be applied, combined with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to promote corm expansion and starch accumulation. In the later stage of growth, fertilizer and water should be controlled, especially nitrogen fertilizer should not be too much, so as to prevent the uncoordinated growth of the aboveground and underground parts, delay the maturity and reduce the yield.