synonymTaro(Taro) generally refers to taro (Araceae taro)
Taro（Colocasia esculenta(L.) Schott is a member of Araceae and TaroBotany。Moist herbs.tuberUsually ovoid, often manyCorm, all rich in starch.Leaves 2-3 or more.petioleLonger than leaves, 20-90cm long, green, ovate leaves, 20-50cm long.The length of the spathe varies, generally about 20 cm: the tube is green, about 4 cm long, 2.2 cm thick, and long oval;The eaves are lanceolate or oval, about 17 cm long, spreading into a boat shape, with the edges rolled inside, light yellow to greenish white.The fleshy inflorescence is about 10 cm long, shorter than the spathe.The flowering period is from February to April (Yunnan) to August to September (Qinling Mountains).
It is native to China, India, Malay Peninsula and other tropical places.It has been cultivated for a long time in the north and south of China.Tropical areas such as Egypt, the Philippines and Java, Indonesia are also popular for planting, which is regarded as the main food.Because taro likes high temperature and humidity most, the more southward the cultivation habit is, the more prosperous it will be.The growth and development needs a mild and humid environment.
Edible tuber: it can be used as soup vegetable, grain substitute or starch making. It has been regarded as an important food subsidy or famine relief crop since ancient times. Yamei people in Taiwan Province have been mainly fed on taro.The petiole can be peeled, boiled or dried for storage.The whole plant is commonly used as pig feed.The tuber can be used as medicine to treat mastitis, aphthous ulcer, carbuncle and swelling ulcer, cervical lymph tuberculosis, burn and scald, traumatic bleeding, and leaf can treat urticaria and scabies.
The earliest reliable literature on taro is "Records of the Historian · The History of Xiang Yu": "The hungry people are poor this year, and the soldiers eat taro beans." It means that during the famine years, the soldiers ate taro and soybeans to satisfy their hunger.Xiang Yu's base area was in the "Chu area". At that time, taro should have been cultivated.The origin of the name "taro" is according to Shuowen: "It is called taro because it has large leaves and solid roots, which are shocking." It means that when people in the Central Plains first saw the large leaves of taro, they cried out "woo", so this plant is called "taro".[2]
morphological character
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Hygrophilicherbaceous。Tubers are usually ovoid, often bearing many small bulbs, all rich in starch.Leaves 2-3 or more.The petiole is longer than the leaf, 20-90cm long, green,bladeOvoid, 20-50 cm long, apex short or short acuminate,Lateral vein4 pairs, extending obliquely to the blade edge, backLobesIt is round, with a combined length of 1/2-1/3, and a relatively blunt curved defect, 3-5 cm deep. The basal veins intersect at an angle of 30 degrees, with 2-3 lateral veins and 1-2 medial veins, which are not obvious.Inflorescence stalks are often solitary and shorter than leaf stalks.
Real time shooting of taro
The length of the spathe varies, generally about 20 cm: the tube is green, about 4 cm long, 2.2 cm thick, and long oval;The eaves are lanceolate or oval, about 17 cm long, spreading into a boat shape, with the edges rolled inside, light yellow to greenish white.Fleshy inflorescenceAbout 10 cm long, shorter than the flame bud;Female inflorescence long conic, 3-3.5 cm long, 1.2 cm thick at the lower part;The neutral inflorescence is about 3-3.3 cm long, thin cylindrical;Male inflorescence cylindrical, 4-4.5 cm long, 7 mm thick, abruptly narrow at the top;The appendages are subulate, about 1 cm long and less than 1 mm thick.The flowering period is from February to April (Yunnan) to August to September (Qinling Mountains).[3]
Most small corms are perennial and rich in starch.Leaves 2-3 or more.The petiole is longer than the leaf, 20-90cm long, green, ovate, 20-50cm long
Tuber sphericity;The petiole is erect and plump, more than 1m long;The leaves are thin, leathery and peltate, and the surface is slightly shiny
flowers and fruits
The length of the spathe varies, generally about 20 cm: the tube is green, about 4 cm long, 2.2 cm thick, and long oval;The eaves are lanceolate or oval, about 17cm long, spreading into boat shape, with the edges rolled inside, yellowish to greenish white
The peduncle is much shorter than the petiole;The Buddha flame bud is 15-25cm long, the tube is long and round, light green, the tip is gradually pointed, pale yellow
picture
Taro
Taro
Growth environment
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Taro is suitable for warm and humid climate. It starts to sprout at 13-15 ℃. The growth period is required to be above 20 ℃. The corm develops well at 27-30 ℃. It also requires sufficient nutrition, water, temperature difference between day and night and short sunshine.The soil is fertile clay loam with strong water retention, pH4-9, and pH5.5-7 is the most suitable.It is found in hills and low mountains near streams, especially near farmland and ponds.[4][9]
Distribution range
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It is native to China, India, Malay Peninsula and other tropical places.It has been cultivated for a long time in the north and south of China.Tropical areas such as Egypt, the Philippines and Java, Indonesia are also popular for planting, which is regarded as the main food.Because taro likes high temperature and humidity most, the more southward the cultivation habit is, the more prosperous it will be.[3]
Growth habit
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Under suitable temperature conditions, the taro grows roots, leaves, and forms new plants. The base of the plant forms a new shortened stem. As the plant grows, it gradually expands to form a new bulb, called the mother taro (taro). The mother taro has many stem nodes, and each node has brown hairy leaf sheaths.The mother taro will grow a leaf every time it elongates one node.According to the observation of China Fenghua Institute of Agricultural Sciences, the accumulated temperature from the end of March to the end of October affects the number of leaves grown in each year. The number of leaves with high accumulated temperature is more, and vice versa. Generally, 15-20 leaves grow, with an average of one leaf growing every 10 days.The corm growing from the axillary bud at the lower part of the mother taro is called "son taro", and the son taro will grow into "sun taro".Taro root is a fleshy fiber root with developed and vigorous root system and few root hairs.In tropical areas, taro can often sprout yellow green spikes from foliage, but it rarely blooms locally.[4]
The taro is suitable for direct seeding, or it can be raised 20-30 days in advance as required.Before sowing, seed taro shall be dried for 2-3 days.When sowing, the top buds of the seed taro shall be arranged upward on the seedbed, with a row spacing of 10cm × 10cm, and then covered with decomposed compost or fertile fine soil.Then spray water, keep wet, and cover the film.In sunny days, remove the membrane for ventilation in the daytime and cover tightly at night to keep the temperature at 20-25 ℃.[5]
cultivation techniques
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Variety selection
It is advisable to select taro varieties with disease resistance, high quality, high yield and good taro shape.When selecting seeds, seed taro or sun taro from healthy plants shall be selected from disease-free fields as seeds.The top bud of seed taro should be full, the bulb should be full, and the shape should be complete.Every 667 square meters needs 100-150 kilograms of taro.[5]
Soil preparation
It is better to select fertile loam soil with strong water and soil conservation and fertility, with rotation of more than 2-3 years, and good drainage and irrigation conditions.[5]
Seedling soil preparation:It is required that the seedbed should be windward and well drained, the seedbed should be paved with soil, the thickness of which should be able to sow taro stably, and the compost or fertile fine soil for covering taro should be prepared.[5]
Field soil preparation:Every 667 square meters, 2000-2500 kilograms of decomposed manure shall be applied as the base fertilizer, and the soil and fertilizer shall be blended by leveling and raking.The plough depth is 26-30cm.Till again about one week before planting taro or seedlings, and open planting furrows according to row spacing.[5]
Colonization method
The planting season should be based on the premise that there is no frost after emergence.The open field cultivation season is from late March to early April.There are two methods for planting taro: one is single row ridge cultivation with equal row spacing, and the other is double row ridge cultivation with wide and narrow rows.
one
Single row ridge cultivation with equal row spacing: plant spacing is 30-40 cm, row spacing is 70-80 cm, and it is appropriate to plant about 3000 plants per 667 square meters.
two
Wide and narrow row double row ridging cultivation: large row spacing 70-80cm, small row spacing 25cm, plant spacing 30-40cm, 3500-4500 plants per 667 square meters.
When plastic film mulching is used for early maturing cultivation, it is appropriate to select wide and narrow rows and double rows for ridging cultivation.The density of multi seed taro is higher than that of areca taro.In order to save fertilizer and improve fertilizer utilization efficiency, 30-50kg compound fertilizer shall be applied every 667m2 as base fertilizer in the ditch of planting or sowing line, and the soil shall be covered after planting or sowing.[5]
Field management
water content:At the early growth stage, it is enough to keep the soil moist;Sufficient water is needed in the overground part during the peak growth period (May July) and the peak bulbous expansion period (July September).In the morning and evening, water will be diverted from the border ditches to implement soaking irrigation, and dry field water will be discharged after irrigation to keep the soil moist.Since October, no irrigation is needed.[5]
Top dressing:Fertilization at seedling stage should be light, and shallow intertillage should be conducted once at this time.From the first half of June, every 15-20 days, combined with the cultivation of soil, a total of 2-3 times of topdressing, the concentration gradually increased, each time of topdressing 1500 kg of decomposed manure, and 20-30 kg of potash fertilizer.Stop topdressing at the late growth stage.[5]
Earthing:In the first ten days of June, the soil shall be raised once every 20 days in combination with intercropping, weeding and topdressing. The soil thickness shall gradually increase, 2-3 times in total, with a maximum thickness of 15-20 cm.[5]
Harvest Management
Young or early maturing taro shall be harvested from July to September;The suitable harvest period of mature taro is from mid to late October to before frost.Through earth filling, the harvest can be delayed to April of the second year.Harvesting should be carried out in sunny days, and the aboveground parts should be cut one week before harvesting.Generally, the output per 667 square meters is 1500-2500 kilograms.[5]
Disease and insect control
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Reasonably control diseases and pests
The production of pollution-free taro has high requirements for plant protection. In order to minimize the use frequency and amount of pesticides, physical and mechanical control should be adopted in the years when pests and diseases occur.Using the phototaxis of insects, incandescent lamps and frequency vibrating trap lamps are used to trap and kill adults during the occurrence period of adults, such as Spodoptera litura, scarab, and small field tiger, to reduce the population base.Using the tendency of aphids, yellow boards are hung in the field during the seedling growth period to trap and kill winged aphids, reduce the occurrence of aphids, and reduce the occurrence of viral diseases.Pests can also be used to trap and kill certain substances.Sucrose and vinegar, poplar branches, sex pheromones, etc. are used to trap and kill pests such as Spodoptera litura, scarab, and black cutworm.[6]
Scientific use of pesticides
When the diseases and pests are serious, promote efficient, low toxic, low residue pesticides and biological pesticides for prevention and control, and absolutely prohibit the use of high toxic and high residue pesticides such as methamidophos, carbofuran, omethoate and dicofol.Do not treat those that can be treated, strictly control the types and times of pesticide use, and prohibit the use of pesticides 15 days before harvest to ensure pollution-free production of taro.[6]
Hazard symptoms:The hazard period is from June to September.In the taro field that is not planted in a continuous way, Spodoptera litura has a tendency to taro.
Prevention methods:Spray 1500 times with 5% emulsifiable concentrate of Metapak or 1500 times with 10% de suspension agent.[6]
Hazard symptoms:Red spider is a common pest of taro, and its damage period is from May to August. It occurs seriously in dry years.
Prevention methods:Spray with 73% Cremite emulsifiable concentrates 3000 times or 15% Damanling emulsifiable concentrates 1500 times.[6]
Underground pest
Hazard symptoms:MainlyGrub、Little Land Tiger、Mole cricketEtc.It is the most important pest that affects the quality of taro underground bulbs, and the damage period is from April to September.
Prevention methods:Treat the soil with 3000 times of 5% Bestar emulsifiable concentrates or 1000 times of 48% Lossbane emulsifiable concentrates.
Hazard symptoms:It is one of the important diseases of taro caused by Phytophthora infestans.Damage to leaves, petioles and bulbs.The yellow brown round disease spot was born on the leaves, and then expanded and fused into round or irregular whorl pattern spots. When the humidity was high, there was white mold on the disease spot, and at the later stage, the diseased tissue was corrupt and perforated, leaving only leaf veins;The petiole is damaged, and the disease spot is oblong and dark brown. When it is wet, there is white and sparse mildew on the surface.
Prevention methods:Spray 500 times with 64% wettable powder of disinfectant alum or 800 times with 72% wettable powder of Cresol.[6]
Taro spot
Hazard symptoms:Only blades are endangered.The disease spot is nearly round or irregular, initially light yellow, then gradually light brown, with a soot like mildew layer on it, affecting the photosynthesis of leaves.
Prevention methods:Spray 500 times with Dasheng 80% wettable powder or 1000 times with Kesha 53.8% dry suspension agent.[6]
Hazard symptoms:Caused by bacteria.It mainly harms the petiole base or underground bulb.Leaves are damaged, showing water stains at the initial stage, and then turn brown and rot or turn yellow and fold;The infected bulb gradually rots and gives off a foul smell.
Prevention methods:Spray 72% agricultural streptomycin sulfate soluble powder 3000 times or 53.8% dry suspension 1000 times.[6]
Key values
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Edible tuber: it can be used as soup vegetable, grain substitute or starch making. It has been regarded as an important food subsidy or famine relief crop since ancient times. Yamei people in Taiwan Province have been mainly fed on taro.The petiole can be peeled, boiled or dried for storage.The whole plant is commonly used as pig feed.The tuber can be used as medicine to treat mastitis, aphthous ulcer, carbuncle and swelling ulcer, cervical lymph tuberculosis, burn and scald, traumatic bleeding, and leaf can treat urticaria and scabies.[3]
Main categories
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The taro in China has been recorded as early as in the Records of the Historian: "At the foot of Minshan Mountain, there are crouching owls in the wild, who will not starve until death. They are also poured with taro. The taro cap is like a crouching owl.".After long-term selection and cultivation by the working people according to local conditions, there are many varieties of different types, among which the following three types are common:
one
Multi headed taro: the mother taro tillers in groups, and the seed taro is very few. The dog hoof taro is cultivated in Taiwan's mountains;The dog claw taro in Yishan, Guangxi, belongs to this class.Features: the plant is short, one plant has many leaf clusters, and the next plant has many mother taros, which are combined into one piece;It is powdery and tastes like chestnuts.[3]
two
Dakui taro: The mother taro is single or a few, fat and delicious, with few baby taros, tall plants, strong tillering power, and few baby taros, but the mother taro is very developed, powdery, delicious, and high yield.For example, the common areca nuts in tropical areas such as Taiwan, Fujian and Guangdong, such as arum, red areca nuts, red areca nuts, flour taro, red taro, yellow taro, glutinous rice taro, fire taro, etc.[3]
three
Multi seed taro: there are many seed taros and they grow in groups. The mother taro has many fibers and is not delicious.This kind of taro has strong tillering power, and its seed taro is a thin spindle shaped tail, which is easy to separate from the mother taro. The purpose of cultivation is to harvest the seed taro.Most cultivators in central and northern China belong to this category.For example, the early born white taro in Taiwan, the white stem taro in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and the yellow flour taro in Cixi, Zhejiang.Red top taro, black foot taro, Taiwan black persimmon taro and other varieties with red or purple petioles also belong to this category.[3]
