China: Qinghai District Expects 60 t/ha From Early Potatoes on 122,800 Mu

Farmers in Huangzhong district of Xining, Qinghai province, have started to lift early potatoes. The district has 122,800 mu of potatoes this year, or about 8,190 hectares. Local media reported the harvest on 20 September.

Early varieties have entered the harvest stage. The expected yield is about 4,000 kg per mu. This equals about 60 tonnes per hectare.

A demonstration farm

On 17 September, about 100 workers picked potatoes at a demonstration field in Duoba town. The field uses integrated water and fertiliser supply, known as fertigation.

Yang Shengsheng runs the Nuojia family farm. He said the farm planted 560 mu of potatoes this year, or about 37 hectares. The main varieties are: V7, Longshu 17, Qingshu 9.

The early variety V7 covers 150 mu, or 10 hectares. A test dig showed a yield of 4,000 kg per mu.

District data

Huangzhong has more than 200 new-type potato businesses, such as family farms and cooperatives. Improved seed covers more than 96% of the area. The district sells about 150,000 tonnes of fresh potatoes a year.

The harvested potatoes first supply the local market in Xining. Traders also ship them in bulk to other provinces: Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou.

The fresh potatoes go through the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau agricultural products distribution centre before they reach city shoppers.

The yield figures come from a test dig and a district estimate. They apply to early varieties, not to the whole potato area.

Por que importa

Qinghai is a high-altitude potato region with a cool climate. Early potatoes from Huangzhong supply Xining first and then move to several southern and western provinces.

A yield of 60 tonnes per hectare is high for China. It comes from a fertigated demonstration field with improved seed. Buyers in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou can expect steady supply from the district this autumn.

Photo: Potato flowers (not China) (illustrative). George Chernilevsky / Wikimedia Commons, dominio público