36th International Carrot Conference Abstract

Experiences with Hybrid Carrot Seed Production in China

John Buishand

Carosem B.V., Breda, The Netherlands

Since 2000 our company has been contracting hybrid carrot seed production in Gansu Province in northwest China. The production area is part of the southern Gobi desert and located around the cities of Jiuquan and Zhangye at elevations between 1000 and 1500 m. The climate is arid to semi-arid with hot summers and cold winters. In the South the area is bordered by the Qilian mountains which are the source of numerous small rivers and creeks flowing northeast, enabling irrigated agriculture.

Compared to carrot seed production in other countries the biggest differences are the small scale and the amount of manual labor involved. The basic unit of production is expressed in “mu”, where 1 mu equals 0.067 ha or 0.16 acres. Individual farmers do not plant more than 1 to 3 mu of their land to a carrot seed crop. Small orders, starting from 1 mu, are possible, which might be very useful for both new and niche varieties. Larger orders will be composed of the harvests of several neighboring growers.

The production system is root-to-seed from mature roots. Seeds of the parent lines are planted late May/early June. Roots are harvested in November and stored in a pit covered with a layer of straw to protect the roots against frost damage. The roots will be transplanted around April for seed production. If necessary, different transplanting dates can be used for the female and male parents to improve nicking. During the growing season, the female parent is usually supported by stakes and ropes to prevent lodging and tangling with the male plants. In September the umbels will be harvested by hand as they ripen.

The average yield is approximately 40 kg/mu. There can be considerable variation between growers; from less than 10 to over 100 kg/mu. Poor yields are usually due to rot which develops during winter storage and becomes apparent after transplanting. This is a disadvantage of the root-to-seed method and a risk to the grower, making it increasingly difficult to find farmers willing to grow a carrot seed crop.

Production costs are comparable to root-to-seed production in the US. The advantage of China is the possibility of doing small productions at the same cost per mu as large productions. However, with the rapid economic developments it is questionable how long this will last.

Last updated Thursday, 25-Jul-2013 11:50:42 CDT