Fengxian yam

Fengxian Yam is a specialty of Fengxian County, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. With its huge tuber, Fengxian Yam sells well in more than 20 large and medium-sized cities in China, with a domestic market share as high as 60%. At the same time, it is also exported to Japan and Southeast Asia, with an export volume of 40%, making it a national specialty product. Fengxian belongs to the alluvial plain of the Yellow River, and the soil and climate are very suitable for the growth of yam, which has a long history of cultivation. The main varieties are Shuiyam and Huaihuai yam. In the long-term cultivation of yam, the people of Fengxian County have accumulated rich experience and technology, and paid special attention to the breeding of improved varieties. A fine variety breeding in the middle of last century laid a solid foundation for the high yield of yam. In 1953, Li Quanshun and Li Quanzhong, villagers of Jinling Village, Jinling Township (now Fanlou Town), Fengxian County, found several yams with small leaves and thin vines that were not connected to yam bean in their fields, thinking that these yams might not grow well due to low fertilization or other reasons, they left them alone. But when it was harvested, it was found that its tubers were particularly large. The family was curious and decided to try planting again the next year. As a result, the leaves are small, the vines are thin, and yam bean is not connected, but the tubers are thick and long. After Li Quanzhong and Li Quanshun's brothers propagated and promoted, the more they planted, the more they planted. By 1960, the whole village of Jinling had begun to grow this kind of yam. In 1962, it was extended to some villages in the township. In 1965, it was introduced to Mengji, Pei County from Qige Village, Jinling Township, and then it gradually spread, gradually replacing the old Huai yam in northern Jiangsu, forming a new Huai yam variety. At present, it has spread to yam producing areas such as Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Yunnan and Shaanxi. In 1993, Li Shanwen, a farmer in Fengxian County, invented the ditcher for Chinese yam and burdock (which has been patented by the state), which greatly increased the planting area of Chinese yam and formed Chinese yam production bases such as Fanlou Town, Liangzhai Town and Wanggou Town. Now, our county has introduced new varieties of Japanese Yamato taro and water yam with high quality and high yield. The planting area of yam in the county is more than 50,000 mu, and the output reaches 160,000 tons, of which the area of Japanese Yamato taro is 10,000 mu, and the output reaches 35,000 tons. It has become the county with the largest planting area of yam in China.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)