Lotus

This web page was produced by the Centre for Plant and Water Science of CQUniversity, and funded by RIRDC.

WARNING: The information on this page has been gathered from both published and unpublished material, and contains comments and opinions from people working in the field. Central Queensland University cannot guarantee all the information, and we stress that it is necessary to CHECK WITH THE SOURCE of the information, before using it to make a business decision. Please read our disclaimer.Project experiments for 1998 / 1999

Lotus Links

• GPPIS (FAO)
• Purdue University, Indiana
• University of Vermont

Plenty of photos and American nurseries on the Internet - search for Nelumbo nucifera

Species: Nelumbo nucifera Gaertner

Family: Nymphaceae

Crop status: Very new

Varieties

Germplasm has been collected and assessed at Gosford by Dr Vong Nguyen in an ongoing project (1999). Seed is available from Earthcare Enterprises. Chinese tend to use pink flowered lotus for seed and white flowered for the lotus, but both can be used for both (Larkcom 1991).

Production

Commercial producers exist in NSW, NT (Lee 1995) and Qld. Jackson So has been growing almost 7 ha since 1994, and is currently the largest producer in Australia (White 1999). Earthcare Enterprises has 0.5 ha. Thermoregulation of the flowers has been studied by Seymour and others (see Dept. Zoology, Univ. Adelaide research report 1997).

Climate: A temperate climate produces better quality rhizomes than a tropical climate. Japanese prefer to import from Beijing rather than Guangdong (Vong Nguyen 1998, pers. comm.).

Temperature: The plant requires 20-30ºC to grow well (Larkcom 1991), but it is highly frost resistant as the rhizomes are protected by mud and water (Ong 1996).

Season: Lotus is a summer crop (Dec. to Feb) which dies back during winter (Vong Nguyen 1998, pers. comm.). It is optimally planted in spring when temperatures average 20 - 25ºC, but can be planted up to the end of January. Earlier is better, to give the plant as much time as possible to develop sufficient rhizomes or flowers before dying back for winter (Earthcare Enterprises 1998).

Mixed cropping: Many farmers in Henan province of China intercrop winter wheat with summer lotus root (Gang 1999).

Soil preparation: Lotus is often grown in large pots as an ornamental. It grows vigorously and requires a container of at least 400 litres. Mix one part river loam with 2-3 parts matured cow manure, cover with water and plant after 2 weeks (Earthcare Enterprises 1998). Rhizomes grow about 30 cm deep in the mud (Yamaguchi 1990). Work is being done on appropriate substrates for commercial production, to reduce labour at harvest while maintaining yield (Vong Nguyen 1999, pers. comm.).

Germination: Reports of extensive seed longevity exist. For practical purposes, storage for 8 years has no effect on germination rate (Morozova and Vasil'eva 1993). The seed should be filed across its centre and soaked in warm water (25°C) to encourage germination. Care should be taken not to damage the flesh of the seed while filing and water should be changed twice per day for the 3-4 weeks until germination. Plant in individual pots just covered in water and increase the depth as the plant grows. Plants do not like root disturbance and should be planted into their permanent positions as soon as possible (Plants for a future 1998). Earthcare Enterprises (1998) recommend filing 1-2 mm off both ends of the seed until you have broken through the hard, dark seed coat. Plant 2-3 cm deep in a well fertilised medium and cover with up to 200 mm of water, or for greater personal entertainment, place in a glass of water on a sunny window sill and watch them grow.

Vegetative propagation: Plant a section of several rhizome segments (internodes) in mud at a 30 degree angle (Larkcom 1991), the distal end 9 cm into the mud and the proximal end protruding from the water. Begin water at a depth of 6 cm but gradually raise it to 30 cm as the crop grows (Yamaguchi 1990). Propagation by rhizomes greatly reduces time to flowering (Ong 1996).

Plant density: Use about 45 kg/ha of rhizomes or 10 kg/ha of seed (Ong 1996).

Water: Slow flowing or still water of depths up to 3 metres is preferred (Earthcare Enterprises 1998). The crop requires shallower depths (to as little as 30 cm) in cooler climates so that temperature increases sooner, encouraging better growth and flowering (Plants for a future 1998). A greater percentage of the total plant biomass is found in the tubers when water depth is 0.5 m or less. The proportion fell from 20% at depths of 0.2 m to 6% at 2.0 m (Nohara and Kimura 1997).

Growth: Two rhizomes planted at the end of a 2 m deep, 0.5 ha dam, covered the entire surface of the dam in three years. Containing this growth may improve quality (Earthcare Enterprises 1998). Rhizomes can grow 6-9 m in an ideal season, and the plant takes 5-6 years to fully establish and reach full bloom (Ong 1996). The first growth phase is vegetative, in which each leaf petiole that emerges from a node is larger than the previous one. When new petioles are shorter than the older, the plant has switched to producing storage rhizomes (Yamaguchi 1990).

Seed production: Seed formation is most efficient when pollen from 1 day old flowers is crossed with pistils from first day flowers (Kasumi and Sakuma 1998).

Leaf/flower removal: Removing leaves may improve rhizome quality. Higher yields are obtained if flowers are removed (Yamaguchi 1990).

Harvest: Rhizomes are harvested at about 120 days in warm climates and 150-180 or after leaves have died in cooler climates (Yamaguchi 1990). Seeds are harvested after the seed head turns brown (Larkcom 1991).

Yield: Japanese yields average around 13.7 t/ha (Pan 1995) though Japanese yields of 3.5-4.5 t/ha are also reported (Yamaguchi 1990). Malaysian and Indian yields are much lower, reported at 3.1-8.2 and 3.8-4.7 t/ha respectively (Ong 1996).

Figure 1: Japanese imports of fresh lotus root from China during 1997 (Japan Tariff Association).

Postharvest

Shelf life: Rhizomes have a shelf life of 2 weeks (Ong 1996). Flowers last for about 3-4 days (White 1999).

Pests and diseases

Potential viruses are listed at Plant viruses online (Brunt et al. 1996).

Rhizomes have potent antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma viride, Penicillium spp (Matthews and Haas 1993), Aspergillus fumigatus, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Mukherjee et al. 1995).

Domestic market

Domestic demand for rhizome is probably around 200 t/year, which is far above current production (Vong Nguyen 1998, pers. comm.). Development potential was rated as high due to import replacement opportunities (Vinning 1995). Australian producers must compete against the imported dried, tinned and frozen product, which has been selling for $2.50-$2.75/kg from Sydney docks but has become cheaper due to the Asian crisis. Australian producers currently need about $4/kg to be viable, with harvesting costs up to $1.20/kg. This pushes the retail price to around $9.00 to $9.50/kg (White 1999).

Lotus flowers and pods are traded at the Flemington Markets cut flower section. Individual flowers return about $0.50 for the producer and the market is small (White 1999).

Export market

(click here for exchange rates).

Lotus was rated a priority Asian vegetable for developing a fresh export market by workshop members reported in Lee (1996). Rhizomes are used in Asian stir-fry and other dishes. Other parts of the plant are also marketable; leaves are pickled, seeds are roasted or candied, and flowers displayed for religious ceremonies (Midmore 1997). Boiled lotus is an essential ingredient for a Japanese vegetable salad (Pan 1995). Leaves are also used as wrappers.

Lotus is popular as a crunchy ingredient in Japanese tempura style cooking (Vinning 1995), and comprises 1% of all Japanese fresh cut vegetable products (Pan 1995). It is undergoing resurgence in popularity, but production is declining due to the high labour costs of harvesting. The Tokyo market sees about 8 000 t/year at a price of around 450 ¥/kg. Prices soar from June to August, and are generally increasing (Vinning 1995). Lotus generally appears to be a viable export for Australia (Lee 1998). Approximately 7% of 1993 Japanese domestic production was used for processing into pickles or frozen chunks or for canning (Pan 1995). Imports are increasing, though they are small in absolute terms (JETRO 1996a).

China exported 14 887 t of salted lotus root to Japan in 1995, worth ¥878 million (Inden et al. 1997). Both price and volume of Chinese exports have been increasing. Product is considered of low quality, and higher quality may be in demand (Vinning 1995). The price of fresh lotus peaked in June and July in 1997, when Chinese imports were low. Dried lotus seeds are produced in southern China and exported throughout the world to Chinese communities (Ong 1996).

Taiwanese throughput is falling and prices are rising, reaching NT$55/kg in 1993. Prices peak in June and July (Vinning 1995). It does not appear to be a viable export for Australia (Lee 1998). Taiwan has imported from Thailand (Pan 1995).

South Korea exported one ton to Japan in 1993 (Pan 1995). It is currently a minor vegetable but the trend toward processed foods may increase demand. Prices peak July-August, but are still well below the price Australia could provide at. There may be a potential for Australian exports in the distant future (Lee 1996).

Hong Kong imports fresh and canned lotus from China (Pan 1995). There is potential for Australian exports (Lee 1996).

Singapore imports fresh and canned lotus from China. Australian export to Singapore may be viable (Pan 1995, Lee 1996).

Potential for export to Indonesia in the distant future (Lee 1996).

Related projects

Vong Nguyen (1 February 1996 - 30 May 1999). Agronomic and physiological studies on lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) for export to Asia. RIRDC Project Number DAN-125A

References

Brunt, A.A., Crabtree, K., Dallwitz, M.J., Gibbs, A.J., Watson, L. and Zurcher, E.J. (eds.) (1996 onwards). `Plant Viruses Online: Descriptions and Lists from the VIDE Database. Version: 16th January 1997.'

Gang, C. (1999). Techniques for intercropping lotus roots in wheat fields. [Chinese]. Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences (5): 40.

Inden, H., Kawano, Y., Kodama, Y. and Nakamura, K. (1997). Present status of vegetable pickling in Japan. Proceedings of the 7th ISHS symposium on vegetable quality. Seoul, Korea pp 29-35.

JETRO (1996a). Frozen Vegetables: Access to Japan's Import Market-1996. Japan External Trade Organisation, Market Report

JETRO (1996b). Process Vegetables: Your Market in Japan-1996. Japan External Trade Organisation, Market Report.

Kasumi, M. and Sakuma, F. (1998). Flowering, pollination, fertilization, and seed formation in lotus rhizome plant. [Japanese]. Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science 67(4): 595-599.

Larkcom, J. (1991). Oriental vegetables: the complete guide for garden and kitchen. London, John Murray 232 pp.

Lee, B. (1995). Audit of the Australian Asian vegetables industry. RIRDC Research Paper No. 95/13. Canberra, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 97 pp.

Lee, B. (1996). Assessment of economic benefits for Asian vegetables. RIRDC project CON-4A review meeting 14 November 1996.

Lee, B. (1998). Assessment of economic benefits for selected Asian vegetables. Access to Asian Foods (3): 2.

Matthews, P. D. and Haas, G. J. (1993). Antimicrobial activity of some edible plants: lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), coffee, and others. Journal of Food Protection 56(1): 66-68.

Midmore, D. (1997). Bringing Asian vegetables into one basket. Good Fruit and Vegetables (Nov): 66-67.

Morozova, N. M. and Vasil'eva, V. E. (1993). Concerning the question of prolonged viability in Nelumbo nucifera (Nelumbonaceae) seeds. [Russian]. Botanicheskii Zhurnal 78(8): 47-50.

Mukherjee, P. K., Kakali Saha Giri, S. N., Pal, M. and Saha, B. P. (1995). Antifungal screening of Nelumbo nucifera (Nymphaeaceae) rhizome extract. Indian Journal of Microbiology 35(4): 327-330.

Nguyen, V. Q. (1998). Report on the study tour to Japan on pickling of Asian vegetables and attendance at an international symposium on vegetable quality in Seoul, Korea 1997. Gosford, Horticultural Research and Advisory Station. 96 pp.

Nohara, S. and Kimura, M. (1997). Growth characteristics of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn in response to water depth and flooding. Ecological Research 12(1): 11-20.

Ong, H. C. (1996). Nelumbo nucifera Gaertner. In: Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 9: Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. (Ed; Flach, M. and F. Rumawas). Wageningen, The Netherlands, Pudoc Scientific Publishers 131-133.

Pan, C. (1995). Market opportunities for fresh and processed Asian vegetables. RIRDC Research Paper No. 95/14. Canberra, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 117 pp.

Vinning, G. (1995). Market Compendium of Asian Vegetables. RIRDC Research Paper No. 95/12. Canberra, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation 386 pp.

White, S. (1999). Lotus land amid beef 'n' beans. The Land No. 3955, 28 Jan 1999, p 23.

Yamaguchi, M. (1990). Asian vegetables. Advances in new crops. Ed.: J. Janick and J. E. Simon. Portland, Oregon, Timber Press: 387-390.