Preface: When outsiders think of Xinyu, they first think of the picturesque Fairy Lake, which is mesmerizing. However, in the eyes of local people, in addition to the incomparably beautiful Fairy Lake, Xinyu mandarin oranges are the "rich fruit" they cherish.
In late October, on a crisp autumn day, I followed the interview team to Xinyu to collect news. Standing on a low hill, looking up at the Qili Mountain Fruit Industry Belt, Xinyu mandarin oranges are already ripe at this time. The endless fruit trees are filled with yellow and red oranges, all plump and bright in color. Under the sunshine, it seems to have covered the earth with a golden carpet. Colorful and beautiful as agate.
The air was filled with the intoxicating aroma of fruit. Gradually, I felt that the water in the river next to the orchard was filled with honey.
The breeze blows, and the little oranges shake their heads, as if to say to people: "I'm ripe, pick me off quickly!"
From the riverside to the front. Behind him, there are dense fruit trees, like "Lili Zhushi green bushes, thousands of acres of orange orchards are red everywhere."
Deep in the fruit industry belt are the packaging workshops of many fruit companies. Pei Haiming, general manager of Jiangxi Haiming Fruit Co., Ltd., told me that October to mid-November every year is the busiest time for the company. Sometimes If we are too busy, we will invite some villagers to do part-time work. In recent years, with the help of the government, the lives of our people have become increasingly sweet.
So how did Xinyu mandarin oranges grow from a few dozen acres to hundreds of thousands of acres today? And how to help local people get rid of poverty and become the "sweet fruit" on the road to wealth? With these questions, I found Station Manager Wang of the Yushui District Fruit Industry Station.
1. A discerning eye, Xinyu tangerines are of excellent varieties
When talking about the "history" of Xinyu tangerines, Webmaster Wang can say that he knows a lot about them. Originally, Yushui District mainly focused on citrus cultivation, and Xinyu’s tangerine planting area was only a few dozen acres. "'Xinyu Miji' was originally called 'Pengjia No. 39'. It was accidentally discovered by the older generation of technicians from our station in the orange garden of Pengjia Village Committee, Yaowei Town during the citrus resource census in the 1970s. The strain is a single strain, numbered No. 39, hence its name," said Station Manager Wang.
The older generation of technicians had a keen eye and thought that this might be a precursor to a new variety, so they carried out specialized breeding. After more than 20 years of unremitting efforts, one branch turned into several. Ten acres of tangerines are concentrated in Dongpi Village, Shatu Township, Yushui District, which is now the area around the highway intersection. There is only a few hundred thousand kilograms of output every year. Although the supply exceeds demand and is sold out, it has never attracted attention. Even so, the older generation of technicians remained determined and never stopped technical research on this variety. They continuously observed, improved year after year, and cared for it day after day, making this variety more mature and perfect day by day.
Until 1991, there happened to be a severe citrus freeze, and many fruit trees froze to death. Only "Pengjia No. 39" survived because of its strong frost resistance. After the freeze damage passed, in order to quickly resume production, the Fruit Industry Station invited experts from the Provincial Citrus Research Institute, the Horticulture Department of Jiangxi Agricultural University, and the China Citrus Research Institute to study whether this variety could be specially developed.
"After experts came to see it, they found that this new variety has seven major characteristics: high sugar content, 2-4 percentage points higher than Wenzhou mandarins; slag that melts in the mouth; beautiful fruit shape , moderate in size, evenly colored, bright in color; resistant to thin ridges, adaptable to slightly acidic soil; cold-resistant, able to withstand low temperatures of -8.6°C; compact tree shape, conducive to dense planting and high yield; finally, experts unanimously concluded that this tree has strong disease resistance. The varieties are of excellent quality and can be vigorously developed,” said Webmaster Wang proudly.
After receiving positive evidence, the Yushui District Government began to develop Xinyu Mandarin on a large scale in 1994. In 1997, "Pengjia No. 39" was officially renamed "Xinyu Mandarin".
2. With vigorous promotion, Xinyu tangerines will eventually shine
I learned from Webmaster Wang that when we first promoted the planting of Xinyu tangerines, we encountered great resistance.
Fruit farmers are worried because it is a new variety and they are not familiar with many conditions. If they all switch to tangerine planting, they may face catastrophe if something unexpected happens. Therefore, the area planted with tangerines in Xinyu has grown slowly in the past few years.
In order to promote Xinyu tangerines, the Yushui District government invested a large amount of money to subsidize fruit farmers' purchase of fruit seedlings, grafting and other expenses. The subsidies were so intense that the fruit seedlings later cost a few cents per plant. “At that time, the government also encouraged our employees to plant tangerines,” Station Manager Wang said.
In addition, the government has also set aside a special area in Qilishan, Mengshan, Yiziling and other places for demonstration and pilot projects. As a pilot project in Guangqili Mountain, the technical staff of the Yushui District Fruit Industry Station spent more than half a year planning the fruit industry belt, and finally planned out the roads and reservoirs. Later, the tangerine planting area in Qilishan Fruit Industry Zone reached more than 10,000 acres, which was very beautiful. When the former national leader Zeng Qinghong came to Xinyu, he specifically inspected the Qilishan fruit industry belt and spoke highly of Xinyu's tangerine industry, which has a very good scale and momentum.
With the strong promotion and guidance of the government, the planting area of ??tangerines in Xinyu suddenly increased. It rapidly increased from a few hundred acres in 1994 to tens of thousands of acres at the peak in 1997. By 2018, there were more than 350 tangerine orchards in the city, with a total area of ??nearly 150,000 acres and an annual output of 156,000 tons.
Listening to Stationmaster Wang’s explanation along the way, we soon arrived at the Yushui District Fruit Industry Station. As soon as I looked up, I saw that the walls were covered with "certificates": famous brand products of Jiangxi Province, China's Xinyu Tangerine Export Planting Base, green food, famous trademarks of Jiangxi Province, China's Tangerine Hometown, National Geographical Indication Certification Trademarks, etc. I smiled and joked: "Xinyu Tangerine has achieved today's achievements, and this military medal belongs to you."
After the planting area increased, how to launch the Tangerine brand and expand sales became an urgent issue for the local government. Problems to be solved. In recent years, the Xinyu Municipal Government has vigorously implemented the standardized construction and standardized production of Xinyu's tangerine industry, and has built a large number of new fruit storage and processing warehouses and three large distribution centers. "We require fruit farmers and companies to strictly follow the standards of green food. The harvested oranges can only be sold under the Xinyu Mandarin brand after being tested by technicians. If pesticide residues are found to exceed the standard, they will be publicly exposed. , are strictly prohibited from leaving the country, and are subject to penalties such as self-disposal of products,” said Webmaster Wang.
Since 2017, the local government has held the Xinyu Tangerine Picking Cultural Festival every year, attracting thousands of tourists and merchants to taste and purchase, greatly increasing the popularity of Xinyu Tangerine.
At the same time, in order to improve the planting technology of fruit farmers, the Municipal Agriculture Bureau provides free technical services and has sent expert teams to the front lines of orchards many times to teach fruit farmers relevant knowledge about planting and cultivation. The person in charge of the Technical Service Station of the Municipal Fruit Industry Bureau said: "Many fruit farmers are not well educated and lack professional planting knowledge. It is too expensive to find someone for advice. We have held eight technical training lectures this year to provide farmers with technical knowledge." To ensure this, nearly a thousand people participated in the training, and many of these people have become experts in tangerine cultivation.”
The brand is powerful and the technology is guaranteed. The advantages of Xinyu tangerines are even more prominent. After ripening, Xinyu tangerines have unique qualities such as regular shape, bright color, extremely thin skin, tender meat, juicy and rich core, sweet and sour taste, and rich flavor. What is even more commendable is that Xinyu tangerines are rich in nutrients and richer in vitamins and reducing sugars necessary for the human body than other citrus fruits. They are the "holy fruit" for maintaining human health. The seeds are rich in vitamin E, the peel has more vitamins A and B, and the vitamin P is 1-3 times higher than the pulp. It is a good raw material for pharmaceuticals.
In recent years, the unique and excellent quality of Xinyu tangerines has been increasingly recognized by consumers and dealers from all over the world. The brand awareness is getting higher and higher, and the fruits are sold to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Fujian. , Henan, Hebei and other more than 20 provinces and cities across the country, and exports in large quantities to Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and other regions. Self-operated exports have also increased year by year, and sales prices have been rising. Xinyu mandarins have been sold out for many years.
3. Get rid of poverty and become rich, Xinyu mandarin oranges become "golden pimples"
The smooth sales have brought gratifying changes to the local area.
In 2018, the total output value of Xinyu tangerines exceeded 400 million yuan, with an average output value of more than 6,000 yuan per mu, adding 130 million yuan to agricultural income and creating more than 30,000 jobs. Pillar industries, more and more poor households are benefiting from them through industrial dividends and labor income.
Aunt Wang from Tangshang Village, Renhe Township, is one of the many beneficiaries. When my wife was young, she injured her lumbar spine when she went out to work. She could not do heavy work, and she was not very educated. She could only dig food in the fields. In addition, she took care of her elderly parents and raised two children, so her life was very difficult.
When the whole district began to vigorously plant Xinyu tangerines, the township government took into account Aunt Wang’s actual situation and gave her hundreds of tangerine seedlings for free, and sent technicians to her home from time to time for guidance. Aunt Wang saw Ben Tou, and after eating every day, she put down her bowls and chopsticks and went to the orchard to serve her "Golden Pimple". Under Aunt Wang's careful care, the orchard had a good harvest that year, and her husband went out during the slack time. I help the company with weeding and do other chores, with a total income of more than 7,000 yuan.
Now Aunt Wang is full of energy every day. "This year's tangerine production will be 30,000 kilograms. It is estimated that we can earn about 50,000 yuan. Coupled with the savings over the years, when my younger son gets married next year, I will give him a lively banquet." Aunt Wang's eyes were filled with happiness.
Pei Haiming was also changed by Mijie. "I used to be farming outside. Later I heard that the government had introduced policies, financial subsidies and technical support to encourage farmers to plant Xinyu mandarins. I immediately realized that this was a great thing, so I decided to come back." Pei Haiming said happily.
Beginning in 2004, Pei Haiming began to plant large-scale Xinyu mandarins in barren hills. In 2014, Jiangxi Haiming Fruit Co., Ltd. was registered and established in the Xinyu Municipal Market Supervision Bureau. After the establishment of the company, Pei Haiming became even more passionate. On the basis of ensuring the high quality of his own mandarins, Pei Haiming began to try to take the "express train" of technology and the Internet to let more people know Xinyu mandarins. In 2019, Pei Haiming sent employees to participate in the Asian Fruit and Logistics Expo. "We are exploring in-depth cooperation with JD Cloud to try to solve the problem of Xinyu mandarins being delivered to Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Guangdong and Guangxi within 36 to 48 hours. If possible, this will It is an important market that our company will strive to explore next year," Pei Haiming said with great expectation when talking about future market development plans.
4. Prosperity and development, Xinyu tangerine industry encounters difficulties
There are also some problems hidden behind the prosperity and development of Xinyu tangerine industry. When mentioning this, Webmaster Wang looked a little helpless: "Although the quality of our Xinyu mandarins is very good, there is another disadvantage: the peels are easily infected with sand-peed disease. Because they are produced according to the standards of green food, pesticides cannot be used. They are all non-toxic drugs such as organic drugs and biological drugs, so the effect is very poor. The result is that the peel is not beautiful and the appearance is not good, but there are no other problems.”
In addition, Xinyu City has a vegetation coverage rate of 100%. 51. Dense vegetation is conducive to water conservation. In addition, the local area is mainly red loam with deep soil layers, rich in P, K and essential trace elements. It has good permeability, can drain and irrigate, and organic matter is easy to decompose. The good ecological environment creates the good taste of Xinyu tangerines. However, with the expansion of orchard area and the emergence of other illegal land occupations, there is less and less soil suitable for Xinyu tangerine cultivation. How to break the situation and ensure the green and sustainable development of the tangerine industry has become an urgent problem for the local government to solve.
5. Conclusion
In the orchard, the farmers were applying winter fertilizer to the orange trees, and it was a lively scene. "The tree has been working hard for a year. It needs to be properly replenished so that it can bear more and fuller fruits next year." The fruit farmer said with a smile. There is a sense of satisfaction on their faces, which is the firm belief in the government's continued implementation of good policies and satisfaction with the good life in front of them. I believe there will be more and bigger fruits on the trees next year. Those plump fruits are the fruit of the fruit growers. Their bulging money bags.
When I went to the next collection point, I tasted a tangerine. There was no residue in my mouth. It tasted so sweet!