Xingshan thin-shell walnut is a geographical indication certification trademark.

Xingshan, known as "Yi" in ancient times, is the hometown of Wang Zhaojun, the concubine of Han Ming Dynasty. It is located in the western mountainous area of ??Hubei Province and on the north bank of Xiling Gorge of the Yangtze River. Walnuts are a famous native product of Xingshan with a long history of cultivation. In the county annals in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, it is recorded that "the city produces a lot of peach rice and can be traded far away". The walnut industry has made important contributions to the rural economic development of Xingshan and is deeply loved by farmers. At the Second Provincial Forest Expo, Xingshan thin-shell walnuts were well-known in the three towns of Wuhan for their beautiful appearance and sweet taste, and won the gold medal at the Second Provincial Forest Expo. In recent years, Xingpei walnut production has experienced problems such as variety degradation and yield decline. On how to revitalize the pecan industry, the author puts forward the following views.

1. Development Overview

The production method of Xingshan walnut is mainly between grain and fruit. The continuous planting area is small, but the production area covers a large area. The current total area is 12,000 acres. , 275,000 trees. Eight towns and villages in the county have a history of walnut production, mainly concentrated in mid-to-high mountain areas with an altitude of 400-1,200 meters. In 1949, the county's total walnut output was 5,550 kilograms, reaching 305,000 kilograms in 1966. In 1978, the county's walnut production reached a record high of 347,600 kilograms. In the 1980s and 1990s, walnut production suffered setbacks and output declined sharply. By 2002, the county's total walnut output was only 126,000 kilograms. Through guidance and management in recent years, the production reached 200,000 kilograms in 2004.

The fine varieties of Xingshan walnuts are mainly thin-shell walnuts, and their representative varieties include "7904", "9922", etc. Among them, "7904" was listed as a nationally designated and promoted excellent variety at the National Walnut Improvement Variety and Yield Increase Technology Collaboration Conference held by the Chinese Academy of Forestry in 1979. "9922" is a national-level excellent strain jointly bred by the County Forestry Institute and Yangtze University from 1999 to 2004. Another 20 national-level excellent strains were selected because of their strong appearance, rich nutrition and taste. Well, it was recognized as a major scientific and technological achievement in 2004 by the Provincial Department of Science and Technology.

The market supply of thin-shell walnuts in Xingshan exceeds demand. 80% of the output is sufficient for the county, and a small amount is sold outside the county. The price remains high, reaching more than 20 yuan/kg this year.

2. Construction situation of walnut industry in recent years

First, a master plan has been formulated. In 2004, the County Forestry Bureau organized a special team to prepare the "Xingshan County Thin-shell Walnut Project Construction Plan" based on full investigation and research and extensive solicitation of expert opinions. With the approval of the county government, the county government office issued a [2004] Document No. 22 was issued to the entire county. This year, the walnut industry has been included in Xingshan’s “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” forestry plan, with a construction scale of 100,000 acres and a construction period of 5 years. The second is to promote development through the construction of projects such as returning farmland to forest. From 2002 to 2004, an additional 1,720 acres of walnut area was planted, with 95,000 seedlings planted, involving more than 820 farmers in four towns: Huangliang, Gaoqiao, Xiakou and Gufu, and 2.1 acres per household. The third is to establish a walnut demonstration base. Last winter and this spring, a 3,000-acre demonstration garden was established in the Zhangjiahe Basin of Huangliang Town, involving more than 700 farmers in four villages: Dianziya, Shuimoxi, Jiepaiya and Jinjiaba. At present, the average height is more than 50cm, and the survival rate is more than 60%. A permanent billboard to promote thin-shell walnuts has been established. Fourth, the breeding of improved seeds has achieved preliminary results. This year, we have closely contacted Yangtze University and Fangxian Walnut Research Institute to carry out technical cooperation. We have overcome the difficulties in the survival of walnut grafting in our county in the past. We have basically mastered the grafting technology and completed 5 acres of seedlings. The survival rate for the year is over 80%. It is expected to be released from the nursery by the end of this year. There are 13,000 excellent grafted seedlings. The fifth is to strengthen the prevention, control and monitoring of pests and diseases. A pest and disease monitoring point was established in the Huangliang Zhangjiahe Basin to guide the prevention and control of walnut pests and diseases in four villages in the region, which increased the walnut production in the region by more than 30% compared with last year. The sixth is to focus on scientific and technological training. Every year, we regularly conduct training and publicity on pest control and high-yield cultivation techniques in walnut-producing areas. This year, it has been held 15 times, training 2,500 farmers, and printing and distributing more than 5,000 copies of various technical materials.

3. Problems and difficulties faced by development

(1) Few good varieties and degraded varieties

Xingshan has a certain number of national-level excellent individual plants, but Its small area and low overall output account for only more than 30% of the county's total, resulting in poor overall market competitiveness and low economic benefits for the county's walnut products.

(2) Extensive management and low yield

Walnut cultivation still uses traditional techniques, farmers invest little in production, and the "reliance on harvest" mentality is serious, and the varieties, quality, and land preparation methods of seedlings are Neither the cultivation technology nor the cultivation technology can meet the requirements of modern development. The walnut trees are not pruned, diseases and insect pests are not prevented, top dressing is not applied, and weeding is not performed, resulting in less fruit, degraded quality, and sometimes high and sometimes low yields. At present, the county has 12,000 acres, with an output of 200,000 kilograms. The yield per mu is only 16.7 kilograms, which is 233 kilograms less than the standard yield.

(3) Serious pests and diseases

Although the prevention and control of walnut pests and diseases in recent years has achieved remarkable results in some areas, the damage to the entire county is still serious. The main pests and diseases include ginkgo silkworm moth, walnut branch moth, walnut weevil, etc. According to survey statistics, losses due to pests and diseases account for more than 30% of the total output every year.

(4) Serious insufficient capital investment

The county-level plan for walnut industry construction is 50,000 acres, of which 10,000 acres will be renovated and 40,000 acres will be newly built orchards, with a total investment of approximately 15 million yuan. In addition to part of the effort raised by the masses themselves, nearly 6 million yuan of funds are still needed (150 yuan per mu to support seedlings), which requires support and help from the county government and various departments at the county level. A total of more than 340,000 yuan has been invested in recent years, including: first, the return of farmland to forest in recent years has solved part of the seedling fee of about 86,000 yuan; second, the Forestry Bureau has squeezed out nearly 50,000 yuan of funds to support seedling production; third, the Poverty Alleviation Office Support 50,000 yuan of funds for the construction of demonstration bases. Fourth, farmers raised about 154,000 yuan themselves. Apart from this, there is no other capital investment, which is far from the development requirements of the walnut industry.

(5) It is difficult to cultivate demonstration households (bases)

Due to farmers’ own short-term behavior formed by the traditional small-scale farmer economic consciousness, they do not manage and nurture in time according to technical requirements, plus funds Due to reasons such as insufficient investment and no incentive policies, the results of this year's demonstration household (base) construction are not obvious.

4. Necessity of development

The walnut industry will surely become an important industry for people above half-mountain in the county to get rich, and a leading industry for the development of agricultural economy. At present, the low-mountain areas have formed an agricultural industry based on citrus, and the high-mountain areas have formed an agricultural industry based on tobacco and vegetables. The middle-mountain and semi-alpine areas have not yet formed a leading industry of dried fruits. For this reason, the development of walnuts must be the preferred wealth-making industry in this region. In 2004, Dianziya Village, Huangliang Town, produced 10,000 kilograms of walnuts. More than 10 farmers in this village, including Han Dingguo and Zheng Guangfa, produced more than 350 kilograms of walnuts per household, with an income of more than 4,500 yuan. The development of walnuts is superior to other fruits and other industries: first, it is resistant to storage and can be stored for 1-3 years; second, the price is stable, generally around 10-20 yuan/kg; third, output and income are stable. As long as they are well managed and intensively operated, excellent grafted seedlings can bear fruit in the year they are planted. They will enter the high-yield period in the fifth year and can produce 250 kilograms of walnuts per mu. They have the characteristics of early fruiting, high yield, and stable yield. The high-yield period is long and can be Up to more than 50 years. The fourth is low investment and low cost, with an investment of about 300 yuan per mu. Fifth, combined with the policy of returning farmland to forest, multiple planting models such as forest medicine, forest grain, and forest grass can be implemented, doubling the benefits. For example, in Huangjiahe Village, Xiakou Town, the walnut forest that was converted from farmland in 2004 was planted with medicinal herbs (Qianhu). According to a survey in July this year, the income from medicinal herbs alone can reach more than 1,000 yuan per mu.

5. Favorable conditions for development

First, Xingshan has rich land resources and good climate conditions for the development of walnuts. Xingshan has a subtropical continental monsoon climate, with 1,680 hours of sunshine per year, an average annual temperature of 17.5 degrees, an annual precipitation of 980 mm, and a frost-free period of 272 days. The climate environment is very suitable for walnut production. The county's mid- and high-mountain areas with an altitude of 400-1,200 meters have a suitable planting area of ??more than 150,000 acres.

Second, the development foundation is good. The county currently has a walnut preservation area of ??more than 10,000 acres, with a certain number of fine varieties, and farmers are highly motivated to develop it.

Thirdly, walnut production technology has made major breakthroughs. This year, the County Forestry Institute’s walnut indoor grafting survival rate technology has reached more than 80%, and 12,000 high-quality seedlings can be provided this year. There is a certain technical strength guarantee. The county has 135 professional and technical personnel, including 1 senior, 14 intermediate and 120 junior. In the long-term production practice, the people in the production area have also accumulated a set of technologies for seedling cultivation, garden construction, management, and pest and disease control.

Fourth, convenient transportation. The county has convenient water and land transportation, and every village in the main walnut production area is connected to roads, which provides good transportation conditions for base construction and future production, supply and marketing.

VI. Measures and Suggestions

Based on the actual development of the walnut industry, in order to conscientiously implement the county government's "Notice on Printing and Distributing the Xingshan County Thin-shell Walnut Project Construction Planning Plan" (Xingzheng In accordance with the spirit of Banfa [2004] No. 22 document), by 2009, the area of ??thin-shell walnuts will reach 100,000 acres, the yield per unit area will reach 250 kilograms, and the output will reach 25 million kilograms, making it a pillar for the development of Xingshan’s rural economy and the prosperity and income of farmers. industry, the following suggestions and measures are put forward:

(1) Clarify the organization and form a special class

First, establish a county walnut industry construction leading group, with the secretary in charge or the county magistrate as the team leader, and the finance The main leaders of the Bureau, the Planning and Development Bureau, the Science and Technology Bureau, the Poverty Alleviation Office, the Forestry Bureau, the Lao Promotion Association and other units are members of the unified leadership and coordination of the county's walnut industry production. Regular meetings must be held to specialize in walnut production, just like grasping citrus. , Tobacco Leaf also strengthens leadership and pays close attention to supervision and implementation.

The second is to set up a special work team, namely the county's walnut industry construction office. It is necessary to clarify the personnel, work funds, office space and work responsibilities. Its main responsibility is to organize and guide walnut production in the county, and is responsible for planning and design, inspection and acceptance, technical services, policy implementation, etc. It is necessary to establish and improve various rules and regulations and job responsibility systems for special work classes.

Thirdly, in key towns and villages for project construction, thin-shell walnut production leading groups and implementation personnel should also be established accordingly.

(2) Clarify the necessary construction funds and working expenses

It is recommended that the county government allocates about 500,000 yuan of special funds every year to develop walnut production. It mainly solves the following four aspects:

First, the annual working expenses of the Industrial Construction Office, including planning and design fees, technical guidance fees, travel expenses, inspection fees, etc., are recommended to be solved from the county finance, 100,000 per year Yuan.

The second is policy support funds. The main support is to support the construction of demonstration bases, just like the development of citrus. Certain support will be given to each mu of land to support and encourage farmers to develop. The cost is about 50 yuan per mu, based on the area that has passed the acceptance inspection, which is about 150,000 yuan per year.

The third is science and technology funds. Including the protection of fine tree species, the establishment of ear picking nursery bases, seedling breeding greenhouses (bases), strengthening technical training, etc., it is recommended to be solved from the county finance, with an annual investment of 200,000 yuan.

Fourth is pest control funds. Implement joint prevention and joint treatment to deal with equipment and some pesticides. It is recommended to spend 50,000 yuan per year.

In addition, a variety of funds should be bundled and used. That is, poverty alleviation and development funds, fiscal agricultural cutting funds, and other relevant special funds obtained from various aspects are scientifically arranged and tied up to invest in walnut construction.

(3) Strengthen the construction of breeding bases for improved seedlings.

It is necessary to develop mainly local thin-shell walnuts, represented by more than 20 excellent strains such as "9922". Based on the existing local seedling technology and sites, vigorously breed grafted seedlings to ensure pure and excellent varieties. The first is to protect the existing high-quality thin-shell walnut mother trees and seed resources. The existing excellent trees were selected and bred by our county and the former provincial Agricultural College. There are more than 20 trees in total, which have been recognized as major provincial scientific and technological achievements and are distributed in Huangliang, Gufu and other towns. It is necessary to sign protection and utilization contracts with farmers, list and protect excellent trees, and purchase seeds and scions at a price 30% higher than the market price. It lays a good foundation for cultivating ear picking nursery and grafting seedling base. Second, with the County Forestry Institute as the center, a seedling breeding base of 50 acres has been established, including 15 acres of ear picking nursery and 35 acres of grafted seedlings, with an annual output of 140,000 grafted seedlings, basically meeting the needs of the county.

(4) Focus on the demonstration base

Concentrate funds and technology to further build a high-quality walnut demonstration base in the Zhangjiahe Basin. In addition to promoting local excellent strains, appropriately introduce excellent foreign varieties. Such as Yunnan bubble walnut, "Zhonglin", "Luguang", "Xianglin", etc. Follow the path of building farmers in scientific research institute bases, establish forests, grasses (medicines) and livestock manure, provide regular guidance and training, and closely cooperate with scientific research institutes. We must establish long-term cooperative relationships with Yangtze University, Municipal Forestry Institute, and Fangxian Walnut Research Institute. Provide reliable technical support. Focus on cultivating demonstration and leading households to cultivate benefits, achievements and experience, so as to radiate and drive the whole county.

(5) Scientific planning and steady advancement

It is necessary to use the issued overall plan as a blueprint to advance scientifically in a planned, step-by-step and focused manner. According to the overall "Plan", a detailed annual implementation plan is prepared. The detailed plan must be carried out in villages, households, and fields, with scientific layout and focus on key points to ensure that the industrial construction tasks and goals are achieved as scheduled.