From the outside, this apple is red, shiny in the sun, cut with a knife, the flesh inside shows a rare and bright red! This is a new variety developed by Professor Chen Xuesen, director of the National Apple Engineering Technology Research Center and academic leader of the national key discipline of pomology of Shandong Agricultural University, -- "Happiness and Happiness."
On March 25, Shandong Agricultural University held a signing ceremony for the seedling breeding and management rights of four new varieties of high-flavonoid red-fleshed apples and the transfer of cider processing technology, and Hebei Pingquan Shangze Fruit Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shangze Fruit") obtained the right to operate with 16 million yuan. The above four new varieties are "Xinghong", "Fuhong", "Meihong" and "Manhong". Take its first word and become a combination of "happy and happy".
The reporter noticed that "Happy and Happy" are all red-fleshed apples, the difference is that "Xinghong", "Fuhong" and "Meihong" are fresh food varieties, while "Manhong" is a special variety for processing.
"It's a rare good breed. Shu Huairui, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an expert in pomology, commented on the new variety of "Happy and Happy" red flesh apples, "Red meat apples are also rare in the world, and the "Happy and Happy" varieties have achieved a series of new breakthroughs, and are also rich in anthocyanins and vitamin C, which has great potential for promotion. ”
The new red meat apple variety of "Happy and Happy" is a new variety of high-flavonoid apple selected by Chen Xuesen's team from the second-generation hybrid isolation group of Xinjiang red flesh apple by using a series of national invention patent technologies such as "apple multi-source quality breeding method".
"Happy" apples Courtesy of Shandong Agricultural University
It is both delicious and "delicious", both good and good-looking
Four new varieties of apples were "sold" for 16 million yuan, where is their selling point?
"'Happy and Happy' apples are both nutritious and delicious!" Chen Xuesen told reporters that this series of varieties has achieved a new breakthrough in multi-trait polymerization breeding such as easy coloring, bag-free, storable red meat, sweet and sour, and rich in flavonoids.
If the highlight of "Xinghong", "Fuhong" and "Meihong" is deliciousness, then the characteristic of the "Manhong" variety is "delicious".
Chen Xuesen told reporters that high-flavonoid cider has both the aroma and nutrition of apples and the taste of liquor. In view of the high flavonoid content of "Manhong" apple flesh, we have invented new equipment, new processes and new products for the processing of high-flavonoid cider, which has extended the industrial chain of new varieties and enhanced its competitiveness.
It is understood that Shangze Fruit Industry is a national high-tech enterprise integrating the introduction and breeding of new varieties, the research and promotion of modern cultivation technology, the acquisition, storage, transportation and sales of fruits, and is the first enterprise in Hebei Province to research and engage in the characteristic apple industry in cold and cool areas.
Invested 16 million yuan to buy four new apple varieties, and Li Zhiqiang, general manager of Shangze Fruit, felt that it was "worth the money". "After a long period of experimental research, whether it is cold resistance, early ripening or adaptability, the new 'Happy Happiness' red-fleshed apple variety is very suitable for the development of cold regions. Li Zhiqiang said.
As early as May 2023, the National Apple Engineering Technology Research Center signed a cooperation agreement with Pingquan Shangze Fruit Industry Co., Ltd. to establish the Hebei Cold Region Apple Experimental Station. After a long period of experimentation, Li Zhiqiang knew the bottom line of the new "Happy Happiness" red-fleshed apple variety and decided to buy it.
Good results don't happen overnight.
Professor Chen Xuesen, the inventor of this variety, courtesy of Shandong Agricultural University
Photo courtesy of Shandong Agricultural University at the signing site
After 20 years of grinding a sword, the National Technological Invention Award has been implemented
The breeding of the new red-fleshed apple variety of "Happy Happiness" has gone through nearly 20 years.
As early as August 2005, Chen Xuesen led a team to the Yili wild fruit forest at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang and discovered the local wild apple forest, covering an area of more than 100,000 acres. They spent five years resequencing the genome of 117 apple germplasms from around the world, proving that Xinjiang wild apples are the "ancestors" of the world's cultivated apples, a result published in Nature Communications that caused a sensation.
The red-fleshed apple in Xinjiang wild apple is very novel, and its flavonoid and organic acid content is significantly higher than that of cultivated varieties, and the fragrance is unique. Is it possible to cross Xinjiang red-fleshed apples with crisp red Fuji apples to create new red-flesh germplasm?
Chen Xuesen brought this problem back to Shandong along with Xinjiang red-fleshed apple pollen, where he crossed it with apple varieties such as Red Fuji. In April 2007, the first generation of hybrid seedlings (F1 isolated population) was planted in the base, pollinated, hybridized, seedled, planted and managed......
In 2019, the team successfully selected and bred four new varieties of red-fleshed apples of "Happy and Happy", obtained the rights of new plant varieties, filled the gap of domestic red-fleshed apple varieties, and the related technical achievements won the second prize of the 2020 National Technological Invention Award and the 2023 National Innovation Award.
Where to develop the new "happy and happy" varieties on a large scale is not only conducive to the selection and popularization of varieties, but also can maximize economic and social benefits? This was a difficult problem facing Chen Xuesen.
"The sour taste of red-fleshed apples is slightly heavier, and the special climatic conditions and fertile black soil resources in Northeast China can effectively increase sugar/acid and improve the quality of fresh food. More importantly, as an important part of the national regional coordinated development strategy, the revitalization of Northeast China needs the help of apples in cold regions with simultaneous improvement of ecological, economic and social benefits. Chen Xuesen chose to cooperate with Shangze Fruit Industry, which is engaged in the research and development of the cold regional characteristic apple industry, so that the new variety of "Happy and Happy" red-fleshed apples can settle in the black soil of Northeast China and help the revitalization of Northeast China.
In this regard, Leng Changjian, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and president of Shandong Agricultural University, said at the signing site that we are based on the construction of a first-class agricultural university, continuously strengthen the innovation and breeding of germplasm resources, insist on writing the best papers on the land of the motherland, and strive to make positive contributions to the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, and the revitalization of Northeast China.
(Source: Science and Technology Daily)