"In the second half of this year, the new season of potato planting will be able to use the varieties we have developed ourselves!"
On May 2, Pingyin County Potato Seedling Base and Rural Revitalization Science and Technology Consultant Expert Workstation was unveiled in Xiaozhi Town, and more than 20 experts from Qilu University of Technology, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Shandong First Medical University and other universities paid attention to the local pillar industry - potato planting.
As an agricultural product included in the national list of famous, high-quality, special and new agricultural products, "filial piety potato" has also encountered bottlenecks in the development process, such as relying on seedlings from other places and soil compaction to improve yield. Now, experts are coming here with new technologies, not only to improve yield and quality, but also to grow "live" potatoes that the local people have relied on for many years from the aspects of seedling breeding and deep processing of products.
Planting has hit a bottleneck
Experts bring new technologies
"Look at how big this potato is, and it tastes so good, it can be sold for a good price!"
On the morning of the interview, despite the scorching sun and sweat, Dong Jiaqiang, a potato grower in Dongsheng Village, Xiaozhi Township, was reluctant to leave his field for a long time. Dong Jiaqiang pulled out a potato seedling, peeled off the fluffy soil, and six or seven potatoes with full weight came out. "The potato growth cycle is about 120 days, and now it's only 90 days, but it's already quite large!" He took out a few more finished potatoes that he had harvested a while ago, and saw that they were all much larger than the hands of an adult male.
This kind of planting and harvesting is something that Dong Jiaqiang did not dare to imagine before, because after years of planting, the development of the industry has also encountered a bottleneck.
Xiaozhi Town has been developing potato cultivation for thirty or forty years, and Dong Jiaqiang is the first batch of growers. He remembers that at first, it was all open-air planting in the field, and then gradually there was mulch film technology, and the development of three film sheds, four film sheds and other greenhouse planting, degradable liquid mulch film and other new products are also widely used, potato yield, quality continues to improve, and is included in the national list of famous and special new agricultural products. Today, Xiaozhi Town has become a strong agricultural industry town in the country relying on the potato industry, and the town currently grows about 2,400 hectares of potatoes, and the industry is gradually radiating to the surrounding counties and cities. However, with the accumulation of various fertilizers and pesticides in the soil, the yield and quality of potatoes continue to improve. "The soil is seriously compacted, and the seedling root system is not developed, so it is unable to absorb nutrients." Dong Jiaqiang said.
So why did this year's potato harvest be exceptionally good? It turned out that Dong Jiaqiang used his own land as a test field and used a new type of fertilizer brought by experts.
In 2023, Qi Zhenbao, a professor at Qilu University of Technology, came to Xiaozhi Town as a scientific and technological consultant for rural revitalization in Jinan City, bringing a biological agent that has been studied for many years - Bacillus velez. Qi Zhenbao told reporters that Bacillus velez has the effect of nitrogen fixation, phosphorus dissolving, converting insoluble potassium and ferric iron into soluble potassium and soluble iron, which can improve plant salt resistance, and the secondary metabolites secreted can inhibit a variety of plant pathogenic bacteria, and play a great role in soil remediation, weight loss and drug reduction. "This strain is mainly developed and applied in the form of drugs abroad, and we are the first to apply it as a fertilizer agent in agriculture." Qi Zhenbao said.
Increasing production is the beginning
Expert workstations are located in the local area
"With this biophobia, the potatoes are not only bigger, but they also taste better." Sheng Lianping, Secretary of the Party Committee of Dongsheng Village, looked at the satisfied smiling faces of the growers, and was extremely happy, "The yield of potatoes per mu in the experimental field has increased from 3,000 kg to 4,000 kg, and the use of chemical fertilizer has been significantly reduced, the growers have made more money, and the cost has also decreased!" Qi Zhenbao told reporters that before applying biological agents to the potato planting industry, his team had conducted many experiments in local fruit and vegetable planting.
"Last year, we did a Chinese cabbage root growth experiment, and found that the biological inoculant can make the root system longer and thicker, and the capillary roots are also significantly increased, and the wheat experiment and tomato experiment also proved that the application of this inoculant is conducive to improving crop yield and quality." Qi Zhenbao roughly calculated that the application of microbial agents can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers by 30% to 40%, and the cost can be reduced by about 100 yuan per mu. Qi Zhenbao said that this means that this technology has quite high economic value, ecological value and broader market prospects in the field of agricultural product planting.
Tomato growers have also enjoyed the dividends brought by Bacillus velez. "The plants are growing very vigorously, the leaves are darker and greener, the tomatoes are more hydrated and taste better, and when I pick them, I find that each bucket is several pounds heavier than before!" Growers said that after the use of biological inoculants, the tomato market time was advanced by about half a month, which is a scarce commodity in the market, and the income is naturally more considerable.
What makes Sheng Lianping and the growers even happier is that the potato seedling base and rural revitalization science and technology consultant expert workstation in Pingyin County have settled in their own village, and the growers in Dongsheng Village will be the first batch of beneficiaries of various new technologies and achievements in the future. Qi Zhenbao told reporters that Xiaozhi Town and Qilu University of Technology, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Shandong First Medical University and other universities more than 20 experts to set up an expert workstation, will jointly carry out potato seedlings, for the formation of potato characteristics of the industry to provide basic support. The experiment and application of biological inoculants is only the first step to help the local industry upgrade.
The research and development of new varieties is underway
Fill the gap of potato seedlings in the county
"This is our laboratory, tissue culture room and other research and development sites, and in the future, we will give birth to potato varieties that are unique to the local area of Xiaozhi Town!"
Qi Zhenbao took the reporter to visit the inside of the workstation, and all kinds of experimental equipment were already in place. "The experts we invited cover the whole industry of seedling breeding, detoxification, soil remediation and plant protection." He said that for many years, due to the lack of basic support for seedlings, potato seedlings have been purchased in large quantities from other places, and there are problems such as quality decay and uncontrollable virus damage, and there has been no characteristic industry, and farmers' income has also been discounted to a certain extent. Now with the support of experts and technology, it will focus on the three key tasks of soil improvement, seed research and development, and detoxification and seedling raising, so that the local agricultural industry can reach a higher level.
"It is expected that the new potato season planted in the second half of this year will be a new local variety that we have developed." Qi Zhenbao mentioned that the team will use molecular marker technology to find new traits suitable for cultivation and detect viruses on stem tip meristem test-tube seedlings, which will soon be implemented in Xiaozhi Town and transformed into results in promoting farmers' income, promoting industrial upgrading, and optimizing the land environment. In addition, the development of resistant starch for diabetics using local high-quality potatoes is also in the local development plan.
Su Dongrun, Secretary of the Party Committee of Xiaozhi Town, said that the completion of the expert workstation and the construction of the potato seedling base will make up for the gap in potato seedlings in Xiaozhi Town and even the county, and further enhance the core competitiveness of the construction of "Jinan Seed Town". At the same time, it is also necessary to take the construction and operation of the rural revitalization science and technology consultant expert workstation as an important starting point for Xiaozhi's 'nesting and attracting phoenixes', and strive to attract more outstanding talents to start a business in Xiaozhi. ”