In early summer, in the Chuliang Mother Tree Park in Chuliang Village, Gaozhou City, a 300-year-old Chuliang Mother tree is luxuriant and full of vitality, and bunches of green young fruits emerge from among the leaves, indicating the arrival of the harvest season. According to statistics, there are more than 80,000 ancient trees and 81 famous trees in Guangdong Province, and the Chuliang mother tree is one of the famous trees. Under the care of people, this famous tree shows vigorous vitality.
The 300-year-old Chuliang mother tree has lush foliage.
A special person guards the health of the mother tree
On a sunny morning, Mo Junmou, one of the first guardians of the ancient lychee longan tree in Guangdong, walked into the Chuliang Mother Tree Park to start a new day of conservation work. Looking at this Chuliang mother tree, he was pleased: "The Chuliang mother tree is growing very vigorously, and it is expected to harvest three or four hundred catties this year." "This is not only a gift from nature, but also the result of the conservation of ancient and famous trees.
Mo Junmou stepped on the soft ground under the tree, climbed to the bamboo ladder, and pruned the mother tree with long pruning shears in his hand. "Now we need to prune and thin the longan tree, and we need to thin the flowers during the flowering period some time ago, like some flower spikes that are too long to cut short. The purpose of thinning flowers and fruits is to make the fruit grow better. ”
The growth of the green fruits of the Chuliang mother tree is gratifying.
Mo Junmou's protection of the Chuliang Mother Tree began four years ago, when the village cadres invited him to be the guardian of the Chuliang Mother Tree. Mo Junmou is a Chuliang villager who has an orchard at home and is a good at planting lychee longan, so he readily agreed.
Since then, Mo Junmou has often been busy in the Mother Tree Park. In the spring, he climbed up and down on bamboo ladders and scaffolding to thin the flowers of Chuliang's mother tree. Subsequently, pesticides, insects, sterilization and fertilization. After the flowering period, the young longan fruit dotted the branches, and he was busy thinning the fruit and doing a good job in water and fertilizer management. July is the harvest season, climb the trees and pick the fruits. After the fruiting period, the fertilization is carried out.
Mo Junmou, the guardian of the ancient tree, was interviewed by reporters.
In between work, Mo Junmou told reporters in detail about various tips for protecting the Chuliang Mother Tree. "Not long ago, more than a dozen bags of chicken manure were buried outside the drip line of ancient trees, and more than 40 bags of peanut shells, 2 bags of compound fertilizer, and 5 bags of organic fertilizer were laid on the ground under the trees, providing sufficient fertility for the ancient trees without hurting the roots, and the soil was soft and breathable." "The grass under the tree can't be removed with herbicides, and if it grows too tall, cut the grass, and these grasses cover the soil to keep warm and moisturize." "We should be careful in the management of ancient trees, and we should deal with pests and diseases in a timely manner." Because the Chuliang mother tree is tall and burly, and it is difficult to spray and prune, Mo Junmou occasionally invites other villagers to help, and he often brings his own orchard equipment over to "support".
The harvest of Chuliang longan will be ushered in in July, Mo Junmou is full of confidence in the harvest of Chuliang's mother tree, and looks forward to the arrival of another year's picking season, when he will climb to the tree to pick clusters of longan fruits and feel the joy of harvest. "The quality of Chuliang longan is particularly good, not to mention the mother tree's, the flesh is delicious, sweet and crisp, and the juice is locked in the flesh. We pluck the longan fruit from the ancient tree, peel off the husk, and put the pulp on a paper towel, which will not get wet at all. Mo Junmou's words were full of pride and joy.
Over the past four years, Mo Junmou has carefully cared for this ancient mother tree, making it grow vigorously and radiate new vitality. In 2022, Mo Junmou won the reputation of "the first batch of guardians of ancient lychee longan trees in Guangdong".
There is a park in the area to protect the safety of famous trees
The Chuliang Mother Tree not only touched Mo Junmou's heart, but also attracted the attention of local cadres, because this is an extraordinary ancient and famous tree. According to the information management system of ancient and famous trees in Guangdong Province, there are 81 famous trees in the province, and the Chuliang mother tree is one of them. It is estimated to be 300 years old, with a thick half of the trunk exposed, the whole tree is shaded by greenery, the main trunk winds and stretches in all directions, the height of the tree is 6 meters, and the average crown width is 17 meters.
Mo Junmou pruned the mother tree.
From the introduction on the promenade of Chuliang Mother Tree Park, it can be learned that Chuliang Mother Tree is a famous rare and excellent single longan tree, which is named after Chuliang Village, a boundary town in Gaozhou City. It is rumored that in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, there was a wild longan tree in the South Snake Mountain of Chuliang Village, and later a local Mo's farmer found that it was transplanted here by the method of circle branches. Since the 80s of the 20th century, the mother tree has been planted in Fujian, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Taiwan and other provinces, as well as Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and other countries. According to the information management system of ancient and famous trees in Guangdong Province, Chuliang longan is now the most widely planted among all longan varieties in the world, with a planting area of more than 2.5 million mu. The more than 300-year-old Chuliang longan tree has become a veritable Chuliang mother tree.
Mo Xiao, Secretary of the Party Committee of Chuliang Village, said: "The Chuliang longan in the world is grafted from this plant, and they are all the descendants of this mother tree, which we call the hero mother tree." It is also our local fortune tree, and everyone has a sense of awe and care for it. It is worth mentioning that Chuliang longan is a national geographical indication product of China, which has won the gold medal of the first China Agricultural Expo and the gold medal of the first Beijing International Agricultural Expo, and has been rated as "the favorite fruit king of the Chinese people" and "the top ten best fruits in Lingnan". In order to ensure the safety and good growth environment of the Chuliang Mother Tree, the local Chuliang Mother Tree Park is set up as its exclusive growing place, and the technical administrator Li Ziwen and the local guardian Mo Junmou are jointly responsible for its daily protection and care. The tree once faced the dilemma of sparse branches and leaves and weak growth, and stopped grafting four years ago. Under the protection of experts, guardians and local town and village cadres, the tree has now regained its vitality and is thriving.
Mo Xiao, secretary of Chuliang Village, was interviewed by reporters.
Many people want to see the legend of this tree, and many tour groups visit the park every year to experience its unique charm. In order to avoid any damage to the mother tree, the local village officials will emphasize the importance of keeping an appropriate distance to tourists in advance, and call on everyone to protect this precious mother tree.
Text/Maoming Daily all-media reporter Lin Xia
Photo, video/Maoming Daily all-media reporter Li Yandong
Maoming Publishing Editorial Department
Editor: Pan Yuli
Preliminary review: Ke Zhuji
Review: Deng Yishen
Source: Maoming Daily