In May and June, Zhangzhuang Town, Zoucheng, is the busiest time of the year. In the large cherry orchard on the hillside, the growers pick and pack the boxes almost all day long. The unique sweetness of cherries permeates every corner of the countryside and nourishes the hearts of every villager.
Zou Cheng big cherry planting area of more than 30,000 acres, nearly half of which is in Zhangzhuang Town, there are 15,000 acres, which has the reputation of "Jining Cherry First Town".
From sporadic planting in the 90s of the last century to today's large-scale planting, Zhangzhuang Town Cherries has gradually established an industrial system integrating production, sales, processing, leisure and tourism.
A red cherry moistens the heart and puffs up the pockets of the masses.
Zhangzhuang town big cherry.
From "a little red" to "full of red"On May 31, walking on the country roads of Zhangzhuang Town, it was like being in a gorgeous picture. The summer sun shines on the cherry trees all over the mountains, and the plump cherries are delicate red.
But 30 years ago, the villagers of Zhangzhuang Town still relied on traditional farming to make a living, and the level of economic development was low.
"Mountains and thin land, two seasons a year, peanuts and sweet potatoes. Young people have gone out to work. In Dagou Village, the main cherry planting area, Zheng Qinghui, secretary of the village's party branch, said.
The development of rural industries is very important and urgent. At that time, the party committee and government of Zhangzhuang Town mobilized the people of Dagou Village to plant cherries through in-depth investigation and research.
Every year when the cherry harvest season comes, a large number of tourists come to pick cherries.
"At the beginning, people didn't understand that cherries should not be eaten or drunk, they could not be planted and preserved, and if they could not be sold, they could only rot in the ground, and the risk was too great." Liu Qing, deputy director of the Zhangzhuang Town Agricultural Comprehensive Service Center, said.
In order to dispel the concerns of the masses, Zhangzhuang Town led the villagers with ideas to go out to study 57 times, and gave an industrial development subsidy of 8 yuan per cherry when buying cherry seedlings.
It was precisely because of the government's attitude towards industrial development that the cadres and party members of Dagou Village took the lead and began to plant cherries. "Although we encountered natural disasters such as heavy rains, pests and diseases during the cultivation process, with the help of the expert team, the red lantern cherries we planted finally saw profits." Fruit farmer Sun Yuliang said that he still remembers that in the first year when cherries entered the full fruit period, his 3 acres of cherries earned more than 10,000 yuan, which was more than 13 acres of peanuts and sweet potatoes.
Zhangzhuang big cherry.
For more than 30 years, although it has also experienced natural disasters such as "inverted spring cold" and reduced yield, Dagou Village has always adhered to the unwavering cherry planting, with 213 cherry growers in the village and a planting area of nearly 1,000 acres.
Tasting the sweetness of industrial success, more and more people quickly joined the cherry planting team, initially planted in Dagou Dongling and Xiaoyanzhuang North Ridge along the south side of Lanji Highway, and then promoted it throughout the town, with a total area of 15,000 mu.
In order to continuously extend the cherry industry chain and increase the added value of cherries, in 2011, under the active preparation of the Party Committee and Government of Zhangzhuang Town, the first cherry picking festival in Zou City was successfully held, attracting a large number of tourists.
Continue to empower and make the revitalization of the industry blossom all the wayDuring the interview, the reporter learned that in recent years, driven by multiple factors, the planting area of cherries in mainland China has been increasing, reaching more than 3.5 million mu.
The scale has gone up, and Zhangzhuang Town has not forgotten the matter of updating varieties. After all, "one trick to eat all over the world" is not very applicable to the big cherry industry.
"Early development has the advantages of early development, and late development also has the advantage of late development." Fruit farmer Sun Yusheng told reporters that he is 56 years old this year, and he has planted a big cherry tree for "half his life", and he is very reluctant to give up the fruit trees that are regarded as his own children and replace them with new varieties. In addition, it will take 3 to 5 years for the new variety of large cherry trees to reach the peak fruiting stage, and during this period, continuous investment will be required.
Li Baosheng, a grower in the same village, does not think so, he said, planting cherries should be a long-term account, "these days, the price of yellow honey and Meizao cherries has dropped by six or seven yuan, but the price of new varieties such as Luying No. 5 and Taiaojia is still more than 10 yuan, and the profit is still good compared to the old varieties of big cherries." ”
In Zhangzhuang Town, more and more growers believe that the market is the biggest driving force for the progress of the cherry industry.
To this end, in 2019, Zhangzhuang Town reached a cooperation agreement with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jining Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing Forestry University, and Shandong Agricultural University to strengthen the scientific and technological and talent support of the large cherry industry, set up an advisory group and expert think tank for the development of the large cherry industry, and introduced newer and more easily recognized varieties such as Russia No. 8, Taiaoga, Luying No. 5, Frisco, and Pacific Red.
Li Zhaoshui, a fruit farmer, told reporters that through grafting, new varieties can also quickly enter the full fruit period.
Relying on expert scientific research, experience and academic advantages, the Party Committee and Government of Zhangzhuang Town have started the renovation project of old orchards, completed the transformation and upgrading of 7,000 acres of old orchards, and distributed 100,000 grafts of new varieties of large cherries free of charge, guiding fruit farmers to accept new varieties, master new technologies, and accelerate the replacement process of new and old varieties.
In Dagou Village, Liu Zhaoshui, who has 10 years of experience in planting large cherries, told reporters: "The government distributes new varieties of large cherries free of charge, which can be grafted on the original 'old book', so that the large cherries that originally bear fruit in 5 years can be marketed in the third year." ”
In addition to constantly updating varieties, Zhangzhuang Town also explores the development of greenhouse cherries, introduces technologies such as water and fertilizer integration, intelligent temperature control system, cherry dwarf and dense planting, etc., effectively solves the difficulty of orchard watering and resists natural disasters such as frost and exposure, improves the quality of cherries, and achieves stable production and income increase.
Cherries in the modern agricultural demonstration base in Weizhuang Village.
"We have 6 greenhouses and 1 glass greenhouse in this base, and this year we mainly planted Meizao, Brooks, and yellow honey, with an output of about 20,000 catties." Wang Changlong, head of the modern agricultural demonstration base in Weizhuang Village, Zhangzhuang Town, said that the price of large cherries in the base reached 260 yuan a catty in February, with an average daily sale of 500 catties, and only the greenhouse cherries could help the village collectively increase its income by more than 120 yuan.
With the blessing of new varieties and new technologies, Zhangzhuang cherry industry chain is getting better and better, and has successfully obtained the national green food certification.
"From Marketing Cherry to Marketing Township"Once upon a time, the villagers of Zhangzhuang Town contracted orchards, all of which were carried up the mountain to water and maintain them, and then sold them according to their abilities. "When the harvest season comes, the villagers carry small baskets up the mountain to harvest the fruits and sell them to traders at a lower price, and there is competition between them, and they can't make a lot of money after months of hard work." Zheng Qinghui said that nowadays, sales channels such as e-commerce and live streaming are constantly expanding, and the income of fruit farmers has increased significantly.
In order to let the cherries of the rich people be sold farther and at a better price, Zhangzhuang Town, Zoucheng City, cooperated with the e-commerce platform and sent the cherries to all parts of the country through express delivery channels. Jingdong, Post, Yunda, SF, J&T and other express companies have set up express picking points near the cherry picking garden to reduce intermediate links, shorten the delivery time, ensure the quality of cherries to the greatest extent, and let the big cherries be delivered to consumers in the first time.
Zhangzhuang Town has held 14 cherry picking festivals and 2 national cherry production and marketing matchmaking meetings, constantly enriching the connotation of Zhangzhuang cherry brand.
"This year, we cooperated with local Internet celebrities in Zoucheng, and invited them to bring us live broadcasts when the cherries were ripe." Yue Chao, deputy mayor of Zhangzhuang Town, said that in addition, the local government has also cooperated with some Internet celebrity incubation platforms to carry out new farmer e-commerce anchor training, so that more fruit farmers can understand e-commerce and further expand sales channels.
At present, the development of Zhangzhuang cherry industry has entered the fast lane of development, from the "temperature control shed, cold shed, open-air cherry" echelon listing, sold to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places, to achieve from the beginning of February to the beginning of June, nearly 120 days of uninterrupted supply of fresh fruit.
In recent years, Zhangzhuang Town has used cherries as a medium, integrated local natural scenery, created rural boutique tourism routes, vigorously developed the industrial chain economic system, and formed one-stop tourism projects such as flower appreciation, fruit picking, and sightseeing. Relying on cherries, persimmons, sweet potatoes and other special agricultural products, the town has developed 86 farmhouses, attracting more than 1 million tourists every year, and the villagers have also eaten tourist meals.
"We have held 14 consecutive cherry picking festivals and 2 national cherry production and marketing matchmaking meetings, but this year's cherry festival is different from the past, in addition to the traditional 'programs' in the past, we have also held a passion music party, cultural and creative markets, intangible cultural heritage food and other diversified activities, so that tourists and citizens can fully enjoy the 'sweet' journey in early summer, upgrade the big cherry marketing to cultural and tourism integration activities, and create a new 'cultural IP'." Liu Guanghong, a member of the propaganda committee of Zhangzhuang Town, said.
"Through a series of strategies, from marketing cherries to marketing townships, we will promote the Zhangzhuang cherry industry and projects to a higher level, and initially create a high-grade and distinctive township business card." Xie Zhongliang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Zhangzhuang Town, said that the town's big cherries have been improved in all aspects from planting technology to marketing model, and the ultimate goal is to let the villagers embark on the road of rural revitalization and prosperity in the lucid waters and green mountains.
Mass newspaper and rural mass reporter Zhang Chao correspondent Sheng Chao Sun Xiao