The wheat in the saline alkali land is ripe! Producing about 500 kilograms of wheat per mu | Agriculture | Saline alkali land
The south wind rises, and the wheat turns yellow. Watching the wheat ripening day by day, Yang Dongjin, a farmer from Houxianzhuang Village, Huanghua City, Bohai New Area, Cangzhou, Hebei Province, felt good: "This year, the plants are full and the ears are full, and the estimated yield per mu is about 500 pounds. I have been planting for more than 30 years, and I couldn't even think about it in the past."
Huanghua City is located on the coast of Bohai Sea, and the cultivated land in the entire area is mainly moderately saline alkali land, making it difficult to grow crops. "In the past, wheat was produced one or two hundred kilograms per mu. However, due to poor weather conditions, even wheat seeds could not be harvested, and there may even be a possibility of crop failure," said Yang Dongjin.
The difficulty of growing crops on saline alkali land was once a major challenge that constrained local food production. For decades, Huanghua City has played a key role in scientific and technological innovation, continuously promoting the cultivation of drought alkali wheat through methods such as breeding good varieties, improving soil, and optimizing technology. With the joint efforts of scientific researchers and local cadres and masses, the saline alkali land has been transformed into a large granary. This year, the planting area of dry alkali wheat in Huanghua City has reached over 600000 mu, an increase of nearly 100000 mu compared to 2013.
The comprehensive utilization of saline alkali land is a strategic issue that must be placed in an important position. China has 1.5 billion acres of saline alkali land, of which 500 million acres are suitable for growing food. By doing a good job in increasing production of saline alkali land, we can create a "new granary".
improve the soil
Seasonal drought is severe in the heavily saline alkali coastal areas of Cangzhou, with soil salt content reaching up to 2% during the peak salt accumulation period in spring. Guo Kai, deputy director of Nanpi Ecological Agriculture Experimental Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been rooted in this saline land for 15 years, and his main task is to improve the saline land.
Located in Shuangmiao Village, Nanpi County, Cangzhou City, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanpi Ecological Agriculture Experiment Station is the birthplace of the core technology of the "Bohai Granary Science and Technology Demonstration Project" and has long been committed to the comprehensive utilization of saline alkali land. Over the past 30 years since its establishment, experimental demonstration zones have been established in Nanpi County, Haixing County, Huanghua City and other places, actively carrying out research on salt alkali tolerant crop selection, utilization of saline and brackish water, and soil fertility improvement.
"In the past, measures such as constructing water channels and digging drainage ditches were mainly used to leach surface salt through strong irrigation and drainage, which had high investment costs and high freshwater consumption, making it difficult to promote. Guo Kai said that coastal areas are rich in shallow underground saline water, and" salt comes with water, and goes with water "is a new idea for improving saline alkali land.".
He and researchers irrigated high concentration saline water into farmland under low temperature conditions in winter, and the saline water formed an ice layer under the action of cold air. "By the spring of the following year, high concentration saline water will melt and seep into the soil, taking away some of the salt. Then, low concentration saline water will melt and continue to take away most of the salt, which will be further pressurized by rinsing with the final melted fresh water." Guo Kai explained that saline water freezing irrigation technology activates the circulation process of salt in the soil, groundwater and other links, reduces the surface salt content of the soil, and ultimately achieves the growth of various salt tolerant crops in saline alkali land.
This technology has been widely promoted in saline alkali areas. In addition, various innovative technologies such as straw crushing, deep plowing and returning to the field, planting alfalfa to reduce salt and increase efficiency, and promoting micro furrow sowing have also improved the utilization rate of saline alkali land in the coastal areas of Cangzhou. "In the past, in the middle of the wheat fields in the village, it was common to see patches of 'bald spots' because areas with heavy salt alkali did not grow seedlings, resulting in empty patches of white land. Now, after improvement, this phenomenon has been reduced, and the utilization rate of salt alkali land in the entire village has increased by about 30%." said Liu Yusuo, Deputy Secretary of the Party Branch of Houxianzhuang Village.
Breeding superior varieties
A good tree produces good peaches, and a good seed produces good seedlings. Improved saline alkali land, and scientific researchers simultaneously promoted the breeding of superior varieties. The wheat variety planted by Yang Dongjin is "Jiemai 19", which is drought resistant, alkali resistant, cold resistant, and has high yield. It has been widely promoted in the coastal saline alkali areas of Cangzhou.
Zhang Weijun, an agronomist at the Agricultural Science Institute of Zhongjie Industrial Park in Huanghua City, Bohai New Area, Cangzhou, is a major participant in the breeding of this superior variety. "Previously, farmers commonly planted 'Jimai 32', a variety with a plant height exceeding 1 meter, which was prone to lodging in coastal areas due to strong winds and reduced yield. We selected 500 mutated single panicles from its production field for new variety breeding. Zhang Weijun said that by using equidistant sowing, impurity removal, and single row single harvest methods, we selected the best among the best in terms of plant height, node length, shell color, and thousand grain weight, and selected the better performing plants as the mother plants for cultivating the next generation for further screening.". After more than a decade of arduous exploration and research, "Jiemai 19" was finally selected and approved by Hebei Province in 2015, which is more suitable for planting in saline alkali soil.
The hardships and joys of breeders are written on Zhang Weijun's face. This farmer like agronomist, together with the research team, continuously compared and selected combinations for hybridization, and developed "Jiemai 20" in 2018. It was approved by Hebei Province in 2021. This is a wheat variety that performs better than "Jiemai 19" on saline alkali land.
In addition to the Jiemai series, salt alkali resistant superior varieties such as "Xiaoyan 60", "Xiaoyan 155", "Cangmai 6002", and "Cangmai 6003" have also been selected and launched by various research teams, becoming a "new hope" growing on vast saline alkali land.
Good land and excellent planting have significantly increased the enthusiasm of farmers to grow crops. Lizizha Village in Huanghua City has integrated 4000 acres of land in the village, established Youhe Planting Professional Cooperative to plant drought alkali wheat, and established a provincial-level drought alkali wheat planting agricultural standardization demonstration zone. "The cooperative has collected and organized technical regulations for the production of drought alkali wheat that are suitable for the construction of demonstration areas, forming 168 national, industry, local, and enterprise standards, and establishing an agricultural standard system for drought alkali wheat before, during, and after production." Zhang Zhiqing, the head of the cooperative, said that this year, more than 400 acres of saline alkali wasteland in the east of the village have been converted into wheat fields, and the well growing plots are expected to have a production capacity of 700 kilograms per acre.
Yan Xudong, Dean and Researcher of the Cangzhou Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, stated that last year the total yield of dry alkali wheat was 223700 tons, with a yield of 223.3 kilograms per mu. The standardized demonstration zone achieved a yield of 370 kilograms per mu, creating a miracle in saline alkali land. "This year's scenery is good, with the planting area of drought alkali wheat in Cangzhou City exceeding 1 million mu, and the yield of drought alkali wheat is expected to be even more considerable," said Yan Xudong.
Deep processing
Due to its long growth cycle and high mineral content in saline alkali land, dry alkali wheat has better quality than conventional wheat. Not only is the appearance of the grains full and transparent, but the interior is also rich in various trace elements such as calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, etc. The protein content is generally higher than the national standard; The flour yield is about 76%, and the wet gluten content exceeds 35%. The flour made from dry alkali wheat is not sticky to the hands, has strong toughness, and has a strong wheat aroma, soft and smooth texture, and a comfortable taste.
At Huanghua Zhenxue Noodle Industry Co., Ltd., flour ready to be transported to Tianjin is being loaded onto trucks. The general manager of the company, Liu Zhenxue, said that with the expansion of corporate clients to areas such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, and Northeast China, the company's development has entered a fast lane.
"Dry alkali wheat is a treasure all over the body." Liu Zhenxue said that as the wheat is peeled off layer by layer, 70% can be made into flour, 20% can be made into bran, and 6% can be made into "second powder", which can be used as raw materials for noodle sauce and other products. The remaining 4% can also be made into "second powder", making it a good feed.
With the increase in dry alkali wheat production, the daily processing capacity of Huanghua Zhenxue Noodle Industry Co., Ltd. has increased from 40 tons to 300 tons. "Next, we plan to develop deep processing, extend the industrial chain, increase the production of steamed and cooked foods, and achieve greater value for dry alkali wheat," said Liu Zhenxue.
At present, the industrialization of dry alkali wheat has begun to take shape in Huanghua City. Nie Jing, Director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau of Huanghua City, said that there are currently 20 large-scale flour processing enterprises in the city, with an annual processing capacity of nearly 500000 tons. The wheat industry has formed a full industry chain including contract agriculture, storage and transfer, flour processing, and food production. The added value of dry alkali wheat has increased by about 40%, which not only revitalizes grain processing but also drives farmers to increase their income. "In the future, Huanghua will continue to focus on breeding good varieties, improving soil, and optimizing management, continuously expanding the scale of drought alkali wheat cultivation, extending the drought alkali wheat industry chain, and building a distinctive agricultural industrialization brand." Nie Jing said.
