Chapter 458 Breeding Agreement; Alpine Vegetables

Breeding is a very boring job. Most of the time, we are dealing with seeds and soil, introducing species, testing, breeding, and promoting...

Many people cannot stand the boredom of repeating this process over and over again.

But there are also many people who stick to it.

Li Dianrong has been engaged in rapeseed breeding for 38 years. In fact, he did not study breeding. His major was soil, which is very different from breeding.

47 years ago, he was assigned to Huayin Farm in the Sanmenxia Reservoir area.

At that time, Huayin Farm had just been established for less than a year, and the land was barren, overgrown with weeds, and full of mosquitoes and flies...

But the conditions are created by people. If there are no houses to build, and the roads are not repaired by ourselves, the bad land can be improved.

During that time, Li Dianrong was a technician and a production team leader. During the years of production management, the idea of ​​"seed research" emerged in his mind.

After working as a production team leader for eight or nine years, Li Dianrong realized his dream and was transferred to the farm experimental station to specialize in seed research.

Since my major was not related to this, I just found all the books related to breeding and read them bit by bit.

After ten years, in the early 80s, he overcame the difficulty of hybrid vigor of three-line cytoplasmic male sterility of rapeseed and independently bred 'Qinyou No. 2'.

This has enabled our country to suddenly become a world leader in the utilization of hybrid rapeseed.

After the promotion of Qinyou No. 2, its planting area has accounted for a quarter of the domestic rapeseed for many consecutive years.

But he did not stop there. After 15 years of hard work, he cultivated Qinyou No. 7.

Year after year, he devoted his greatest enthusiasm to rapeseed breeding.

From a young man to an octogenarian, even so, he still likes to go to the countryside all year round and deal with farmers.

Only by returning to the land can he feel young and full of energy.

Now he seemed to see his own kind. The young men in front of him also exuded the same aura as he did back then, young and full of vigor...

The Tianyou series is undoubtedly a milestone variety.

The research team that nurtured him is neither arrogant nor impatient, but humble and down-to-earth. What they are thinking about is not fame, but the next goal.

Li Dianrong walked out of the field, patted Bi Qiang on the shoulder, and stepped onto the ridge of the field.

Bi Qiang thought he was going to say something inspiring, and he felt a little ashamed. After all, Tianhe Academy of Sciences did not contribute much to the cultivation of Tianyou No. 6, but this achievement was attributed to Tianhe Academy of Sciences.

That’s why they have a new goal. The beginning of Tianyou has nothing to do with them. Making this variety into a series has become their mission.

He looked at Li Dianrong. The old man spoke in a low voice and was very friendly to his listeners, so he didn't mind another educational lesson.

So does everyone else.

The title of the father of hybrid rapeseed is still very useful.

However, Li Dianrong, who was standing on the ridge of the field, issued a challenge at this moment.

"Since we have a new goal to climb, why not have a competition?"

"Compare?"

Looking at the 73-year-old Li Dianrong with a head full of white hair, Tianhe's breeders in their thirties were a little surprised.

What kind of heroism is it to bully the elderly?

The victory was not fair.

"Compared to what?"

Bi Qiang was curious, Li Dianrong is not alone now, he has a research team and also supervises doctoral students, his technical background is impeccable, and he also wants to test the strength of Tianhe Academy of Sciences.

Li Dianrong pursed his lips, and when he pursed his lips, his face looked like a very miserable farmer.

“What is Tianhe’s new goal in rapeseed breeding?”

“Higher oil yields, and more regional, small varieties.”

Bi Qiang did not hide the fact that the oil yield of Tianyou No. 6 had the highest potential in the Tianyou series, but it was unstable, fluctuating between 50% and 58%.

Tianhe wanted to stabilize him.

When Li Dianrong heard the data, his eyes lit up. The oil yield was indeed very high, at the world's top level.

Moreover, this can actually be applied to field production. In terms of oil yield alone, he has more than 60% of the germplasm materials in his laboratory, but they cannot be used in the field.

After pondering for a while, Li Dianrong said, "I also have an idea."

"You said."

“This idea comes from Jiahe’s Xanthoceras sorbifolia oil.”

This immediately attracted the attention of everyone present, and it can be said that this is the hottest thing in the edible oil industry.

It must be Jiahe’s Xanthoceras sorbifolia Oil, a healthy oil that stands at the top of edible oils.

From large packages to small packages, the concept of rich nutrients and healthy oil continues to attract people to try it.

The positive feedback has made the reputation of Jinluo Xanthoceras sorbifolia Oil better and better, and then attracted people to buy it...Apart from being expensive, it seems to have no disadvantages.

"From eating good oil, to eating good oil, to eating healthy oil, the public's consumption concept is constantly changing."

Li Dianrong said: "So, I wanted to cultivate a healthier rapeseed oil."

"It's a good idea." Bi Qiang nodded. He looked at the people around him, who were also thinking about ideas.

"Okay, Tianhe takes it."

Li Dianrong smiled and said, “How about I tell you about the idea? After all, it was me who proposed it, so I have the first-mover advantage.”

Bi Qiang raised his eyebrows and realized that Li Dianrong must have a research direction, but had not put it into practice yet and might not be very sure about it, so he proposed a comparison.

But it does have more advantages than the confused Tianhe.

"No need." Bi Qiang grinned and said, "Respect the elderly."

"Hehe..." Li Dianrong was stimulated. Somehow, the desire to win in his heart was ignited at this moment.

"Then we'll see."

Li Dianrong walked out from the ridge of the field, and Bi Qiang and several researchers fell behind.

"Dean, why did you provoke Teacher Li in the end?"

“They’re a strong team.”

"I feel like this old man is getting excited. He lost in the end. He lost both face and dignity."

Bi Qiang said in a deep voice: "Then kill them!"

“Cultivating healthier rapeseed oil is a bit of a niche market!”

"There is no smooth road to take on the path of science. Only those who are not afraid of hard work in climbing the rugged path can reach the glorious peak."

"The dean is right. I'll finish this bowl of chicken soup."

"I did it too."

"Then I'll do it too."

"Fuck it, that's not what I said, that's what Marx said."

"Oh, I thought Lu Xun said that."

On the ridge of the field, the crowd at the end of the team was full of energy. Li Dianrong could hear the voices behind him even when he was walking in front.

He also knew that this sentence of Marx inspired many scientific researchers to strive for new goals.

...

"When Researcher Li left just now, he seemed a little unhappy?" Tian Rui was a little uncertain, but when Mr. Li pursed his lips, he did look like he was wronged.

"I made a bet, and I'm holding my breath!"

Bi Qiang and Tian Rui chatted about the whole thing before looking at Zhao Hua who had been waiting for a long time.

"Mr. Zhao, business is booming!"

With the super bumper harvest of rapeseed in Tongnan, it is inevitable that Tianyou No. 6 will become the dominant variety in the mountain city, and Ronghua Company expects considerable profits.

But Zhao Hua was still thinking about the Shancheng Daily mentioned by Tian Rui. Boss Guo had paid attention to it, and now Bi Qiang had come to Shancheng again.

This made him feel a little anxious.

Zhao Hua smiled bitterly and said, "President Bi, you are joking. I don't even know if Ronghua Company can keep its position as the agent in Shancheng. I can't claim that the business is booming."

Bi Qiang was stunned and looked at Tian Rui. What was going on?

Tian Rui blinked with a faint smile on his face, as if to say that he was scared.

Bi Qiang and Tian Rui exchanged glances for a moment and realized that Ronghua Trading was indeed at risk of being banned.

After Lin Song analyzed on TV the impact of the merger of the six giants into four on the domestic agrochemical industry, many media followed up.

It started with the Beijing News, followed by local media from all over the country.

It was only then that people realized that the number of people supporting the chemical group's acquisition of Syngenta was no less than those opposing it, and many of them were also people who held the power of speech.

Tianhe did not want to participate in the struggle among the upper echelons, but some remarks involving seeds and being deliberately ignored by some people and the media irritated Tianhe.

Therefore, Tianhe also launched a counterattack.

You say that domestic seeds are not as good as foreign seeds, and even shamelessly ignore the achievements made and brag about how good the foreign seeds are.

Okay, then I will drive out all the foreign seeds and leave no room for these foreign capitals to survive.

This is what Tianhe wants to do, to carry out more in-depth marketing promotion across the country.

Initially, the focus areas will still be coastal areas and major agricultural provinces.

Specifically speaking, it is vegetable seeds, which is the only area where foreign seeds still retain a significant advantage, and is also the focus of attack by Lin Song and others.

As a result, Tianhe and Denong increased their firepower in Shandong Province, Henan Province, Jiangsu Province, Hebei Province and other places, constantly attacking cities and seizing markets, and the situation was very good.

Unexpectedly, something went wrong in the West.

Bi Qiang pretended to sigh before asking, "Mr. Zhao, remember Tianhe also launched a white radish variety last year."

Zhao Hua nodded, "Tianbai No. 1."

"How is the performance?"

"It's OK, but Shancheng is a traditional planting area for the 'three white' vegetables. The competition for white radish seeds is very high and they can't compete with other vegetable seeds."

“How is the local planting performance?”

Zhao Hua was stuck for a while, stammering like an elementary school student who had made a mistake.

"Tianbai No. 1 is a variety I cultivated." Bi Qiang laughed and said, "I am quite confident in it. Its performance in other markets is also good."

“I don’t know about that…”

"It's okay, that's not the point. The point is that the South Korean white radish variety is very popular in the mountain city?"

Zhao Hua frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Dean Bi, President Tian, ​​can you tell us what's going on?"

Bi Qiang pondered and said, “The Shancheng Daily reported that due to the lack of competitive products, some vegetable varieties and seeds cultivated in China have been defeated in the competition set up by vegetable bases.

In the vegetable bases of Shancheng City, white radishes, carrots, cabbages, etc. have an absolute advantage! "

"This is impossible!" Zhao Hua said loudly.

"Have you investigated it?" Tian Rui said, "Others have made reasonable and well-founded claims, and even gave examples. In Guilin Town, Tongnan, there is a large vegetable grower. In addition, the director of the street office in charge of vegetable production was also interviewed."

Zhao Hua seemed somewhat dazed, but still seemed a little unconvinced.

Bi Qiang said, "Let's go check it out. It shouldn't be far. I've written down the address."

The group came to a village called Bajiao Village, and after asking around, they found Zhang Xuan, a large vegetable grower. The more than 150 mu of vegetable land he contracted was planted entirely with South Korean 'New White Jade Spring'.

Zhang Xuan, who didn't understand what was going on, smiled and said to everyone: "This kind of South Korean radish is popular wherever it goes."

Afterwards, they went to the street office and found the director in charge of vegetable production, and got further confirmation.

"Tongnan has 1.7 mu of long white radish base, of which more than 70% are new Baiyuchun."

We have to admit that South Korea’s radish varieties are indeed good. After all, it is the country of kimchi, and kimchi radish is one of South Koreans’ favorites.

It is also top-notch in radish breeding.

But Bi Qiang believes that Tianbai No. 1 is also a top variety. He originally focused on pepper breeding, but Tianhe has varieties such as Tianjiao No. 1.

So after joining the research institute, he specialized in white radish breeding.

With the help of Tianhe's huge seed bank, systematic breeding platform, and the assistance of many researchers, after spending several years of effort, Tianbai No. 1 was finally cultivated.

He has high expectations for this breed.

Its performance after being launched on the market did not disappoint the efforts of many people. Tianbai No. 1 has been well received in the main white radish producing areas such as Shandong Province and Hebei Province.

Although the planting area is still smaller than that of mainstream varieties such as Xin Baiyuchun, this is because the promotion time is short.

And its growth momentum is very good.

However, in the mountain city, not only did Tianbai No. 1 fail to improve, but even superior varieties such as super red-core carrots and cabbage were outdone.

This made many people in Tianhe very dissatisfied with Ronghua Trading's market development in the mountain city.

After Zhao Hua found out what happened, his heart beat faster.

He is too optimistic.

Yes, Ronghua has indeed been making money and his ability to make money is not bad.

But Tianhe believes that he can do better, because Tianhe and Denong have performed much better than him in Shandong, Henan, Hebei and other places where competition is more intense.

Then why didn’t Tianhe replace him?
Insufficient manpower, remote market, inconvenient transportation... these are the current reasons, but they can all be overcome.

Once Tianhe and Denong are free, Ronghua Trading may have to move again.

The weather at the end of March should have been comfortable and cool, but Zhao Hua was frightened when cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

After a long pause, Zhao Hua said, "In fact, Ronghua has also done a lot of work and has achieved good results in promoting new varieties of peppers, melons, eggplants, tomatoes, etc."

Tian Rui and Bi Qiang remained silent.

No one said he did a bad job, it was just that he did not meet Tianhe's expectations.

"It's not too late. I went to the city seed station yesterday. Foreign seeds only account for 10% of the vegetable seed market in Shancheng, and the sowing area is even less, accounting for less than 0.1%."

Obviously, the price of foreign seeds is not cheap, more than 10 times that of local seeds.

Tian Rui added: “This shows that foreign seeds have only just been tested in western regions and the promotion efforts are not strong enough;
In addition, individual households in the mountain city still account for the majority, and individual households prefer cheap seeds, which is why foreign seeds have not been widely promoted.

Therefore, we must find a way to preserve the prosperity of the retail market.”

What this means is that many large vegetable growers have invested in foreign seeds.

"We have to take it back from the big customers too!" Zhao Hua said sternly. The big customers are the ones that make the most profits.

The peppers, eggplants, melons and other varieties represented by Ronghua have already tasted the sweetness of success among large farmers, and now there is just an additional target group.

"very good."

Tian Rui took out a printed form from his pocket.

"This is a list of large vegetable growers in Shancheng. There are 674 large vegetable growers with more than 500 mu, 181 with more than 61 mu, and with more than mu."

Tian Rui smiled and said, "The standardized vegetable production base involved here covers more than 50 mu."

Zhao Hua was already stunned by what he heard.

He had been in the mountain city for two or three years, spent so much money, and gave so many gifts, but he had never heard of this list!
Tian Rui added: "In the future, Ronghua must keep this list updated in real time and give me regular feedback. I will upload it to the intranet."

Zhao Hua nodded woodenly. He was still thinking about the list of major producers. Foreign seeds only accounted for 0.1% of the planting area in the mountain city, but their market share accounted for 10%.

This means that most of the large-scale market has fallen.

If there was no such list, it would take a lot of effort for Ronghua’s people to run the show on their own.

Zhao Hua asked: "What about alpine vegetables?"

"At the same time, alpine vegetables are a key project for the company this year." Tian Rui looked at Bi Qiang, who nodded slightly.

"The mountain city is just one point, and there are many other areas that are being promoted at the same time. The sowing time for alpine vegetables is generally from April to May, and time is already very tight."

Alpine vegetables, plain and hilly vegetables, rapeseed and grain crops...all of this has to be done at the same time, and Zhao Hua just feels his scalp tingling.

But looking at Tianhe's attitude, they can even directly take out the list of major investors, which shows that they are obviously prepared for a tough battle.

If you don't want to be thrown off the bus, you have no choice but to go on.

"no problem!"

Bi Qiang pondered and said, "Don't be afraid. Alpine vegetables are an opportunity. Foreign seed companies are less involved, but it is indeed time for renewal."

Alpine vegetables originated in the early 80s and developed rapidly in the 90s. Today, the sown area has reached more than 4000 million mu.

The air in the mountainous areas is fresh and the water is clear. The special high-altitude and cold mountain climate makes the food production level in these areas extremely low.

But it is suitable for the growth and development needs of vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables.

Summer is the season when natural disasters are most likely to occur in my country's agriculture, including floods, insect pests, droughts, typhoons and hail...

However, alpine vegetables are generally planted in April and May and are on the market in August to October, which just makes up for this off-season.

So it developed very quickly in the past few years.

However, many problems have also emerged, such as continuous cropping, single types and varieties, concentrated crop rotation, and the phenomenon of "cheap vegetables hurting farmers" occurring from time to time.

Some regions are now exploring changes. For example, Zhejiang Province and Anhui Province are trying to introduce high-quality varieties such as broccoli and snow peas.

However, the renewal of varieties in the high-altitude vegetable areas in the central Yangtze River Basin (780 million mu) is very slow.

Most alpine vegetables are concentrated in remote mountainous areas such as the Qinba Mountains, Wuling Mountains, Dabie Mountains, Liupan Mountains, and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau that are old, minority, remote, poor, and have remote areas.

Some of them are still contiguous poverty-stricken areas and old red revolutionary base areas with inconvenient transportation and relatively scarce natural resources.

The alpine vegetable industry is one of the few industries that can bring significant economic benefits to mountain farmers on a large scale and in a sustainable manner.

It is one of the industries promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and various provinces in mountainous areas.

These areas are remote and backward, foreign capital has not had time to enter, local varieties are single, and in recent years there have also been serious problems such as excessive pesticide residues.

For Tianhe, which is eager to further its domestic performance, alpine vegetable seeds are a good entry point.

The seed market in coastal areas and vegetable-producing provinces will slowly compete with foreign seeds. First, we will occupy the market for high-altitude vegetable seeds, and then we will encircle and suppress foreign seeds.

This is the strategic route set by Tianhe.

When it comes to implementation, it is a huge project. The first thing is seeds, and Tianhe has no shortage of excellent vegetable seeds.

However, there are not many types and varieties, which puts a heavy burden on Tianhe Science Academy: to cultivate and improve suitable varieties.

Northeastern Chongqing is backed by the Qinba Mountains, at the junction of six provinces and cities; southeastern Chongqing is backed by the Wuling Mountains, at the junction of four provinces and cities.

The geographical location is good, and the Shancheng Daily incident happened at the same time, which made Bi Qiang very unhappy, so he went to see what was going on.

Then, I felt even more unhappy.

Ronghua Company is only focused on developing new product categories, while the three traditional white seed markets have been given to foreign seeds.

It simply strengthened the reputation of "foreign monks who can chant sutras".

However, Tianhe has not planned to kick Ronghua Company out. After all, they have cooperated for so many years, and remote areas like these also need the power of dealers.

Tian Rui and Bi Qiang gave Zhao Hua a detailed introduction to the promotion of vegetables before leaving.

For a period of time, Bi Qiang led his research team to wander around the mountains, looking for more breeding opportunities.

On the other hand, Zhao Hua quickly got into the state after specially finding the "Shancheng Daily" to read.

The damn unscrupulous media avoided the main issue and only reported on the traditional 'three whites', without mentioning other varieties.

At least mentioning peppers and melons wouldn't put him in such a passive position.

In order to restore his impression in Boss Guo's mind, Zhao Hua tried his best.

The sowing of vegetables in the flat and hilly areas is gradually coming to an end, but the sowing of alpine vegetables has not yet begun.

He didn't care about so many things. He just wanted to spread the goods first, which was nothing more than giving more concessions to the downstream township seed stores.

Many agricultural supply stores that I had only met once in the past, or had never met in person but only had phone calls, were contacted.

"Mr. Zhang, give me some Tianhe vegetable seeds. We have peppers, tomatoes, bitter melons, cucumbers, and radishes. They are suitable for growing in the mountains."

"Don't push Lianbai anymore. Look at how diseased it was last year. Change the variety."

"Tianbai No. 1 long white radish can be sold at a high price, about 20% higher than the average price of ordinary radishes."

"Hey, you're an old customer. I'll buy you on credit if you want. If sales are good, come back next year."

Zhao Hua made phone calls one after another and mobilized more people. Gradually, Tianhe Seeds appeared in several districts and counties in southeastern Chongqing and northeastern Chongqing.

同为萝卜种子，一袋15克的本地圆萝卜只卖1.5元，而一罐50克的天白1号卖价达到50元。

In terms of unit price, it is 10 times that of local seeds.

The prices of vegetables such as peppers, bitter gourds, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. are also several times higher than traditional ones.

This aroused the curiosity of many farmers.

It's like a mountain village that has been closed all year round, and suddenly a beautiful woman in bright and beautiful clothes comes in. She always attracts everyone's attention, making men have dirty thoughts when they see her, and women secretly curse her as a slut.

But there are always people who place orders out of curiosity, and some people pay for Tianhe’s brand.

In short, this is a breakthrough from nothing to something.

"We have basically visited all the high mountain vegetable areas in the Yangtze River Basin. The situation is better than expected. Many farmers like to watch TV, so Tianhe has invested a lot of advertising."

In mid-April, Bi Qiang returned to Jiuquan and told Guo Yang about his experience.

Thanks to Tianhe's great reputation, strong brand, and promotional efforts such as television advertising, some regions have even obtained seed recommendation endorsements from municipal and county governments.

This means that as long as Tianhe’s vegetable seeds can be spread, there will be people to buy them, and the rest is left to time to ferment.

Promoting alpine vegetable seeds is just one of the directions set by Qu Yang. Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu and other provinces are the main battlefields, and the past one or two months have also seen fruitful results.

Guo Yang asked: "Do you have any idea about breeding?"

"It takes a thousand days to train an army, but only a moment to deploy it." Bi Qiang smiled, "It's time for the breeding system that I spent so much time and energy to build to play a role."

Commercial breeding can significantly shorten the breeding cycle and reduce uncertainty.

For varieties like vegetables, as long as the breeding goals are determined and the goals are simple and clear, the process from approval to market launch can basically be completed within one year.

But the disadvantage is that it is difficult to launch a single blockbuster product, and the market can only be filled by relying on the swarm strategy.

"That's quite a lot of pressure. I heard that you and Li Dianrong have a bet on rapeseed breeding?"

"Yes, the team has no idea about how to cultivate healthier rapeseed oil at the moment." Bi Qiang looked at Guo Yang expectantly.

"Take your time. This is a long-term battle. Let's conquer the alpine vegetables first."

Guo Yang shook his head. He did not stop during this period. While working, he also consumed nearly half of the natural energy accumulated in more than a year.

But he has no intention of getting involved in the breeding of healthy rapeseed and alpine vegetables.

(End of this chapter)