Why have good varieties become the common choice of farmers and citizens alike?
Right now is the peak season for harvesting and marketing fresh-eating corn in large quantities. In order to promote superior varieties and meet market demand with high-end varieties, the Fresh-Eating Corn Special Session of the 23rd Beijing Seed Conference and the 2015 Beijing Fresh-Eating Corn Circulation Summit were held recently. The 74 fresh-eating corn varieties planted and displayed from all over the country, plus 24 jointly displayed by Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing, were tasted and evaluated by consumers. After joint tasting and evaluation by experts and consumers, 6 varieties selected on site, including Meizhen 204 from Beijing Baofeng Seed Co., Ltd. and Jingkenuo 928 from Beijing Hua'ao Nongkeyu Breeding Development Co., Ltd., won the top three places in the sweet and waxy corn categories respectively.
Beijing's fresh-eating corn breeding strength is outstanding, and it has developed a number of main planted varieties that belong to the whole country or specific regions. Jingkenuo 2000, bred by the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, is currently the waxy corn variety with the largest promotion area, the widest coverage area and the longest period of use in the country. Jingkenuo 928 is outstanding among sweet-waxy corns, and Tianzi 23, bred by Beijing Zhongnong Sida Agricultural Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd., is a relatively good variety in China for the promotion, planting and processing for export of flower waxy corn varieties. In addition, excellent varieties such as Zhongnongda 413, Jinguan 218 and Sida 204 all have relatively large promotion areas nationwide.
At present, Beijing is mainly promoting water-saving crops. Corn is a relatively water-saving, labor-saving crop with a wide range of applications, and high-quality fresh-eating corn brings higher returns. It is estimated that Beijing's permanent population exceeds 20 million. Calculating on the basis of each person eating 20 ears of fresh corn per year, 400 million ears are needed, requiring about 200,000 mu of planting area. With 2,000 fresh ears harvested per mu and 0.8 yuan per ear, the income per mu is 600 yuan more than that of field corn. Moreover, fresh-eating corn is managed the same way as ordinary corn, but reduces labor such as later threshing and drying. At the same time, fresh-eating corn has a short growth period, saves farming time, and is conducive to the arrangement of crop rotation for diversified management.
In addition, from the consumer's perspective, fresh-eating corn is nutritious and tastes good, and is a healthy food that improves quality of life and is suitable for all ages. In short, the increasingly optimized fresh-eating corn is the common choice of farmers and citizens, and is the preferred crop for Beijing to develop urban modern agriculture. As a mega international metropolis, Beijing can fully guide the national consumption trend, making fresh-eating corn a regular food like cabbage and radishes, rice and noodles, and making it more and more delicious.