Current Production Status and Development Strategies of Nanguo Pear in Haicheng City
The Nanguo pear is a distinctive industry of the Haicheng region. With its advantages of moderate fruit size, bright color, delicate flesh, sweet-tart flavor, and rich, unique aroma, it can be called the darling of fruits and a wonder of the world, and is deeply welcomed by consumers all over the country.
I. The flourishing Nanguo pear industry
At present, Haicheng City has 20 towns (farms) and more than 300 villages cultivating Nanguo pears, with more than 200,000 people engaged in the Nanguo pear industry. The total area of Nanguo pears is more than 300,000 mu, the total number of trees is more than 10 million, the annual output is about 150,000 tons, and the output value is more than 450 million yuan. In the fruit-producing areas, Nanguo pear income accounts for more than 50% of total agricultural income, and in key towns and villages more than 90%. It has become a pillar industry for farmers in the eastern mountainous areas to increase income and become better off.
In recent years, due to the attention of governments at all levels and the understanding of fruit growers, the Nanguo pear industry in Haicheng City has developed by leaps and bounds. More than 1 million new Nanguo pear trees are planted each year, with nearly 10,000 tons of new output and more than 50 million yuan of new output value.
In order to improve the scientific and technological content of Nanguo pear production and the scientific and technological quality of fruit growers, the fruit industry technology promotion department of Haicheng City has increased the promotion and training of new technologies in various ways. Over the past few years, it has focused on promoting new technologies such as rational close planting, early fruiting and early high yield, underground film mulching, hole storage of fertilizer and water, soil testing and formula fertilization, biological control of pests and diseases, and artificial supplementary pollination, which have increased pear output and fruit quality, and pushed the market price of Nanguo pears steadily upward. At present, the average price per kilogram can reach 4 yuan, and the highest reaches 6 yuan, more than double the previous level.
At present, Nanguo pears in the whole city have passed national pollution-free testing. Datun Town has registered the "Yingbuluo Brand" Nanguo pear trademark with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The Nanguo pears of Wangjiabao Village, Jiewen Town, have been recognized as Grade A green food by the National Green Food Office, and Datun Town has been designated by the Ministry of Agriculture as a high-quality Nanguo pear production base. Haicheng's Nanguo pears have been @#@136@#@ to large and medium-sized cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Dalian, Harbin, and Changchun, and sales volume continues to rise. With China's accession to the WTO, Nanguo pears are also opening up markets in European countries led by Russia and Southeast Asian countries led by Japan and South Korea.
II. Problems still existing in current production
1. Inadequate management of soil, fertilizer, and water Nanguo pear orchards in the Haicheng area are all mountain orchards. Newly planted Nanguo pear orchards have relatively good site conditions, but some large pear trees planted in the 1950s and 1960s have only simple fish-scale pits, and a small number of fruit growers still follow primitive clean cultivation management, resulting in serious soil erosion. Some pear orchards lack scientific fertilization techniques, using more chemical fertilizer and less organic fertilizer; using more chicken manure and less human excrement and urine and various barnyard manures. Individual pear orchards blindly apply a single fertilizer excessively, causing nutrient imbalance in the tree body and triggering various diseases. In addition, the fertilization timing is unscientific. Applying base fertilizer in early autumn has the best effect, but some fruit growers, unable to find the time, instead apply it in early spring, which affects the decomposition and maturation of the manure and its absorption by the fruit trees.
2. Poor control of pests and diseases The main pests and diseases of Nanguo pears are pear scab, pear psylla, and the pear fruit borer. In the control process, due to untimely forecasting, pesticide spraying frequency and concentration are blindly increased. Some fruit growers spray on average 12 times a year, at most 14 times. The pesticide dilution ratio should be 8000 to 10000 times, but some use 5000 to 6000 times, which not only increases production costs but also gives poor control results, and even makes the fruit difficult to ripen after harvest, affecting market sales.
3. Insufficient pruning of mature large trees The Nanguo pear is a tree species with a relatively strong light requirement. The pruning of mature large trees is somewhat insufficient. Some 50-year-old large trees have not had their tops lowered in time, have too many main branches, and have closed canopies, which affects the light conditions of the tree body and causes the fruiting parts to move outward. In summer pruning, only branch bending is emphasized, while measures such as branch thinning and tip pinching are not applied in time. Too many branches are retained, ventilation and light penetration are poor, and fruit quality is affected.
4. Unreasonable flower and fruit thinning Some fruit growers, eager to keep more fruit, blindly retain too much fruit, and even some pear orchards do not thin fruit at all. When harvesting, in order to catch up with festivals, they harvest early, which affects both yield and quality. Moreover, they pick "grandfather and grandson" together, and all the harvested fruit is mixed-grade fruit, resulting in low yield, low quality, low price, and low income. In addition, in individual pear orchards, improper selection of pollen for artificial supplementary pollination results in poor fruit quality throughout the orchard.
5. Lack of deep processing technology for fruit At present, the annual output of Nanguo pears in the whole city is about 150,000 tons. As the number of fruiting trees increases year by year, the output will increase substantially. However, at present, Nanguo pear fruit is mainly sold for fresh consumption, and there is a lack of deep processing technology for large quantities of substandard fruit. Furthermore, there are blind spots in market development. At present, it is concentrated only in surrounding markets and northern markets, while there is great space in southern markets that has not been developed, which has affected the development of the Nanguo pear industry to varying degrees.
III. Technical strategies that should be adopted in future production
1. Strengthen the management of soil, fertilizer, and water Strengthening the management of soil, fertilizer, and water is the primary task in producing high-quality Nanguo pears. In soil management, the Nanguo pear's requirement for slightly acidic soil must be met. Mountain orchards should have well-built level terraces and deep plowing to improve the soil, ensuring that pear tree roots have the required soil conditions. In terms of fertilization timing, base fertilizer should be applied in early autumn. In terms of fertilizer types, reasonable combinations should be used, applying more organic fertilizers such as human excrement and urine, soil manure, barnyard manure, and cake fertilizer to increase soil organic matter content. Chicken manure should be avoided as much as possible, because chicken manure contains large amounts of undecomposed growth hormones, which have a certain impact on fruit quality. Especially unrotted chicken manure has an even greater impact on tree development and easily causes pests and diseases. Chemical fertilizers should be applied in reasonable proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium according to the needs of the fruit trees, rather than blindly favoring one type, to prevent soil nutrient imbalance and physiological diseases. When applying chemical fertilizers, a certain amount of micronutrient fertilizer should also be applied to balance the nutrient needs of the tree body. Orchards should extensively plant and apply green manure. According to the experimental results of recent years, the application of special fertilizer for Nanguo pears is strongly advocated. The "Nengfu" brand Nanguo pear special fertilizer produced by Shenyang Xinlin Science and Trade Co., Ltd. has complete nutrition and combines long-acting and short-acting effects. It can increase soil organic matter content, both fertilizing the soil and significantly improving fruit color and quality, and has been well received by fruit growers.
2. Scientific control of pests and diseases In pest and disease control, we must adhere to prevention first, with prevention more important than treatment. Adopt scientific control methods, persist in forecasting, and use forecasting to guide control. Reduce the number of pesticide applications as much as possible, and use the right pesticide for the right problem. The average number of applications throughout the year should be 4 to 6 times, and no more than 7 times. Use low-concentration, washing-style spraying methods so that the leaf surface, leaf underside, and branches are evenly covered with pesticide. Use biological agents and pesticides with short residual periods as much as possible to prevent pesticide damage.
3. Improve the level of pruning and training For mature trees, pruning must control canopy closure and improve ventilation and light penetration in the canopy. Tall trees should have their tops lowered and centers opened in time to open up the light path. Excess main and lateral branches and overly dense branches sprouting in the inner canopy should be removed in time, and fruiting branch groups should be retracted and renewed in time to prevent the fruiting parts from moving outward and ensure high and stable yields.
4. Flower and fruit thinning and timely harvesting For rational flower and fruit thinning, one flower cluster should be retained every 20 to 30 cm, with 1 to 2 fruits per cluster, and the fruit-to-leaf ratio should preferably be maintained at 15 to 20:1. When thinning fruit, mainly retain hanging fruit, with side fruit as a supplement, and try not to retain upright fruit. In artificial supplementary pollination, in addition to following the procedures, the focus should be on pollen selection. Try not to choose pollen from the Pyrus ussuriensis system; pollen from Xuehua pear, Bai pear, and Huagai pear gives better results. Nanguo pears should be harvested at the right time and in batches to prevent early harvesting. The growth period of the Nanguo pear is about 140 days. In the Haicheng area, the normal harvest period is early to mid-September. Early harvesting affects the later growth and development of the fruit and reduces yield, quality, and selling price.
5. Increase market development and deep processing efforts In order to form a complete industrial chain for Nanguo pear production as soon as possible, comprehensive deep processing must be strengthened. In addition to processing Nanguo pear wine, Nanguo pears can also be processed into Nanguo pear juice, Nanguo pear jam, canned Nanguo pears, and aroma extraction and utilization, filling gaps in the market. At the same time, vigorously develop domestic and international fresh fruit markets for Nanguo pears, with emphasis on developing international markets such as Russia, and build a world-famous brand for Haicheng Nanguo pears.