What are the prospects for developing and utilising the resources of silvervine actinidia?

China is rich in kiwifruit resources and has a long history of cultivation, but these are mainly concentrated in the south. The kiwifruit species produced in Northeast China are mainly three: silvervine actinidia (Actinidia polygama Planch), hardy kiwifruit (A. arguta Planch) and kolomikta vine (A. kolomikta Maxim). Judging from the current propagation, cultivation and utilisation of Northeast China kiwifruit, relevant research is lacking; hardy kiwifruit and kolomikta vine have been introduced and planted sporadically in China, with no successful experience yet, and research on the cultivation and utilisation of silvervine actinidia is still a blank in China.

Silvervine actinidia, also known as silvervine fruit or deep-mountain silvervine, is a deciduous woody vine of the genus Actinidia and the most cold-tolerant species in the genus in China. In China it is mainly distributed in the Mudanjiang forest region, and is also found in Jilin Province and Liaoning Province. Silvervine is a precious health fruit, rich in vitamins and highly nutritious. As people's living standards continue to rise, more and more people are pursuing green, pollution-free food. Heilongjiang Province has uniquely favourable conditions in China: abundant resources, beautiful mountains and rivers, and an almost pollution-free environment, making it a natural base for developing green-food kiwifruit. Silvervine actinidia has a wide range of uses; its fruit, leaves and stems can be used for fruit, beverages, fibre, medicinal purposes and wine-making raw materials. Its main medicinal components are glycosides (benzene), linalool, vitamin C and vitamin E, which can lower triglycerides and cholesterol in organisms, and have the effect of invigorating blood and removing stasis and unblocking the meridians and collaterals. At the same time, it can increase human immune function and has the effect of alleviating fatigue and delaying ageing, giving it high food and medical health-care value.

New Zealand is the world's largest kiwifruit producer and exporter, and its kiwifruit production and scientific research are at the international leading level. New Zealand introduced kiwifruit from China in 1904, began commercial production in the 1940s, and its cultivation area has reached 18,000 hectares. To date, more than 20 countries have successfully introduced kiwifruit, among which Italy, the United States, France, Japan and Chile have seen very rapid development in research and production.

As early as a thousand years ago, China used kiwifruit as a wild fruit for food or medicine. Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Henan provinces have a history of cultivating kiwifruit. In 1978, all provinces and regions carried out surveys and research on kiwifruit and began artificial cultivation. After 1990, development accelerated, and relatively rapid progress was made in resource surveys, selection and breeding of improved varieties, seedling propagation, cultivation techniques and processing and utilisation. Chinese gooseberry (Actinidia chinensis) was successfully introduced in Beijing in 1961, having been moved 6 latitudes northward from the Funiu Mountain area of Henan, and the first cultivation model in China was established there. China has successively selected more than 1,400 superior individual plants, generally characterised by high yield, good taste and adaptation to local ecological conditions. Our province is rich in silvervine actinidia resources, but they remain in a wild state with no artificial planting, and in terms of fruit yield and quality they do not yet provide a basis for forming a new crop industry. Developing the cultivation and utilisation of silvervine actinidia will produce good economic, ecological and social benefits.

Protecting resources and the environment and raising the level of people's health is a national policy of China. One of the most important directions in quality of life is food quality. China's "Agenda 21" lists strengthening food quality and safety and developing pollution-free green food as one of its important action programmes. The "China National Plan of Action for Nutrition Improvement" requires actively promoting green food production and protecting the agricultural production ecological environment. At present, Heilongjiang Province already has 9 varieties and 128 products certified as green food. Among these, products and foods account for 98%, while products produced by the forestry system that have obtained a green trademark use licence account for less than 2% of the province's total, which is extremely disproportionate to the superior ecological environment and rich and diverse biological resources the forest regions possess. According to research confirmed by Japanese biological resources professor Hidetoshi Sakurai, silvervine contains relatively large amounts of VE and Vc, and when mixed into candy and flour it can also be made into tea to achieve the purpose of food therapy; it is also a health product against high blood lipids, cancer and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. A 1993 survey by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries showed that 91.6% of consumers were interested in organic vegetables. 77% of Americans said they liked green food. 40% of Europeans preferred organic food. Domestically, people's demand for high-quality food is also growing. According to surveys of the two major cities of Beijing and Shanghai, 79%-84% of consumers hoped to buy green food. Therefore, the prospects for developing silvervine resources and products are very broad.

Silvervine actinidia resources have strong drought and cold resistance. By selecting and breeding improved varieties for planting, they can enter full fruit-bearing in just a few years, with an economic life of more than 40 years, making them a new type of fruit tree with a short cycle and quick returns. Silvervine actinidia is a treasure from head to toe: the vines contain large amounts of high-quality plant gum and fibre that can be made into high-grade paper, and the seeds and flowers can be used as medicine. Our province is rich in silvervine actinidia resources. Judging from world development trends and China's current situation, developing the silvervine actinidia industry has enormous potential and will provide new resources for food, beverages, medical health care and special nutrients. Silvervine actinidia comes from the forest regions and has a superior, pollution-free ecological environment, so it belongs to natural green food. In recent years people have attached importance to natural green food, but its production and resources fall far short of meeting domestic market demand. The utilisation of silvervine actinidia will greatly drive the economic development of the forest regions. It will play an immeasurable role in the development of our province's specialty economy.

Silvervine actinidia is suitable for growing on mountain land and wasteland, and can be cultivated in forests or in concentrated plantations. However, the natural distribution of silvervine actinidia in the forest regions of eastern Heilongjiang Province is uneven, its populations are still basically in a wild state, its varieties are degraded and uniform, and fruit quality has not reached the level it should. In particular, over the past dozen years or so resources have been severely damaged, and resources in the low mountain areas are already in an endangered state. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen the protection of kiwifruit resources, carry out variety improvement, select and breed new varieties, and form a complete, matching set of intensive management and cultivation management techniques. At present, China is at a critical stage of implementing the Natural Forest Protection Project, and finding a new type of industry to replace timber as the main industry as soon as possible is a pressing task. Silvervine actinidia resources are distributed over large areas in the forest regions of eastern Heilongjiang, and there are many environments suitable for their growth and development; cultivating silvervine actinidia offers very attractive economic benefits and broad application prospects. By developing the cultivation of silvervine actinidia, the forest regions can be brought out of difficulty as soon as possible, ensuring the smooth implementation of the Natural Forest Protection Project, which is of great significance for the sustainable protection and utilisation of wild plant resources and for promoting the economic development of the forest regions.