Liu Fu'e is obsessed with goji berry cultivation, earning her the reputation of a goji berry fanatic among goji berry farmers.

In late autumn, the more than 130,000 mu of goji berries in Jinghe County have all been harvested. Farmers are busy calculating their yields, while Liu Fu'e, who calls herself a "goji berry fanatic," has been paying close attention to the disease resistance, survival rate, and quality of different goji berry varieties.

Liu Fu'e is the director of the Technical Development Office at the Jinghe County Goji Berry Development Management Center. Her interest in goji berries dates back more than 30 years.

In the summer of 1984, Liu Fu'e was assigned to work at the Agricultural Science Station in Tuoli Town, Jinghe County. From that time on, the red fruits growing on the Gobi Desert of Jinghe County caught her attention.

In her first few years of work, Liu Fu'e always followed farmers to the fields, observing sowing techniques and recording the growth process of goji berries. She worked as diligently in the fields as the farmers themselves.

Gradually, Liu Fu'e became thoroughly familiar with every aspect of goji berry cultivation. In 2005, the Jinghe County Goji Berry Development Management Center was established, and Liu Fu'e became a goji berry researcher there.

"Goji berry cultivation, field management, including planting patterns and other details, all affect the quality of goji berries," Liu Fu'e told this reporter on November 1.

For a long time, Jinghe goji berries had a low share of superior varieties, and pest and disease problems were severe. This could not meet the market demand for high-quality goji berry products, and farmers earned low incomes from growing goji berries. To find the answer, Liu Fu'e conducted field research during the day and delved into reference materials at night to study and compare. Finally, she found the answer: everything must start with the varieties.

Together with other technical personnel, Liu Fu'e introduced 6 superior goji berry varieties. Through comparative cultivation trials, they selected 3 varieties suited to growing in the Jinghe area, including "Ningqi No. 1." She took the lead in compiling 6 sets of cultivation technical manuals and pruning technical manuals for new goji berry varieties, and also taught goji berry farmers pruning techniques hands-on and explained key cultivation points.

Liu Fu'e realized that developing the goji berry industry could not rely solely on varieties introduced from elsewhere; Jinghe County also needed its own varieties. In order to breed new varieties, she and her colleagues spent their days shuttling through goji berry fields, conducting a general survey of the 100,000-mu high-yield goji berry plantation in Jinghe.

"The growth process of goji berries is affected by many external factors such as climate and humidity, so we must determine and become thoroughly familiar with the growth characteristics of a variety under any set of conditions," Liu Fu'e said.

After extensive screening and comparative trials, Liu Fu'e and her colleagues bred 4 superior varieties: "Jingqi No. 2," "Jingqi No. 4," "Jingqi No. 5," and "Jingqi No. 7." They successfully promoted hardwood and softwood cutting seedling techniques for goji berries, and goji berry seedling cultivation spread throughout Jinghe.

From then on, farmers no longer had to haul seedlings in from elsewhere, but could buy them right at their doorstep. Today, Jinghe County's high-quality goji berry seedlings not only meet local goji berry development needs, but are also supplied to various places in northern and southern Xinjiang, with some even shipped outside Xinjiang. Goji berry seedling cultivation in Jinghe has formed a new industrial chain.

Sometimes, Liu Fu'e would walk into a field and stare straight at a single goji berry. At first the farmers found it strange, but later, once they understood, they all said: "So that goji berry fanatic is here. She's studying pest and disease control for goji berries!"

Liu Fu'e said: "This year I observed and filmed video of goji berry gall mites transferring from gall mite galls. This is a huge achievement. All of our research must ultimately serve farmers. This is the duty and mission of being a Party member and a technical worker, so I must be serious about it. I know that the autonomous region also attaches great importance to the forestry and fruit industry, and this is also an encouragement to me. I will keep working hard and contribute to the development of the goji berry industry!"