Who Is the Father of Green Ridge Walnut? Meet This Walnut Breeding Expert

On July 8, 2016, we drove to the planting base of Hebei Green Ridge Fruit Industry Co., Ltd.

Rows of walnut trees, their branches and leaves interlocking, stretched along the rolling hills into the invisible distance. Among the trees, strips of cloth pulled the branches down level with the ground. Beneath the trees, flocks of white geese foraged leisurely, clearing both weeds and pests. Above the trees, black-light lamps hung high, and the pests that fell into the cloth bags beneath the lamps would become feed for the white geese below.

From land improvement, irrigation, planting methods, and new variety selection to deep processing of products, Li Baoguo left behind a complete set of innovative research results at Green Ridge. Among them, achievements such as "High-Quality Walnut Industrialization Technology and Deep-Processing Product Development in the Taihang Mountain Area" and "Integrated Demonstration of Standardized Production Technology for High-Quality Walnuts" were recognized as internationally advanced; the labor-saving cultivation and management technology system for walnuts became a key technology promoted under the national Spark Program; and "Green Ridge Original-Flavor Walnut Milk Production Technology" obtained a Hebei Province scientific and technological achievement certificate, with the achievement level reaching the domestic leading level.

In fact, before coming to Green Ridge in 1999, Li Baoguo had never been involved in walnut cultivation.

Today, thin-shelled walnut planting across Lincheng County has reached more than 220,000 mu, and 12,000 farming households throughout the county have escaped poverty and become prosperous by growing thin-shelled walnuts.

"I always feel that Teacher Baoguo is just away on a business trip and will soon come back to plan the development blueprint for the Green Ridge thin-shelled walnut industry with us and help more fellow villagers escape poverty and become prosperous," said Gao Shengfu, chairman of Green Ridge Company.

"Without Professor Li Baoguo, there would be no Green Ridge today."

In the late 1990s, a wave of developing barren hills surged through Lincheng County.

Gao Shengfu, who had contracted 3,000 mu of barren hills with partners, invited Li Baoguo, then a famous apple tree management expert, and planned to grow apples as well. Li Baoguo, wearing half-worn rubber shoes, with a stubbly beard, and dressed in a way that did not look like a professor, nevertheless concluded after testing the local soil that this soil with a high gravel content could not produce good apples, and he suggested that Gao Shengfu plant walnut trees.

Gao Shengfu was somewhat confused. On the one hand, walnuts were not worth much at the time; on the other hand, although Li Baoguo was a famous expert in apple management, he had never done walnut cultivation, so Gao Shengfu really found it a little hard to believe in Li Baoguo's ability.

In fact, Li Baoguo had already begun research on walnuts back in Gangdi Village. "Teacher Baoguo said, 'Apples are indeed good, but they are not suitable for planting everywhere. Especially in the hilly areas in front of the Taihang Mountains, where the soil is thin and barren and there is drought and a shortage of water, walnuts are more suitable. Walnuts require less water and labor than apples in terms of water use and management techniques, and they are easy to promote. High-quality thin-shelled walnuts in particular have very good market prospects.'" Gao Shengfu recalled.

Half-believing and half-doubting, Gao Shengfu began planting walnut trees.

In 1999, Green Ridge introduced a new, better-quality thin-shelled walnut variety from Shandong and planted 10,000 seedlings.

By 2002, when the walnut trees bore fruit, it was discovered that the varieties of the fruit trees were in complete disorder. Besides the true new variety, there were old varieties with recognizable names such as "Liao 1," "Liao 7," "Fenghui," and "Zhonglin No. 1," and some that even experts could not name.

"Teacher Li said that to have industrialization and economies of scale, it is necessary to achieve varietal standardization and improved varieties, to ensure consistency of varieties and ensure that the varieties are excellent," recalled Zhang Kang, office director of Green Ridge Company.

Where would improved varieties come from? Li Baoguo began researching and breeding new walnut varieties. He tried every means to introduce 6 fine walnut varieties and 11 pecan varieties from the University of California in the United States, and 13 fine walnut varieties from other domestic provinces and regions, conducting crossbreeding and tissue culture experiments. Finally, he discovered a genetically mutated new bud on a walnut tree, and used it to breed the new thin-shelled walnut variety "Green Ridge," which has independent intellectual property rights.

In 2007, "Green Ridge" passed the "Identification of New Early-Fruiting Thin-Shelled High-Quality Walnut Varieties" organized by the Forestry Department of Hebei Province, and the expert panel unanimously agreed that the comprehensive traits and all technical indicators of Green Ridge walnut were "domestically leading." At that time, there were quite a few famous thin-shelled walnut varieties nationwide, but some varieties had skins as thin as paper and cracked easily, readily causing contamination of the kernel; other varieties had skins that were rather thick and could not be opened even with a hard hand twist. Green Ridge walnut had a moderate skin thickness and the best comprehensive traits, and won the "Third China International Agricultural Trade Fair Best-Selling Product Award," the "Seventh China International Agricultural Trade Fair Gold Award," and the "First China Walnut Festival Gold Award."

On the rolling barren ridges of Lincheng County, what is planted is the new variety bred by Li Baoguo, and what is replicated is the new planting method pioneered by Li Baoguo.

According to tradition, walnut trees are planted sparsely to facilitate ventilation after the trees grow large. But with this planting method, walnut yields alternate between good and poor years, and the high-yield period is limited. Li Baoguo went against tradition and pioneered dwarfing and close-planting technology for walnuts. Through close planting of walnut trees and leveling of branches, he achieved fruit bearing on strong branches and stable yields year after year. The "Green Ridge Thin-Shelled Walnut Dwarfing and Close-Planting Cultivation Technology" he promoted was recognized as a domestic first by Professor Yin Weilun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Beijing Forestry University.

Once, the company invited domestic walnut experts to visit and provide guidance. Seeing the planting density of the walnut trees, one expert was greatly displeased and said, "This is reckless. Once the walnut trees grow up, there will be no ventilation between the trees. I dare bet that in a few years they will definitely die. Three years from now, I will come again."

Three years later, the expert came as promised, and seeing the still lush walnut grove before him, all that remained in his heart was admiration.

From land improvement, planting methods, and new variety selection to deep processing of products, Li Baoguo left behind a complete set of research results at Green Ridge. Gao Shengfu, chairman of Green Ridge Fruit Industry Co., Ltd., said, "Without Professor Li Baoguo, there would be no Green Ridge Company today, and there would be no Green Ridge walnut brand renowned in China. Teacher Li is truly the father of Green Ridge walnut."

Having shared hardships with Green Ridge for more than ten years, this is the deepest feeling Li Baoguo left with the people of Green Ridge.

"The walnut varieties we bred ourselves must be cherished like children."

At the planting base of Green Ridge Company known as Shiwai Taoyuan, a temporary memorial hall for Li Baoguo has been established.

In addition to photographs and written introductions, the shoes and clothes Li Baoguo wore during his lifetime are also displayed. The clothes have tears cut by branches, and the tread patterns on the soles of the rubber shoes and sneakers have been worn smooth.

Looking at pair after pair of rubber shoes, Wang Suxin told the following story.

Once, a technician at the company wore leather shoes while climbing a tree to prune branches, and Li Baoguo saw him. Li Baoguo said, "The new variety of walnuts we bred ourselves is like our own child. You climbed the tree in leather shoes, and such a hard sole damaged the bark, just like injuring a child's skin. Doesn't your heart ache?"

What Li Baoguo wore most were rubber shoes or sports shoes, and few people ever saw him in leather shoes. Before this incident, the technicians and employees of Green Ridge Company had only thought that Teacher Li was unkempt and did not care about his clothing. After this incident, people gained a deeper understanding of Li Baoguo.

In Li Baoguo, strictness and cherishing were two sides of the same coin: the deeper the love, the sharper the reproach.

Jia Zhihua and Chen Liying were students of Li Baoguo at Hebei Agricultural University. In daily life, Li Baoguo treated the two students as family. At the planting base, when Li Baoguo saw negligence in the students' operations, no matter how many people were present, he would scold them bluntly.

Regarding Li Baoguo's love and reproach, Gao Shengfu still remembers one incident deeply.

When developing walnut milk products, Green Ridge technicians went through many experiments, but the emulsification effect was always poor when only walnut powder was used, so they wanted to use additives such as walnut flavoring in the walnut milk to improve its appearance and taste. Li Baoguo firmly disagreed, saying, "Using flavoring is blending, it is cutting corners. As a food processing enterprise, we must treat consumers as our own family and must put food quality first. Quality is 1, and everything else is 0. Only when quality is done well do the things after it have value."