A watermelon grows on a gourd vine, and he led tens of thousands of farmers onto the path out of poverty

He spent 30 years devoted to studying watermelons, starting with watermelon grafting, and solved problems such as fusarium wilt in continuous watermelon cropping; his grafting technique was praised by professors at Henan Agricultural University. Through the spread of the technique, he led nearly ten thousand farming households onto the path out of poverty by growing watermelons. He is Dai Zixing, hailed by the people of Zhengyang as the "Watermelon King."

Obsessed with studying watermelons for 30 years

Henan sub-site of CNR News, July 2: In the Zhengyang Daixing Farmers' Professional Cooperative, the reporter met the "Watermelon King" Dai Zixing, who is not tall and has slightly dark skin.

He is 53 years old and lives in Leizhai Township, Zhengyang County. In 1981, Dai Zixing was selected by Professor Ding Liping, the "father of world pepper hybridization," to do auxiliary work at the Nanjing Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

During that period, Dai Zixing was diligent and eager to learn, and soon won Professor Ding's appreciation. Professor Ding often explained some hybridization principles to him. From then on, Dai Zixing became obsessed with grafting techniques.

In 1986, after returning to his hometown, Dai Zixing repeatedly explored grafting techniques. To solve the problems of fusarium wilt being prone to occur in continuous watermelon cropping and of low yield and poor returns, Dai Zixing selected gourds, loofahs, pumpkins, and winter melons as rootstocks for grafting watermelon seedlings. After repeated trial plantings, he selected and bred watermelon seedlings grafted onto gourd and winter melon rootstocks; the grafted watermelon seedlings survived at a high rate early on, the watermelon vines were vigorous, and the yield was also high.

Grafting watermelon onto gourd seedlings produced watermelons that were large, high-yielding, up to 13% in sugar content, attractive in appearance, and characterized by disease resistance, good moisture tolerance, and tolerance of continuous cropping, making them famous far and wide for a time.

In 2005, Dai Zixing invested 300,000 yuan to "marry" with the Nanjing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and founded the Leizhai Township Zhengxing Vegetable Research Institute; afterward he registered and established the Daixing Farmers' Planting Cooperative, and through training and other forms drove more than a thousand nearby farmers to learn the technique.

Technique drives farming households toward moderate prosperity

"Being rich yourself doesn't count as being rich; only when everyone is rich does it count as being rich." Dai Zixing said that he had become rich through science and technology, but the people around him had not yet become rich, and he had an obligation to help everyone become rich together.

Lei Jianwei of Houzhai Village, Leizhai Township, suffered from congenital muscular atrophy, and his family was extremely poor; in his 30s he had not yet started a family. Old Dai took the initiative to teach him watermelon seedling-raising techniques and provided seedlings, fertilizer, and other agricultural materials free of charge. Through study and assistance, Lei Jianwei gradually escaped poverty and also married and started a family; now he is already able to guide and manage more than 10 mu of watermelons.

"Brother Dai helped me and taught me techniques, which filled my life with hope. He is the great benefactor of my life!" Whenever this matter is mentioned, Lei Jianwei is full of gratitude.

In recent years, nearly 100 poor households that Dai Zixing has helped to develop cash crop planting and prosper number nearly 100.

Dai Zixing and the township government jointly invested 130,000 yuan to establish the Leizhai Township Grafted Watermelon Seedling Demonstration Base, and set up 10 watermelon grafting points across the township; each grafting point helps at least 100 poor households become specialized watermelon households every year.

In addition, Old Dai, in partnership with the Nanjing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced, bred, and promoted 36 new varieties of melons and vegetables such as watermelons and peppers, with a promoted area of 4.5 million mu, leading nearly ten thousand farmers across the country onto the "watermelon poverty-alleviation" path.

"I took detours in watermelon grafting, and I hope farmers will take fewer detours on the road to prosperity, invest less and see more results, and reach moderate prosperity sooner." Old Dai said. Reporter Liu Hongtao

(Original title: Devoted 30 years to studying watermelons; the "Watermelon King" makes watermelons grow on gourd vines)