Sweet wormwood instead of corn, no more fear of wild boars ruining the crop

Original title: Liangping: Restructuring planting with 600 mu of sweet wormwood, "unproductive land" turns into "golden land"

Town officials inspecting the growth of sweet wormwood. Photo courtesy of correspondent Xu Benli

San Nong Zhi Tong Che comprehensive report: On June 8, the author, accompanying the person in charge of agriculture in Yinping Town, Liangping County, saw during an inspection and guidance of rural work in Qidou Village that patch after patch of sweet wormwood was lush and growing vigorously, presenting a scene of a bountiful harvest.

According to Yan Zhengquan, the village director, the villagers of Qidouzhai have a habit of planting sweet wormwood and corn, intercropping sweet wormwood in corn fields to obtain double benefits. However, in recent years, with the strengthening of green and ecological development, the forest cover has become dense, and large animals such as wild boars often destroy the corn. They only eat the corn and not the sweet wormwood, so the income that was within reach went straight into the wild boars' bellies, often resulting in a total loss of harvest. To cope with the damage caused by wild boars, many farmers learned their lesson and explored the path of switching to planting sweet wormwood to increase income. This year, the village's sweet wormwood planting area reached more than 600 mu.

"Planting sweet wormwood is simple, low-cost and profitable." Ren Maoquan, a large-scale grower, told the author that planting sweet wormwood is like planting crops; fertilizing and weeding require careful management. This year, he planted more than 8 mu of sweet wormwood and signed a minimum protected price contract order with a purchasing merchant, and he expects the annual net income from sweet wormwood to reach more than 8,000 yuan.

The village director calculated an account for the author: based on the current minimum price signed, the output value per mu is 1,200 yuan to 1,300 yuan, and after deducting fertilizer costs and other expenses, the net income per mu is about 1,000 yuan. (Correspondent Xu Benli)