Tiny kiwifruits pave the way for farmers to prosperity

Hao Zengping is tying branches for the fruit trees.

Walking into Yangli Town, Laicheng District, at the mention of "Hao Zengping who grows kiwifruits," the villagers all gave a thumbs-up and praised him endlessly. On May 26, our reporter came to the Hezhong Kiwifruit Planting Base located in Daijiazhuang Village, Yangli Town, Laicheng District, Laiwu City, where Hao Zengping was busy in the kiwifruit orchard. Large expanses of kiwifruit trees swayed their branches and leaves in the wind, and the newly grown kiwifruits dotted the trees, everything heralding another bumper harvest year.

Successfully improved kiwifruit varieties that taste even sweeter than those from the south

Talking about his planting experience, Hao Zengping told the reporter that he began growing kiwifruits in 1996, but at that time many people in Laiwu had never seen kiwifruit, causing the products to pile up and rot for several consecutive years. "At that time nobody recognized kiwifruits, and even at very low prices nobody bought them. Later, some were given away, and those that couldn't be given away rotted in the fields." Hao Zengping said.

After the setback, Hao Zengping did not give up his dream, but continuously conducted experiments and improvements, until 2010, when he finally succeeded. The improved kiwifruits are smaller in size, but have better taste, and are even sweeter than those grown in the south.

Now, at the southernmost edge of Hao Zengping's kiwifruit planting base, there are several rows of trees taller than the other fruit trees. Hao Zengping told the reporter that these are decades-old kiwifruit trees, witnessing the hardships of his planting career all the way.

Freely teaching villagers planting techniques, establishing a cooperative to lead villagers to prosperity

In 2013, Wang Fengdong from Langouya Village, Zhang Yidong and Zhao Decai from Daijiazhuang Village in Yangli Town, and others came together to Hao Zengping's home, wanting to learn kiwifruit planting techniques from him. Old Hao without a second thought took on all the techniques from planting to management.

In April 2014, the Laiwu Hezhong Kiwifruit Planting Professional Cooperative was established, and Hao Zengping was elected by everyone as the president. At first, there were only 6 member households near Daijiazhuang Village. After two years of development, as of now, it has grown to more than 50 households in places such as Shengbo Yang Village and Sangke Village, with a kiwifruit planting area of more than 500 mu.

The special feature of the kiwifruits at the planting base lies in the difference in varieties. The Hongyang kiwifruit introduced by Hao Zengping is a seedling descendant of the red-fleshed kiwifruit, a variety of Chinese kiwifruit. Its characteristics of being storage-resistant, high-yielding, nutritious, and good-tasting have brought business opportunities to farmers.

Next to the office of Hao Zengping's planting base, the reporter saw many kiwifruit seedlings. Hao Zengping introduced that besides professionally growing kiwifruits, the planting base also advocates that cooperative members sell fruit tree seedlings and kiwifruit flower tea and other by-products to increase income.

Pollution-free food spreads by word of mouth, sold out at an expo in Jinan

In the cooperative's office, a "Pollution-Free Agricultural Product Certificate" issued by the Ministry of Agriculture is particularly eye-catching.

"The most reassuring thing about kiwifruits is that they don't attract insects and don't need pesticide, because they have fleshy roots." Hao Zengping said that due to the particularity of their varieties, the kiwifruit trees at the base have few pests and diseases, and have never been sprayed with pesticide since trial planting was introduced, and the fertilizer applied is all organic fertilizer.

Since the establishment of the cooperative, every September when kiwifruits mature, the cooperative organizes activities such as kiwifruit picking festivals. Hao Zengping's cooperative is located at the border of Laiwu and Tai'an cities, and every year it attracts citizens from Tai'an, Jinan and other places to come pick and buy.

Last September, Jinan held the "Second Laiwu Specialty Products Expo" at Quancheng Square. The cooperative's kiwifruit products were warmly received by the people of Jinan and instantly made a name for themselves. At the expo, the kiwifruits brought by Hao Zengping were quickly snapped up, attracting the attention of merchants from Jinan, Beijing and other places.

Hao Zengping told the reporter that at present, the cooperative is planning to take the e-commerce platform route, selling both online and offline simultaneously, adding another channel for members to prosper.