The prosperity dream of a green bamboo planting soil expert
"In 2015, our cooperative's sales of green bamboo shoots reached more than 2,000 tons, and green bamboo timber reached more than 6,000 tons, with sales exceeding 10 million yuan," green bamboo "soil expert" Jiang Nengze excitedly told this writer on December 4.
Jiang Nengze, now 55 years old, a member of the forestry committee of the county's association of veteran scientific and technological workers and chairman of the Yongheng Green Bamboo Professional Cooperative, began in 1985 at his doorstep a venture to make a living from the mountains and grow green bamboo scientifically to increase income and build prosperity.
Over these 30 years, he has specialized in planting and exploring Youxi horse-hoof green bamboo and sweet green bamboo, and has mastered techniques such as high-yield cultivation, water-saving irrigation, formula fertilization, and fresh shoot preservation, becoming a "soil expert" in Youxi green bamboo cultivation. Focusing mainly on "horse-hoof" green bamboo cuttings, he planted more than 100 mu himself, worked hard on high-yield cultivation, and carried out scientific tending and management, embarking on a path of prosperity and development.
As his bamboo-growing experience continued to accumulate, Jiang Nengze taught his bamboo-growing experience to farmers without reservation, actively provided farmers with one-stop services such as seedlings, special fertilizer, centralized processing, and fresh shoot sales, and led more than 1,000 farming households in 18 villages across 7 townships and towns including Youxi Xicheng, Chengguan, Meixian, Xibin, Yangzhong Town, Xiwei Township, and Taixi Township to plant green bamboo, opening up a new world for Youxi's development of a distinctive green bamboo industry.
"Planting green bamboo requires little investment, has low costs, and brings quick results." This is the good path to increasing income and building prosperity found by Lai Yingwen, vice chairman of the county's Yongheng Green Bamboo Professional Cooperative and a member of the forestry committee of the county's association of veteran scientific and technological workers. With his expertise in green bamboo cultivation and now 52 years old, at the end of 2001 he leased and contracted more than 50 mu of barren hills in his village, greened the barren hills, took the site conditions of the mountain area into account, raised funds through various channels, began with high-standard land preparation, chose to plant after rain or on cloudy days, planted seedlings the same day they were lifted, watered them to set the roots, and covered the planting holes with miscellaneous rice straw, carrying out standardized development and implementing pollution-free cultivation, which increased the survival rate of planting.
From then on, he rose early and worked late every day, hoeing weeds and banking soil, tending carefully and managing scientifically. According to the formula, he applied fertilizer by trenching, hole application, broadcasting, piling, watering, and cavity application; during the shoot emergence period, he carefully controlled the soil-banking height to ensure the quality of the green bamboo shoots. The green bamboo forest he managed had a long shoot-producing period, from mid-May to early October of that year, with a shoot emergence period of more than 120 days.
Having tasted the sweetness of the returns from planting green bamboo, he accelerated the pace of scientific development of green bamboo. He invested funds to build tractor roads and bamboo forest paths, build water storage ponds, improve the infrastructure of the bamboo mountain, and raise the efficiency of the bamboo mountain. In his green bamboo forest, each clump retained 10-12 culms, and the number of standing culms per mu was 600-700, significantly improving the quality of the bamboo forest. The green bamboo shoots produced had thin shells and thick flesh, were white, tender and crisp, fresh, sweet and delicious, with a unique flavor and sweet taste. They became a superior vegetable loved by the people in summer and autumn and a delicious dish for entertaining guests, and were very popular.
Over 15 years, through intensive cultivation and scientific tending and management, and by working hard on high-yield cultivation of green bamboo, he grew a "money tree" and became a "soil expert" with rich experience in green bamboo planting and management in the county. In 2015, his more than 50 mu of green bamboo forest achieved good returns, with annual income of more than 100,000 yuan from green bamboo shoots and green bamboo timber, and his green bamboo forest became a science popularization base of the forestry committee of the Youxi association of veteran scientific and technological workers. In 2014, he was awarded the title of outstanding member of the county's "productive in old age" program and was commended.
Jiang Nengze and Lai Yingwen increased income and built prosperity at their doorstep, and bamboo farmers followed one after another. Through high-yield cultivation, hoeing weeds and banking soil, applying organic fertilizer, strictly preventing pests and diseases, and introducing water for sprinkler irrigation, they piled up "mountains of gold and silver." The market for green bamboo timber was rising, and there was no worry about finding buyers. In the county, more than 2.5 million kilograms of green bamboo were cut and thinned from green bamboo forests, and the price per 100 kilograms of green bamboo green timber reached 40 yuan to 50 yuan, increasing the economic income of bamboo farmers.
The demonstration and leading role of the cooperative they founded in 2007 supported the economy of the bamboo township and helped the sustainable and scientific development of Youxi's eco-economic green bamboo industry. At present, the county has established more than 42,000 mu of high-yield and high-efficiency green bamboo bases, accounting for 64.6% of the total green bamboo forest area. This year, in the county, bamboo farmers' per capita income increased by 4,200 yuan from "Youxi green bamboo shoots" alone; the county's income from green bamboo shoots and green bamboo timber exceeded 200 million yuan.