Pineapple Sea Transforms into Pepper Fields, Crop Rotation Achieves Both Goals
Original title: Xuwen Farmers Change Their Methods, Pineapple Fields Become Green Pepper Fields
Farmer Wang Si's pepper field forms a unique sight within the "Pineapple Sea." Photo by correspondent Tan Zong
Recently, this writer discovered in the "Pineapple Sea" near Suntian Village, Qianshan Town, Xuwen County, that a farmer had planted green peppers in what used to be a pineapple field.
At the planting site, this writer observed that the entire pepper field adopted advanced techniques such as plastic film mulching and spray irrigation for planting management, while a group of women worked diligently in the pepper field. The pepper seedlings, which had been planted for some time, appeared sturdy with lush leaves under the workers' care, forming a sharp contrast with the neighboring pineapples and giving a sense of abundant vitality.
This greatly surprised this writer and companions. As is well known, in traditional planting models, very few people use pineapple fields to grow vegetables or other short-term cash crops. Regarding this, the owner of the pepper field, Wang Si, explained that this pepper field covers a total of 86 mu, which had previously been planted with pineapples. However, over the past two or three years, he noticed abnormal phenomena in the pineapples grown on this land, such as small size and reduced yield. After consulting agricultural technicians, it was estimated that the long-term monoculture of pineapples had caused soil degradation, making nutrients difficult for crops to absorb. He hoped to improve the soil through a "crop rotation" approach of planting pineapples this year and vegetables next year. Wang Si took the advice of agricultural technicians and decided to try changing the planting structure by growing green peppers, in order to improve the land and increase economic benefits.
"After I harvested that crop of pineapples in May this year, I stopped planting pineapples. Now, all 86 mu of this land is planted with green peppers. First, I hope to change the operating situation through this short-term cash crop of green peppers; second, the ultimate goal is to improve the soil," said Wang Si.
Several village women who were working all approved of Wang Si's approach. They said that many farmers are now gradually accepting the "crop rotation" method and no longer plant pineapples until the land is exhausted. Accompanying staff from Qianshan Town also stated that in recent years, the county's agricultural department and the town have been guiding farmers to adopt "crop rotation" to maximize land benefits and increase people's income.
(Text and photos/Tan Zong, Sun Xing Editor/Wen He Lengfeng)