Blueberries and Walnuts Turn Into a Mountain of Flowers and Fruit for Prosperity

"No chemical fertilizers, no pesticides, and every blueberry plant has become a tree of prosperity!" In a greenhouse in Linhe Village, Mashenqiao Town, Jixian County, farmer Ma Guixiang told reporters. To improve the water quality of Yuqiao Reservoir (Cuiping Lake), Jixian County, in a new round of water resource protection projects, has carried out structural adjustment of crops around the reservoir area. 50,000 mu of corn and wheat have been replaced by high-efficiency cash crops such as blueberries, honeysuckle, and high-quality walnuts, helping farmers increase income by 600 million yuan.

During the "May Day" holiday, reporters saw in the blueberry greenhouse of Ma Guixiang's home in Linhe Village, Mashenqiao Town, that clusters of purple-black blueberries hung all over the branches, looking extremely delightful. "Tourists come to pick them batch after batch, and each jin sells for 80 yuan to 100 yuan. The income from planting corn and wheat in the past cannot compare with now!" Ma Guixiang told reporters that her family of 6 people has a total of 5 mu of land. In the past, they mainly planted crops such as corn and wheat. After deducting the costs of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery for sowing and harvesting, the annual income was no more than 10,000 yuan. Last year, her family covered the 5 mu of land with greenhouses and planted all of it with blueberries. Last year, the 5 mu of land brought in more than 200,000 yuan.

To change the impact on the water quality of Yuqiao Reservoir caused by the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, Jixian County launched a new round of water source protection projects last year, adjusting the structure of 93,000 mu of crops above the 22-meter elevation contour line of the reservoir's water surface. According to the plan, the adjustment scope involves 10 townships and 203 villages, developing 45,000 mu of honeysuckle in contiguous areas, with 23.3 million plants planted. A total of 45,000 mu of high-quality walnuts were newly planted, totaling 1.98 million trees. In addition, on the basis of the existing area of the blueberry base in Mashenqiao Town, another 3,000 mu will be developed, planting 660,000 blueberry plants. Up to now, a cumulative total of 25,000 mu of walnuts, more than 20,000 mu of honeysuckle, and 2,200 mu of blueberries have been newly planted. The first batch of implemented projects has gradually bloomed and borne fruit, becoming a "Mountain of Flowers and Fruit" for local farmers to increase income and achieve prosperity. (Reporter Huang Jiangao)