Hawaiian fruit cultivation | from seed to seedling, Wang Zhengguo, founder of macadamia nut industry in Yunnan

Wang Zhengguo is the former director of Yunnan Tropical crop Science Research Institute. He was born in Fengqing, Lincang, Yunnan in 1939 and graduated from the Department of Genetics of Yunnan University in 1962. After that, he was assigned to the Yunnan Institute of Tropical crop Science in Xishuangbanna to engage in the research on the cultivation of new varieties of natural rubber. In 1989, he devoted himself to the development of macadamia nuts in Yunnan and went to the front line of seedling cultivation, which can be called the founder of the development of macadamia nut industry in Yunnan.

Wang Zhengguo never thought that the macadamia nuts he once planted would develop into a tight industry, and his hometown, Yunnan, would become the largest macadamia nut growing area in the world, more than the rest of the world combined. When it comes to nuts, the 80-year-old man is Hale and hearty and his eyes roll. Although he has retired for many years, people who know him well still call him "Director Wang". Someone once said: the development of macadamia nuts is a typical transformation of science and technology into productive forces, and Wang Zhengguo is indispensable in every important period of macadamia nut development.

That year, there were only seven macadamia nuts in Yunnan.

In 1981, in order to carry out academic observation and research, the Yunnan Institute of Tropical crop Science, where Wang Zhengguo works, introduced 12 macadamia nut seedlings from Hainan, and 7 survived. At that time, for the people of Yunnan, macadamia nut was just a professional term stuck in academic research.

In 1991, Dr. Ma Tiansong, president of the U.S.-China Talent Exchange Center (CAPS), visited the Yunnan Tropical crop Science Research Institute and was pleasantly surprised to find that the macadamia nuts in the institute were as good as those in Hawaii. "can we cooperate with you to provide technology, capital and talent to study the cultivation of macadamia nuts in Yunnan?" Dr. Ma Tiansong's question made Wang Zhengguo overjoyed.

In the days that followed, the two sides had many exchanges on how to carry out scientific research projects on macadamia nut cultivation in Yunnan, but no one thought that the seven seedlings in the institute would develop into an industry in Yunnan Province that could influence the world over the next few decades.

In 1993, the Yunnan provincial government launched the "18 Biological Resources Development Project" in the province. Macadamia nuts, as one of the 18 biological resources development projects, plan to plant 30,000 mu in the province. Yunnan Tropical crop Science Research Institute fully undertakes the work of raising seedlings. Wang Zhengguo, as a specific executor, is responsible for land selection and seedling breeding in the province. At that time, the rubber industry was the economic pillar of Yunnan Province. no one knew what macadamia nuts were, and no one was willing to provide land. Wang Zhengguo had to run into the mountains and find a relatively flat dam in the valleys. From the opening up of wasteland, we began to breed macadamia nuts.

From 7 seedlings to 30000 mu, one person led a team to plant in 15 counties.

Seedling is the first problem that must be solved in the development of macadamia nut industry. However, there are several varieties of macadamia nuts, and no one knows which ones are suitable for growing in Yunnan.

The only solution is: multi-variety, multi-region trial planting, grafting, re-trial planting.

In 1996, Wang Zhengguo selected a corn field in Mengding, Lincang, and decided to build a seedling base there. As macadamia nut seedlings have a high demand for soil and water conservation, how to solve the irrigation of 150 mu seedling base has become another difficult problem. Wang Zhengguo transferred eight technicians and two senior engineers from the Hot work Institute, and pulled two large water pipes from Kunming to the irrigation system of the Mengding layout base. Reclamation during the day and wiring at night, it took 10 people several months to build 150 mu of land.

Then, how can we sow 25 tons of seeds with these 10 people alone?

Wang Zhengguo went to the secretary of the county party committee of Mengding Town and asked the secretary to mobilize in the surrounding stockade, while he went to Zhenkang County in the neighboring county to do the mobilization. After several twists and turns, he found 25 local minority farmers to join, and only then temporarily solved the sowing problem.

The biggest difficulty is not eating!

Mengding is located on the border of Yunnan, with hot weather and food shortage. The nursery base is still 25 kilometers away from the county seat. At that time, the supplies of the base were brought by people from Kunming. But it is a five-day walk from Kunming to Lincang. When it rains or the road is blocked, meat and vegetables will rot on the way. Only noodles and soy sauce can be eaten in the base.

"sometimes I don't even have noodles, so I'm so hungry that I have no choice but to catch bamboo mice to eat!" Wang Zhengguo said.

Under such conditions, Wang Zhengguo worked for four years and finally completed the construction of a 150-mu seedling base in Mengding Town. In the seven years since the construction of the first base in 1993, Wang Zhengguo led a team to 15 counties in Yunnan Province and led the construction of a 30,000 mu macadamia nut seed and seedling base, which laid a solid foundation for the later take-off of the macadamia nut industry in Yunnan Province.

Trained the first batch of professional and technical personnel of macadamia nuts for Yunnan.

Talent is another core element of industrial development, but at that time, no one knew what macadamia nuts were, let alone the technology of planting management. In 1996, Wang Zhengguo sent 20 people from 25 ethnic minority farmers who participated in sowing in Mengding Base to Xishuangbanna Hot farming Institute for training to learn grafting and management skills. These 20 people have become the first batch of professional and technical personnel in the development of macadamia nut industry in Yunnan Province.

Wang Zhengguo held five training courses and personally compiled teaching materials, and invited Australian and native nut experts to teach the students on macadamia nut planting, grafting, and management techniques. Even today, some of these cadets are still active in the front line of raising and planting macadamia nuts in Yunnan.

Postscript:

According to the survey data of Xishuangbanna Tropical crop Research Institute in 2016, Yunnan has become the largest macadamia nut planting area in the world, accounting for 57% of the total macadamia nut planting area in the world. The nut seedlings planted by Wang Zhengguo have now become a trump card industry for Yunnan Province to develop agriculture with plateau characteristics and a green ecological economy. With the careful support of the Yunnan provincial government and the dedication of colleagues in the Yunnan nut industry, today's macadamia nuts have become a typical accurate poverty alleviation industry for science and technology to transform productive forces, and have become what local fruit farmers call "cash trees" and "getting rich trees". At this time, Wang Zhengguo is 80 years old. at the end of the interview, Wang Zhengguo said: "I have lived up to my heart all my life."