Yuanchi, Henan Province: the Rich Sutra of a Zanthoxylum bungeanum Tree

In the early summer afternoon, the hot air dispersed. Shi Chengfang and his family are busy weeding and pruning Zanthoxylum bungeanum trees on the slope of Buzhaozhai village. "Zanthoxylum bungeanum is a treasure, and you can't get rich without it. If farmers want to get rich, plant prickly ash trees quickly." Shi Chengfang straightened up and said happily as she beat her waist with her hands.

Wuzhaozhai Village, where Shi Chengfang is located, is located in Potou Township, Mianchi County, Henan Province. It is a well-known poor village. The folk song of "Nine droughts in ten years, relying on heaven for a living" shows how much helplessness and bitterness the villagers felt at that time. In recent years, they not only rely on growing pepper to shake off poverty and become rich, but also set up the gold-lettered signboard of "the first Village of Zanthoxylum bungeanum in the Central Plains".

Shi Ming Dynasty, the leader of the first Village of Zanthoxylum bungeanum in the Central Plains

"layman" becomes "local expert"

Entering the village of Wuzhaozhai, more than 2600 mu of prickly ash trees are green, with bunches of prickly ash fruit hanging on the branches, and the smell of pepper is in the air.

How does a prickly ash tree pry the mountain village to get rid of poverty and become rich? "on the way out of poverty, we can't get rid of leaders like Shi Ming Dynasty." Zhang Tao, secretary of the party committee of potou township, said.

In the past, in the bumper year of Buzhaozhai Village, 500 jin of wheat could be harvested per mu of land, but in dry years, even the seed money could not be recovered.

In 2002, Wuzhaozhai Village was listed as a key village under the national policy of returning farmland to forests, but the local land was barren and dry and was not suitable for planting fruit trees. In order to find a way out of poverty, Shi Mingchao, secretary of the village party branch, was restless to eat and sleep.

When Shi Ming was at his wit's end, more than a dozen "Dahongpao" pepper trees planted in front of his neighbor Wang Yumin's house attracted his attention. These more than a dozen prickly ash trees are growing happily with large and full fruits.

In front of Shi Ming's eyes, there was a bright light: pepper is drought-resistant, barren-tolerant, high in yield and not low in price. This hillside is just suitable for us. Coupled with the exemption of agricultural tax and subsidies for returning farmland to forests, we are sure to grow pepper.

When he told his family what he thought, he was hit on the head. "you have no skills and no experience, so as soon as you get old, don't try to do that!" Shi Ming still has lingering fears about the failure of growing apples in the village.

Shi Mingchao feels that the country has a policy, and its own path must be right. He visited the Zanthoxylum bungeanum planting base in Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, asked experts to test soil samples, then "fed" the land according to soil types and crops, and bought prickly ash seedlings from Hancheng.

"it is a waste of money to spend money on things that are undesirable and useless." Despite complaining, the family still actively helps with the work.

He tried to grow nearly 13 mu, and because he did not know the technology, Shi Ming Dynasty took many detours. It was in the repeated "losses" that Shi Ming Dynasty learned a lot of technical knowledge.

A year later, the trial pepper grew vigorously, more than 1 meter high, which confirmed that it was suitable for the cultivation of pepper in the village. In August 2007, it was the mature season of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, and the first fruit of Zanthoxylum bungeanum planted in Shi Ming Dynasty. In 2008, the income reached more than 8000 yuan.

"growing prickly ash belongs to extensive management, as long as it is convenient for ventilation, lighting and picking." When it comes to the technology of planting prickly ash, Shi Ming Dynasty is like an expert: "although it is extensive management, we cannot ignore it. Zanthoxylum bungeanum is most afraid of 'two wastelands', one is afraid of land famine, and the other is afraid of tree famine. We should weed the fields and we must cut branches when we prune."

Through the formal training of professional institutions and the methods of "passing, helping, and leading", a number of "Tian Xiucai" and "local experts" have come to the fore and become the backbone of invigorating the rural economy and driving the people of one side to become rich.

"the techniques of these local experts are practical and studious, have no airs, and are more to the taste of the masses. It can be said that giving full play to the role of local experts can be described as four or two thousand pounds for poverty alleviation. " Zhang Tao said.

A prickly ash tree with fruitful fruits

From "do not understand" to "gladly accept"

"We farmers rely on heaven for food, and when it rains, we will harvest more. Lao Shi spends money on prickly ash trees. Can we earn it back?" For a time, the villagers were puzzled by the almost stubborn persistence of the Ming Dynasty.

Shi Chengfang also experienced the ideological change from "do not understand" to "gladly accept". Shi Chengfang's family can be described as "jingling poverty", bringing up a pair of children who are studying, and all their income comes from a few mu of barren land that depends on heaven for a living.

Today, Zanthoxylum bungeanum has become his family's "poverty alleviation tree", and his life has undergone earth-shaking changes because of pepper.

"when I first started growing pepper, I had no confidence in my heart. I didn't know if I didn't win, so I planted 3 mu with the attitude of trying." When it comes to the benefits brought by Zanthoxylum bungeanum trees, Shi Chengfang has a lot of feelings: "now that we have an annual income of more than tens of thousands of yuan, not only have we been lifted out of poverty, but our living conditions have also improved."

The benefit of Zanthoxylum bungeanum was highlighted, and the villagers' worries were dispelled, and everyone began to come to learn from the experience. While imparting technology, Shi Mingchao constantly improved the technology through experiments to improve the quality and output of pepper.

He successively explored and improved the techniques of reasonable close planting, pest control, balanced fertilization and management pruning, so as to shorten the fruit hanging period of Zanthoxylum bungeanum by one year.

From the selection and purchase of seedlings to planting in the fields, from field management to picking and drying, Shi Ming Dynasty gave careful guidance and spared no effort. The per capita annual income of these villagers who took the lead in planting prickly ash trees was several times higher than that before returning farmland to forests. "the quality of our pepper is higher than that of other places, and it is more affordable!" Shi Chengfang said.

"in the past two years, I leased the idle land of the villagers to grow pepper. I planted 20 mu in 2012 and 10 mu in 2013. Plus 13 mu of my own land, I planted a total of more than 40 mu." Shi Mingchao said.

Driven by radiation, Zanthoxylum bungeanum bungeanum has become a veritable local tree to become rich. This year, the planting area of Zanthoxylum bungeanum in Wuzhaozhai village has reached more than 2600 mu, accounting for more than 80% of the village's arable land. Potou Township has a cumulative development area of nearly 20,000 mu, and the brand of Zanthoxylum bungeanum has gradually become popular throughout the country.

In the past, seedlings were introduced, but now they are raised and sold.

"We don't have to go out as soon as the pepper is ripe here. Non-local businessmen such as Shaanxi, Gansu and Chongqing have come to buy and collect as much as they can, and the income will reach 8 million yuan in 2016." Shi Mingchao said that now is the season for selling green pepper, the price is 10 yuan per jin; by August, the price of dried red pepper is 40 yuan per jin.

For those who do not call the village, simply selling pepper and fruit is not enjoyable. "those who grow fruit are not as good as those who plant seedlings, and those who plant seedlings are not as good as those who sell them!" Shi Mingchao said that our village has gone from "introducing seedlings" in the past to "raising seedlings and selling them" today.

The village of Buzhaozhai used to be a barren mountain, the soil was barren, and the survival rate of seedlings planted was not too high. If you buy the seedlings again, the price will be too high.

In order to save money, Shi Ming Dynasty went to the expert for help and asked the expert to come and give advice on raising seedlings. After having their own fruit seedlings, in addition to replanting the land where the dead seedlings are planted, they sell both fruits and seedlings.

"I have cultivated more than 10 mu of prickly ash saplings this year, which can be sold next year." The villagers are full of confidence in the history of military law.

How to achieve the maximum benefit and create a finishing industry chain? In 2013, a Zanthoxylum bungeanum storage and processing plant was set up in the village to carry out deep processing of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, drying fresh fruits with advanced technology, prolonging storage time, and reprocessing the skins, seeds, stems and leaves of Zanthoxylum bungeanum.