Niu encouraged himself to create the second revolution in apple production.

From the countryside to the agricultural university and then to the agricultural research post, Niu Zimian knows what agriculture lacks most, what farmers look forward to most, and what rural areas need most; as an agricultural scientific research worker, Niu Zimeng is also well aware of his great responsibility and sacred mission. For 33 years, such as one day, he never slackened the pace of pursuing scientific research and innovation. He constantly perfected the fruit tree technology system and strived to present it to fruit growers and his beloved scientific research cause.

Revolutionary new technology

In the winter of 1999, Niu Zimian, a researcher, carried out a high light efficiency tree transformation on the more than three mu orchard of Wang Bin, a farmer in Sanguan Village, Sanguan Town, Linqu County. Under the skeptical mentality of the local agricultural extension department, in the conservative wait-and-see attitude of the farmers, and even accompanied by the noise that Wang Bin's wife did not understand, the apple high light efficiency tree transformation began, which ignited the spark of apple high light efficiency tree transformation in our province, and also opened the prelude to the second revolution of apple production in our country.

Apple tree shape with high light efficiency refers to the tree shape with good utilization of light energy, high photosynthetic efficiency and good fruit quality.

At present, the area of apples in our province has grown to more than 5 million mu, accounting for 16% of the total area of apple cultivation in the country. The distribution of apples in our province is mostly located in hilly arid and semi-arid orchards, which mainly adopts the mode of dense planting. After entering the full fruit period, there are common production problems, such as tree shape disorder, canopy closure, decrease of photosynthetic efficiency, poor fruit quality, shortening of economic life of fruit trees and so on, which affect the healthy development of characteristic fruit industry.

In 1993, in view of the outstanding problem of tree closure in a large area of Qiaohua orchard in China, led by the State Administration of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology, China began to introduce Japanese happy tree management technology. The first apple happy tree-shaped experimental orchard-Sino-Japanese friendship demonstration orchard was established in Changping, Beijing. Niu Zimian, as a resident expert of Chinese cooperative units, together with Chinese and Japanese experts, carried out the structural simplification and rapid prototyping experiments of apple happy tree shape in the demonstration orchard system. The horizontal leaf curtain shaping technology, the quintessence of Japanese apple happy tree shape, was introduced into China, and the research result of apple crown happy tree shape was formed.

In 1999, in view of the outstanding problem of orchard closure in Shanxi Province, the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences set up the Apple New Tree Project Cooperation Group, with Niu Zimian, then deputy director of the Fruit Tree Research Institute, as the project moderator. began to implement the research work of apple high light efficiency tree transformation system in the Loess Plateau region of our province. The implementation of the project is supported by the local major projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the key agricultural projects of the Department of Science and Technology of Shanxi Province, and the cooperation of local science and technology departments organized by Yuncheng Science and Technology Bureau. implement the strategy of coordinated operation of cross-regional and inter-departmental technology research and promotion, and carry out apple high light efficiency tree test and demonstration in Linqu County, Wanrong County, Pinglu County, Ruicheng County and Yanhu District of Yuncheng City. The first batch of 16 apple tree-shaped experimental demonstration orchards with high light efficiency were established in 5 counties.

Wang Bin's orchard passed the first batch of tree-shaped transformation experiments and achieved immediate results. in the second year, the average income per mu of the orchard changed from about 3500 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. In 2003, the Provincial Department of Science and Technology organized experts to identify that this scientific research achievement reached the international advanced level, and the relevant experts evaluated that "this is the second revolution of apple production in China."

Benefit millions of fruit farmers in Sanjin

After the successful experiment of apple high light efficiency tree shape transformation technology, through the word of mouth of the fruit growers, there was an endless stream of fruit farmers coming to visit and learn from the classics, and many fruit growers in the surrounding counties also came to have a look. In the demonstration orchard in Sanguan Town, Linqu County, at first more than 10,000 fruit growers visited each year, and the Linqu County government held many on-site observation meetings on tree-shaped transformation in Sanguan Town. In order to maximize the promotion of apple tree transformation technology with high light efficiency in the whole province and benefit more fruit growers, over the past 20 years, Niu Zimian researcher has led the project team to go deep into various parts of the province to promote technology, hand-in-hand to teach farmers tree transformation technology, leaving a good story of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences to serve agriculture, rural areas and farmers in Sanjin.

"Dr. Niu, your tree-shaped transformation has brought a second youth to my father's orchard as well as a second youth to my father. As children, we hope that he will live a long and healthy life and spend his twilight years peacefully, but he regards orchard as a lifeline and fruit tree management as a career that he will never give up all his life. it is your technology that has enhanced his confidence and drive in fruit tree management and gained experience. this effect cannot be compared even if the children bring them to the city to live. " This is a letter from Wei Jinsheng, son of Wei Zengcai, Xiwei Village, Peizhuang Township, Wanrong County, to Niu Zimian researcher. Wei Zengcai, who is over 70 years old this year, is a veteran party member with more than 40 years of party membership and a fruit tree fan. In 2004, the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences went to Wanrong County to conduct an apple tree experiment with high light efficiency. Braving the pressure of family opposition and villagers' mockery, he took the lead in handing over his family's 5-mu mature orchard for the experiment. In order to learn and master the transformation technology of the highlight effect park as soon as possible, he made friends with the technicians of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, arranged dormitories for the technicians at home, ate, lived and worked with the technicians, braved the severe cold to climb to the trees more than 5 meters high in winter and spring every year, and went to the orchard to pull branches, thinning fruits, and bagging in summer, strictly implementing each technology. Over the past few years, the orchard has not only become neatly shaped and beautiful, the fruit has become bigger, but also the fruit coloring and taste have been significantly improved. the average price of each kilogram of fruit has been sold to about 6 yuan, and the output value per mu is close to 20,000 yuan. the output value of the orchard without tree transformation is more than double that of the surrounding orchard. As a result, the old man was in high spirits, and he boasted of the researcher's skill when he met everyone. Driven by his demonstration, more than 100 farmers and more than 600 mu of orchards in Xiwei Village have joined the ranks of tree-shaped transformation.

In order to enable technology to take root and blossom and bear fruit as quickly as possible, Niu Zimian researchers have also focused on local experts, fruit industry giants, professional cooperatives, and other "setters" who can take the lead and demonstrate effects.

The professional apple planting cooperative of Wu Zhongding in Linqu County was established in 2009 to cooperate with the tree shape transformation of apple with high light efficiency. The cooperative now has an orchard area of 6100 mu. President Wu Zhongding is a "setter" local expert. Wu Zhongding's apple orchard is one of the best orchards in Linyi County because of its old trees and high yield, but it has been plagued by the closure of orchards in recent years with the increase of tree age. To this end, he went abroad to study and visited orchards inside and outside the province, and found that Niu Zimian's middle and high stem happy tree transformation technology was the most suitable for his orchard, so he took the lead in implementing apple high light efficiency tree transformation technology without hesitation. At the beginning of the implementation of the project, he cooperated with the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences to do experiments and demonstrations, sawing off closed branches with heartache and digging up big trees that were too dense, always worried about affecting the orchard harvest. In the autumn of that year, the output of the orchard not only did not decrease, but the fruit was bigger, the fruit surface was well colored, and the change in fruit quality far exceeded his expectations, and the output value per mu of the orchard increased from 5300 yuan before the transformation to 10, 000 yuan. Since then, he has confidently invested in the transformation of apple trees with high light efficiency, and the efficiency of the orchard has improved year after year, reaching a record 30,000 yuan per mu in 2014. Driven by his demonstration, all the 6100 mu orchards of the cooperative have been transformed with high light efficiency, with an average yield of 2610 kg per mu in 2014, with an average fruit yield of more than 8 yuan per kilogram and an output value of more than 20, 000 yuan per mu, which are exported to Australia, Britain and other countries.

In the memory of researcher Niu Zimian, such examples are numerous and moved him very much: in Xiachen Village, Qucun Town, Quwo County, fruit farmer Han Bin has kept the photos taken for him several years ago; in Xiwei Village, Peizhuang Township, Wanrong County, it is estimated that more than 2800 people have attended the training course; in Yixian County, motorcycles who came to attend the lecture stood in line for more than one kilometer. The small return to his hometown in Taiyuan City invited him to the village to plan and transform the orchard through a motion of the National people's Congress. Over the past 15 years, Niu Zimian researchers have traveled all over 7 cities and 33 counties in our province, training more than 3000 technical setters and more than 100000 fruit growers. At present, the popularized area of this technology in our province is more than 1 million mu, and the annual orchard income is increased by more than 1.5 billion yuan. It has made a great contribution to the rural economic development and farmers' getting rich in our province.