Apple alpine planting technology, apples are not waxed why there is honey?

Alpine agriculture has been burdened with a bad reputation for eating the flesh and blood of mountain forests for many years. Is there any way to find a balance and change the mode of coexistence with mountain forests under the existing environment and agricultural economy? this is what he and the owners of apple orchards are groping for. This is very different from potted apple planting!

The roots of apple trees planted for 40 or 50 years play a role in soil and water conservation. If herbicides are not used, there is no need to worry about the loss of mulch on the soil surface, runoff taking away the topsoil, and the ecological deterioration of the soil environment. In order to reduce the damage to soil and water caused by excessive application of pesticides and fertilizers, they tried to stop medicine in early August last year, but this year they chose to stop medicine early in mid-June, increasing the management risk in the later stage. In the apple production season in mid-October, the leaves on fruit trees are much less than those in other apple orchards. Some apples do not sell well because of insect bites and diseases, and the early falling leaves are not easy to mature, which has become the price of drug reduction.

In autumn and winter, when the temperature is dropping and the days are getting shorter, the apples begin to ripen. Ah Kai gets up at six o'clock every morning. After preparing the utensils in Gongliao, he goes back to the orchard to harvest. At noon, he goes back to Gongliao to have a simple lunch, and continues to harvest until evening. When it gets dark, he collates orders, picks up goods, packages, and prepares to ship goods every other day. Thanks to Internet technology, fruit growers with low yields like them can sell or ship directly to consumers through e-commerce platforms. if they are fruit growers in large quantities, they still have to sell through wholesale markets, industry outlets, or disk sellers purchased on the hill. reduce the pressure of fresh fruit hoarding with shelf life.

When the production season was busy, he would not finish his preparations for shipping until 12:00 in the morning. With the firecrackers he needed for that night, A Kai walked back to the orchard, ready to go to bed, because the place where he slept was the tent camped in the orchard.

In order to protect the fruit trees from mountain pigs or monkeys, A Kai will simply sleep in the orchard during the harvest.

The fruity aroma of ripe apples will not only attract mountain pigs, but there will also be groups of monkeys looking for food at four or five o'clock in the morning. Although he uses line incense to set off firecrackers regularly and plays rock music and crosstalk from time to time, it still cannot effectively deter animals. Mountain pigs will overwhelm the lower fruit trees in flocks, and monkeys will tear off branches. However, as a farmer, his duty is to protect his crops. when his family skills are exhausted and the economic conditions are not enough to set up a fence, A Kai chooses to sleep in the orchard at all. reduce the physical exertion and mental anxiety caused by running back and forth between the orchard and Gongliao.

As the apple orchard where Ah Kai works is already sparse, there are only more than 100 apple trees, coupled with the conversion to a more ecological way of cultivation, last year's output was only about 4,000 jin of apples, while another orchard with a similar area nearby could produce 30,000 to 40,000 jin, ten times that of him. However, they do not care. If there are apple trees that must be replaced, they will plant peaches and plums instead. Compared with apples, these two kinds of fruit trees are more extensive and suitable for pesticide reduction or pesticide-free planting, and the problem of diseases and insect pests is relatively minor.

What they are trying to achieve is that 40 or 50 years ago, the government opened up mountain forests and planted temperate fruit trees as a historical background for the placement of honorable people, and tried to find a way to manage orchards in a friendly environment and survive.

Take it from the mountain and return it to the forest

But the official document of the Forest Service still came. Although 1600 native tree species were afforested in the middle of last year, they were supposed to continue farming after checking, but the notice received next was that they had to be returned to the orchard on December 31 this year. This result discouraged them and made them understand why fruit growers had been angry with the government over the past few years, asking a lawyer to file a lawsuit to delay paying back time, while some fruit growers were frustrated and cut down fruit trees that had been protected for many years. Hand over the land to the vegetable growers and finally earn millions of dollars in rent.

The owner of the apple orchard where Ah Kai works is still reluctant to give up, whether it is cutting down the trees himself or letting the Forestry Bureau cut down the apple trees that have been cut down for 40 or 50 years, the fruit trees at the top of the next hill were just flattened at the end of November, and about 30 centimeters of flat cypresses were planted on the bare hillside, making a stylized and rough way of afforestation, ignoring the problem that the saplings were unable to withstand the cold winter in the mountains.

After several exchanges and inquiries, under the condition of changing the contract and continuous afforestation, the best result at present is to trim the crown of all apple trees to 1/2 of the existing, and reduce the cultivated area of the orchard to 30%. Apple trees that would have been cut down would have a chance to stay alive for a few more years and wait for afforestation trees to grow up and replace them naturally. On the other hand, the owner of the garden was able to retain the land that grew up and was full of memories and emotions.

However, this situation will also make it impossible for Akai to make a living by shrinking apple production again. He decided to leave Dayuling, and now that he has embarked on the road of friendly farming, he will not give up whether in the mountains or on flat land.

Ah Kai's tent has been cleaned up, no longer need to fight with wild boars and monkeys, just the fragrance of apples on the mountain, can only be low back in a dream from now on.

Alpine agriculture has a bad reputation for many years. Under the existing environment and agricultural economy, there are still farmers trying to find a mode of coexistence with mountains and forests.

The entertainment of working in the mountains

The reception on the mountain is poor, and sometimes the phone call has to go to the base station, and the cable network is only 2m. The biggest entertainment is listening to music, reading, growing flowers and grass. I can't eat all the vegetables I grow. I have a partner who goes up the mountain twice a month to help pick and buy meat. I drive half an hour to Lishan to buy anything, while the nearest convenience store is an hour and a half away by car. There is always endless farm work in the orchard, and the two feline companions, nicknamed Bobcats, are good helpers to solve the rat problem.

The risks of working in the mountains

No one will notice when you get hurt accidentally. Even if you take your mobile phone with you, you may not be able to get a signal. I have heard that a farmer had a sudden myocardial infarction when he was taking medicine, fell into the ditch and died, and some farmers inspected that the water pipe fell into the gully and disappeared. For farmers who live 2400 meters above sea level, apart from neighboring fruit growers, the most common people should be black cat houses with drivers who go up the mountain to collect goods every day.

Is the apple waxed or not?

In the past, imported apples were waxed in order to keep them fresh, but now the postharvest treatment technology is improved and the waxing condition is reduced. Taiwan's apples do not have to be transported over long distances, and they do not need time-consuming, labor-consuming and costly waxing. In fact, apples already produce natural fruit wax, but they are of different thickness, not only for different varieties, but also for apples grown in the same fruit tree. This is the result of natural growth rather than standard production.

Apples produce natural wax of varying thickness.

Why do apples have honey?

Under certain cultivation, climate and tree conditions, the flesh of several apple varieties will show translucent tissue, which is what consumers call "honey". In some academic circles, nectaries are regarded as a physiological disease caused by the accumulation of sorbitol.

In order to make apples honey, the most important thing is to ensure that the leaves of fruit trees do not fall early. The accumulation of nutrients through photosynthesis and a series of interactions between external conditions and internal physiological changes can increase the nectar rate of apples. With the early withdrawal of medicine in the apple orchard where A Kai works, it is more difficult to prevent the early defoliation disease in late summer and early autumn, and the apple nectar rate is far lower than that in other habitual orchards because it is unable to continue to accumulate nutrients after falling leaves.