On May 11th, General Secretary of the Supreme Leader made an investigation in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, and went to the dry-alkali wheat field in Xianzhuang District, the old town of Huanghua City to learn about the local cultivation, promotion and industrialization of dry-alkali wheat.
With the general secretary’s footsteps, he entered this hopeful field in full of green, and the drought-alkali wheat is in the filling stage. The breeze blew and the wheat waves rolled.
Drought-alkali wheat is a drought-resistant and salt-tolerant wheat variety. Huanghua City is located in the southeast of Hebei Province, bordering Bohai Sea in the east, where there is little rain in winter and spring, and the soil is highly salinized. Ordinary wheat is difficult to grow in such an environment, while drought-alkali wheat grows well.
"The general secretary stood on the field path with a smile and ears of wheat in his hand," said Yang Dongjin, a grower in Houxianzhuang Village, an old town in Huanghua City. "The general secretary asked me about the output, cost and income of my wheat, and asked me a lot of details."
Huanghua drought-alkali wheat has a long history of planting. According to the Records of Huanghua County, drought-alkali wheat has been planted in Huanghua for more than 2,600 years. The original varieties are mainly "Little Red Mang", and the yield per mu is only 50 kg.
In recent decades, after repeated seed selection and improvement by local agricultural technicians, the yield of drought-alkali wheat has been "step by step" year by year. At present, Jiemai 19, Cangmai 6002, Cangmai 6005, Xiaoyan 60 and Xiaoyan 155 are mainly planted, and the yield per mu in normal years remains around 214 kg.
"I reported the main varieties of Huanghua drought-alkali wheat to the general secretary, and the general secretary affirmed the supporting role of our Nanpi ecological agriculture experimental station in the production of drought-alkali wheat," said Guo Kai, deputy stationmaster of Nanpi ecological agriculture experimental station of China Academy of Sciences. "The general secretary not only cares about agriculture, but also knows agriculture in particular."
On the roadside of Yang Dongjin’s wheat field, there is a rectangular wooden table. On the table, there are samples of plants and grains of drought-alkali wheat for display, as well as products such as flour, dried noodles, steamed bread and Huanghua flour flowers made from drought-alkali wheat. The general secretary stopped here to watch. Huanghua Mianhua, engraved with auspicious patterns, is listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage.
The quality of Huanghua drought-alkali wheat is very unique, with full grains, transparent luster, rich in trace elements such as calcium, potassium, iron and zinc, and the content of protein is 13% to 16% (national standard 12.2%). Especially wheat flour, the flour yield is about 76%, and the wet gluten content is above 35% (national standard 30%). In this way, the advantages and characteristics of flour and flour are formed, such as non-stick to hands and strong toughness. The steamed bread, flour flowers and other foods are rich in wheat flavor, soft and tender, and comfortable in taste.
In recent years, Huanghua City has adhered to the structural reform of the agricultural supply side as the main line, and actively explored and promoted the production and management model of "new agricultural business entities+scientific and technological support+standardization (scale)", with a standardized yield of about 320 kg per mu and a large-scale yield of about 235 kg per mu. At present, the planting area of perennial drought-alkali wheat in Huanghua City is about 618,000 mu, with a total output of about 132,600 tons.
Through the industrialization development in recent years, there are now 20 large flour processing enterprises in Huanghua City, with an annual processing capacity of nearly 500,000 tons. The whole city has formed a "whole industry chain wheat industry" integrating the functions of contract agriculture, storage and transit, flour processing and food production. It not only solved the food problem, but also drove farmers to increase their income continuously.
"The general secretary paid attention to the drought-alkali wheat in person. As an agricultural science and technology worker, I felt greatly encouraged and my confidence doubled!" Guo Kai said, "Next, we must keep in mind the entrustment of the General Secretary, continue to take root in saline-alkali land, carry out research on the screening and utilization of salt-tolerant crop varieties and the improvement of soil fertility in saline-alkali land, and develop more new technologies to raise the yield of drought-alkali wheat and make contributions to national food security."