China News Service, Xining, March 24th: From wild to artificial, from field to industrialization, the future of Qinghai fern is promising
China News Service reporter Li Jiangning
From March to May every year, it is the mature season of Qinghai fern. In the fields across Qinghai, you can see people digging fern seeds everywhere. The fern fruits wrapped in fresh soil are about to go to people's dining tables...
Bracken bracken is a variant of Potentilla velvet. Only in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau does the root system expand to form a tuberous root - Bracken bracken. It is a rare resource plant with rich characteristics and nutrition in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Qinghai fern has the highest reserves, the largest individuals, the best quality, the richest germplasm, and the highest nutritional content and active ingredients.
"Encyclopedia of Chinese Native Products" records: Fernseed is a specialty of the northwest alpine grasslands, mainly produced in Qinghai. It is both edible and medicinal, and is known as the "ginseng fruit". In Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu and other places, fern is the main raw material of Tibetan medicine. According to research, the roots of fern are rich in polysaccharides, saponins, tannins, total flavonoids and other ingredients, which can enhance human immunity and have anti-viral, It has the functions of protecting liver, nourishing blood, anti-fatigue, anti-hypoxia and other functions.
The picture shows the ferns planted continuously in Qinghai. Photo provided by interviewee
"In my eyes, fern is a fairy fruit, a magical thing that God has given to human beings." Li Junqiao is the dean of the School of Ecology, Environment and Resources of Qinghai University for Nationalities and the dean of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau fern industry research institute. As of this year, she I have been dealing with Fernma for more than 20 years.
Li Junqiao’s first acquaintance with Fern Ma originated from a bowl of sweet and glutinous Fern Ma porridge. "I remember when I was three or four years old, my father cooked me a bowl of fernseed porridge. It was the first time I saw fernseed porridge. It tasted sweet and glutinous." Li Junqiao recalled his childhood.
The fern is a founding and dominant species in the alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. For a long time, local farmers and herdsmen have used the harvesting of wild fern as one of their main sources of income, causing serious damage to the ecological environment and reducing the amount of resources. And the quality shows a downward trend year by year. In 2009, Qinghai Province has included fern hemp in the category where mining is prohibited.
Domestication of wild fern is a major issue and is of milestone significance in increasing the income of farmers and herdsmen and promoting industrial development.
The picture shows Li Junqiao walking beside the fern plantation. Photo provided by interviewee
Can the wild fern be domesticated? This question has been lingering in Li Junqiao's mind. "I bought some high-quality fresh fern and planted it in a flower pot at home. Unexpectedly, buds grew and fern formed." Li Junqiao said, "It can grow in flower pots and on the ground." There will be no problem." Immediately, Li Junqiao began to study the artificial domestication of ferngrass as his graduate student project.
Domesticating wild fern is not as easy as imagined. Since there is no precedent for domestication before, Li Junqiao has no experience to follow in his research. After more than 10 years of systematic research, finally in 2009, China's first artificially domesticated and cultivated ferngrass variety - "Qinghai fernma No. 1" developed by Li Junqiao was approved, realizing a leap from wild fernseed to artificial cultivation. There is no significant difference in nutrients and active ingredients compared with other products, and it can completely replace wild fern hemp, providing raw material guarantee for the industrialization of fern hemp.
The picture shows fern leaves. Photo provided by interviewee
In 2015, two new varieties, "Qinghai Fernma No. 2" and "Qinghai Fernma No. 3", were born one after another. These are three new fernma varieties unique to my country, providing sufficient raw materials for the industrial development of fernma.
The maturation of artificially domesticated ferngrass means that the former source of income for farmers and herdsmen has returned. "The market price of fern hemp (fresh product, spherical) per kilogram is between 50 yuan and 200 yuan, and the output value per mu is 5,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan. The economic benefits are significant." Li Junqiao told reporters that the profits are high, and farmers and herdsmen prefer it. . How to industrialize fern hemp and bring high value-added products to the market? At that time, fern hemp had been widely used as a medicine, which was extremely detrimental to the industrial development of fern hemp.
"Fernseed has not entered the national and local food catalogs, which has restricted the development process of fern's industrialization." Li Junqiao said. To this end, she traveled all over the relevant departments of Qinghai Province, and finally in 2021, the "Local Standard for Food Safety of Fern Ma (Dried Products)" was jointly formulated by Qinghai University for Nationalities, the Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Qinghai Provincial Food Industry Association. 》Officially released and implemented.
Since then, high value-added products such as Fernma Fruit Crisp, Fernma Beer, Fernma Beverage, and Fernma Powder have been put into research and development. At the same time, in recent years, scientific research institutions have developed new drugs for the treatment of hepatitis B, anti-hypoxia health products, and cosmetics and other new products by extracting the active ingredients of fern hemp.
The picture shows Li Junqiao (middle) communicating with students at the fern plantation area. Photo provided by interviewee
The research path of fern hemp continues. At present, artificial domestication of fern hemp still faces the problem of transforming scientific research results. "The industrial chain of fern hemp is very long. After the artificial fern hemp is successfully cultivated, the mining of wild fern hemp is reduced and the ecology of the origin is protected. The fern hemp has a bright future. I have always believed that good things will always shine, so I will continue to do it." Li Junqiao said.
It is reported that last year, Li Junqiao's team screened out 63 highly salt-alkali tolerant fernseed resources and planted them in the severely saline-alkali land in the Haixi region of Qinghai Province. It was the first time that fernseed was successfully planted in severely saline-alkali land, solving the problem of land competition between fernseed and grain. (over)