They have been together for 15 years
Using soybean to do a scientific and technological supply-side reform exploration
Written by: Our reporter Li Liyun and Yang Lun Planning: Teng Jipu
Produced by Deep Eye Studio
Today, the national soybean industry technology system has fully covered all aspects of the soybean industry and the three major production areas in the north, Huanghuaihai and the south, forming a complete chain of technology research and development, integration and demonstration, improving the utilization rate of scientific and technological resources such as human, financial and material. and output rate, and comprehensively improve the technology research and development capabilities of my country's soybean industry.
Today, Han Tianfu still recalls the meal 15 years ago from time to time.
At the end of 2007, people's anticipation for the Olympic Games was intertwined with the festive and peaceful atmosphere of the New Year, filling the night sky of Beijing.
In a barbecue restaurant in Chaoyang Park, there is red wine in the glass and barbecue on the plate, but what Han Tianfu remembers is not the taste of the food, but the excitement and confusion, mission and anxiety.
On that day, the pilot project for the construction of the national modern agricultural industry technology system was officially launched.
Since then, China's agricultural science and technology supply method has taken a step of reform.
The construction of the national modern agricultural industry system, with agricultural products as the unit and industry as the main line, breaks the boundaries of departments and regions, gathers national scientific research forces to tackle key problems, and directly attacks the accumulated disadvantages of agricultural science and technology.
Each system is headed by a well-known scientist in the industry, establishing an innovation chain from origin to dining table, from production to consumption, from R&D to market integration.
The food is delicious, but it's hard to do.
"What changes can new things bring, I really had no idea at the time." As a soybean expert familiar with domestic and foreign industrial conditions and scientific research level, Han Tianfu's worries are not unreasonable.
Of the first ten agricultural products to be launched, soybeans are undoubtedly the most worrisome.
Soybean is a gift from ancient China to all mankind.
However, the situation of my country's soybean industry at that time was not optimistic: the average yield per mu was less than half of that of the United States, Brazil and other countries, the scientific research force and enterprise force were scattered, and the breeding technology was even more backward.
There is a jingle that well describes the predicament of our breeders: "Bite your teeth and stare; a ruler and a steel scale." At the same time, the United States has successively carried out the third and fourth generations of breeding. Technology research and development has fully entered the era of biotechnology, which can be described as "armed to the teeth", what a huge gap!
As the chief scientist of the national soybean industry technology system, Han Tianfu is naturally well aware of all this.
"It is true that the United States has a first-mover advantage in scientific research, and we also have our own methods." Han Tianfu said.
The way to do this is to concentrate on big things.
"Whatever you do with energy, you will be invincible; what you will do with all wisdom, you will succeed." This is the origin of the modern agricultural industrial technology system.
Over the past 15 years, the construction of the national soybean industry technology system has achieved fruitful results, laying a solid foundation for my country's soybeans to "turn over".
Shu change
There is a view that has become quite popular in recent years: limited by the area of arable land, it is more important to ensure that staple foods such as corn and wheat can be purchased from the international market.
"This is definitely one-sided and unreliable." Han Tianfu said, "The phenomenon of corn and soybeans competing for land does exist, but it is still of great significance to improve my country's soybean yield and self-sufficiency, and to ensure the safety of edible vegetable protein supply. "Han Tianfu said.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2020, the total amount of soybeans purchased by my country from the international market exceeded 100 million tons, setting a historical record, and the foreign dependence rate reached 83.7%; and the total global soybean trade volume that year was only 166 million tons.
What worries researchers even more is that there is still a big gap between the overall level of soybeans in my country and the international advanced level.
The per-unit yield data is the most intuitive: in 2007, my country's soybean yield per mu was only 96.9 kg; by 2020, this figure has increased to 132.4 kg, but the average yield of soybeans in the United States and Brazil is more than 220 kg.
Buying in the market or adjusting the planting structure is indeed a calculation problem, but the responsibility and mission of scientific researchers is to take the initiative to "do the problem" in their own hands.
At that time, soybean experts were quite in the mood to "repair the old mountains and rivers from scratch".
my country is the world recognized soybean country of origin.
"Book of Songs, Shengmin" contains: "The rush of loading, the rush of lees".
"Essoon" is soybeans.
As early as thousands of years ago, soybeans were recognized and widely cultivated by ancestors.
Since the global soybean is directly or indirectly quoted from China, the pronunciation of the ancient soybean word "shu" is still preserved in many countries' languages, such as Latin (Soja), English (Soy), French (Soya) and German (Soja) ).
In the 1920s and 1930s, the United States introduced a large number of soybean varieties from Northeast my country, South Korea, and Japan, and began to breed varieties; in the 1960s, Brazil introduced long-vegetative production period varieties from the United States and began to cultivate varieties suitable for low latitudes. A new variety of "tropical soybean" for regional climate, soil and moisture conditions...
From leading to backward, from export to import, the rejuvenation of China's soybeans must rely on technological innovation and technological supply.
However, problems such as scattered agricultural science and technology resources, ineffective cooperation, disconnection between scientific research and promotion, and "two skins" in the science and technology economy are the first problems to be faced in the reform of the science and technology supply side.
Zhang Taolin, vice minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and president of the Chinese Agricultural Society, once wrote that the modern agricultural industry technology system takes agricultural products as the unit and the industry as the main line. Interlocking.
Over the past 10 years, the system has achieved more than 200 landmark achievements, and has blazed a new path for the development of agricultural science and technology with Chinese characteristics that conforms to the characteristics of the industry and the laws of innovation.
Recalling the past, Han Tianfu, who has personally experienced this magnificent technological system reform, is filled with emotion.
The most profound change is that researchers no longer have to play "fancy".
In the past, the goal of scientific research was "international frontier", and the tickets, hats, and seats all depended on the project.
Doing scientific research in your own ivory tower, no matter whether the research results are useful or not, as long as you can get funding and complete the assessment indicators, everything will be fine.
Furthermore, peers are no longer "enemies".
It turned out that the funds were pitifully small, so why should he get a piece of the pie?
"At that time, whenever there was a visit from a foreign counterpart when the project was declared, I couldn't help but shudder: if I also received the notice of defense, then he was my opponent; if I didn't receive the notice of defense, then he had already sent me Defeat." Han Tianfu said with a smile, "As now, I think in one place and work hard, and when I have high-level materials, I rush to give it to others, so that the other party can identify and use it as a parent. It was not at all in those days. conceivable."
Today, the national soybean industry technology system has fully covered all aspects of the soybean industry and the three major producing areas in the north, Huanghuaihai and the south, forming a complete chain of technology research and development, integration and demonstration, improving the utilization rate of scientific and technological resources such as human, financial and material. and output rate, comprehensively improve the technology research and development capabilities of my country's soybean industry, overcome many technical bottlenecks restricting the development of the soybean industry, and provide advanced and mature technical solutions for major producing areas.
"Sand Field" Autumn Soldiers
If you talk about the scene of swallowing mountains and rivers and making people's ambitions go straight to the sky, it must be "pointing soldiers".
The scene of "pointing soldiers" and full of pride, scientific research experts of the national soybean industry technology system are not unfamiliar.
It's just that their battlefields are in the vast black land in the northeast, in the Huanghuaihai plain, in the hills and mountains in the southwest, in the oases of Xinjiang, and where the motherland needs...
In April 2021, when it was warm and cold, Han Tianfu and Gai Junyi, together with Academician Gai Junyi, once again organized a gathering of well-known experts in the soybean field across the country, this time targeting Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province.
Heihe was called Aigun in ancient times, and it is across the river from Blagoveshchensk, the capital of the Amur Region, the third largest city in the Russian Far East.
The choice of Heihe is significant.
According to reports, Heihe City is a prefecture-level city with the largest soybean planting area and the highest total output in my country. The annual soybean planting area accounts for about one-sixth of the country's total.
Improving the soybean production capacity of Heihe City plays a pivotal role in stabilizing the national soybean production.
The participating "soldiers" are: Zou Wenxiu, leader of Bei'an Technical Service Team, researcher of Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wu Cunxiang, leader of Aihui Technical Service Team, and researcher of Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and leader of Nenjiang Technical Service Team, Zhang Yuxian, professor of Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Lu Wencheng, leader of Wudalianchi Technical Service Team, Vice President of Heihe Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Sun Lei, Sun Wu Technical Service Team, leader of Sunke Technical Service Team, Researcher of Soil and Fertilizer Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences The captain, Jing Yuliang, president of the Suihua branch of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Zhang Anhong, the captain of the Jiusan Technical Service Team and a researcher at the Jiusan Research Institute of Heilongjiang Agricultural Reclamation.
In this plan called "Partnership Action", experts were once again integrated to form 7 technical service teams for 6 counties (cities, districts) and agricultural reclamation systems in Heihe, each service team led by the national soybean industry Well-known experts in the technical system serve as captains, and system experts from different disciplines and county and city agricultural technology extension experts are members, covering fields such as breeding, cultivation, soil and fertilizer, plant protection, agricultural machinery, processing, and industrial economy.
If the hospital is used as an analogy, then the experts who came to Heihe soybean for pulse consultation this time are all-encompassing. Experts from "internal medicine", "surgery" and even "obstetrics and gynecology" are scattered in the fields to overcome the existence of soybeans in Heihe. problem.
Hou Wenlin, chairman of Linfeng Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in Aihui District, Heihe City, told the Science and Technology Daily reporter: "The changes brought by experts are too obvious." The cooperative's annual soybean output hovers around 4,000 jin. The average yield of 11,000 mu of soybeans planted exceeds 5,000 catties, which is 25% higher than the local average yield.
At the same time, the production cost of weight-reducing medicines has been reduced by 800 yuan per block.
Zou Wenxiu arrived in Bei'an City and walked directly into the field of Wang Fugui, a model household.
As an end user of technology, Wang Fugui is willing to accept new knowledge and new technologies.
The arrival of the expert service team made him feel that he had eaten a "small stove", and he threw out his own farming confusion one after another.
Zou Wenxiu and team members - Han Yingpeng of Northeast Agricultural University, Yang Wei of Heilongjiang Agricultural Technology Extension Station, and Du Zhe of Heilongjiang Green Food Science Research Institute gave him detailed answers one by one.
In the early stage of soybean planting, Zou Wenxiu led the team to formulate a comprehensive system integration plan tailored to local conditions and targeted for Wang Fugui after thorough discussions. What kind of fertilizer to apply, etc.
After that, throughout the planting season, the team experts became regular customers of Wang Fugui Cooperative.
When the epidemic cannot come, I often give guidance on WeChat or telephone.
"Every time it's a farming season, before I can report, the experts call in time and ask me to send photos to see what's going on in the fields."
"The advantage of this model is that it can bring together experts from all over the country and involved in every link of soybean production, and work with local agricultural technology extension personnel who are familiar with local conditions to launch a comprehensive system solution for the entire industry chain from planting to processing. "Zou Wenxiu said.
She suggested further development of this "partnership"-style technical service and mentoring in different regions of the country.
The combination of good seeds and good methods, the combination of agricultural machinery and agronomy, and the hard work of experts have paid off in the harvest season.
During the autumn harvest season, the seven partner demonstration fields of the national soybean industry technology system in Heihe counties (cities, districts) have an average yield of 250.17 kg per mu. The highest yield is Heilongjiang Beidahuang Agricultural Reclamation Group Jianshan Farm Co., Ltd. 272.2 kg, creating a typical large-scale high-yield soybean in alpine regions.
In the northwest irrigation area, using the integrated technology of water and fertilizer under the film drip irrigation, the yield of 86 mu of Jiyu reached 442.05 kg, and the yield of 35 mu of Changnong reached 432.00 kg; in the south, the high-yield, high-quality and efficient new soybean variety Zhongdou 63 bred by the soybean breeding team According to the on-site yield measurement by experts, the yield per mu reached 336.89 kilograms, setting a new record for the high yield of soybeans in the southern region; in the Huanghuaihai region, the new high-yield and stress-tolerant soybean varieties bred by the system experts and the no-tillage and straw-covering cultivation jointly developed by the system agricultural machinery and agronomy experts The combination of technologies has created another high-yield model in the year of catastrophe.
In Xinxiang City, Henan Province, which suffered from severe waterlogging, the Zheng 1307 high-yield demonstration field planted with no-tillage and mulching technology has an average yield of 319.29 kg/mu per mu, and the actual yield per mu has exceeded 300 kg for five consecutive years.
The average yield per mu of Zhonghuang 301 demonstration field is 280 kg.
"The output of the thousand mu demonstration fields has exceeded the average soybean yield of soybean exporting countries such as the United States, Brazil, Argentina, etc., demonstrating the potential of new varieties and new technologies to increase production. Through large-scale demonstrations, it can radiate and drive the improvement of soybean yield per unit in the main producing areas. It is of great significance to steadily expand the planting area of domestic soybeans and revitalize the soybean industry." Han Tianfu said.
About the future
Han Tianfu is full of confidence in the future of my country's soybeans.
Improved seeds are one of the key factors in increasing yields.
Since the establishment of the modern agricultural industrial technology system, my country has successively launched scientific research projects such as major scientific and technological special projects for the cultivation of new varieties of genetically modified organisms, and carried out joint research on soybean breeding.
According to statistics, there are currently more than 100 units involved in joint research on soybean breeding, including scientific research units at all levels, colleges and universities, state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, etc., basically forming a national soybean breeding network.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education and other departments have built several soybean improvement centers and sub-centers, laboratories and experimental stations in the main producing areas, which have played an important role in improving breeding conditions and strongly promoted the development of soybean breeding. .
The breeding direction has changed from a single high-yield type to a high-yield, high-quality, disease-resistant and special-purpose type.
On the other hand, my country is the origin of soybean and has abundant germplasm resources.
Crops will always encounter various diseases and problems during their growth, and abundant germplasm resources are likely to save a variety - soybean is the case.
In the 1950s, a cyst nematode outbreak in soybeans in the United States was almost wiped out.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the local variety Beijing black beans collected by American missionaries from China attracted the attention of scientists. Using its disease-resistant genes for variety selection, the American soybean industry escaped disaster.
In 1956, 1979 and 1990, my country successively organized three nationwide collections of soybean germplasm resources, with a total of 23,587 cultivated soybean germplasm resources collected and preserved.
After 2015, a supplementary solicitation was conducted.
So far, more than 43,000 soybean germplasm resources have been preserved in the National Crop Germplasm Resource Bank.
In terms of advanced breeding technology, domestic soybean breeding technology has also been continuously improved.
Molecular breeding and directional breeding continue to achieve gratifying results.
Compared with the series of achievements, Han Tianfu is more pleased with the change in scientific research atmosphere.
"It is not allowed to talk about ostentation or to pick up and drop off in meetings. These powerful measures that conform to the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and purify the social atmosphere have been implemented for a long time. In fact, these measures are beneficial to everyone. I went to Harbin, Nanjing, etc. to get familiar with When participating in activities in different cities, they usually do not tell the other party the specific arrival time in advance, and go there on their own after leaving the station, which not only saves the other party’s time for ushering and sending, but also enjoys being free, low-carbon and environmentally friendly.” Han Tianfu said .