China News Agency, Yantai, December 28th: How can an apple with a mixture of Eastern and Western genes become a space fruit?
——Interview with Jiang Zhongwu, a Chinese fruit tree expert and vice president of Shandong Apple Industry Technology Research Institute
China News Agency reporter Yang Bing Wang Jiaoni
Apple is one of the most widely planted and produced fruits in the world.
For a long time, the sweet and sour taste of apples has brought rich taste enjoyment to people, and it has also made many countries and regions use it as an industry to enhance understanding and promote cooperation.
Delicious apples, and because of the large-scale "eating and broadcasting" of Chinese astronauts in the universe, netizens all over the world "cry".
Jiang Zhongwu, a Chinese fruit tree expert and vice president of the Shandong Apple Fruit Industry Technology Research Institute, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "Dongxiwen" to decipher the "past and present" of apples.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Agency reporter: Did Apple come from the West? Or the East?
Jiang Zhongwu:
Apples have a long history and are cultivated in temperate regions of the world, but the main varieties are different.
Although Western apples are widely cultivated, the history of apple cultivation in China is also long.
According to current research, the apples cultivated now all originated from wild apples in Xinjiang, China, and are called "Sevish" apples.
While enjoying the different flavors of apples, human beings have also brought it to a wider world.
The apples we eat now are typical "Chinese and Western" fruits, "mixed" with Eastern and Western genes.
Apple cultivation in modern China begins with a missionary named Ni Weishi.
In 1871, American missionary John Neville came to Yantai with branches of Western apples, and found that the natural conditions and geographical environment here were very similar to those of his hometown, New York State, USA. The construction of orchards has grown fruits that are completely different from local apples.
After the nearby farmers discovered it, they grafted the branches to the local "Shaguo" crabapple tree. Since then, China has gradually produced major varieties such as "Green Banana", "Red Banana", "Jinshuai" and "Xiaoguoguang", which opened up the Chinese apple industry. new era.
Visitors visit the booth of "Qixia Apple" in Yantai at the 20th International Fruit Vegetable·Food Expo.
Photo by Tang Ke
By the 1930s, Japan used Western varieties to hybridize "Fuji" apples.
Chinese apples ushered in an opportunity for comprehensive improvement. Later, through the introduction of "Fuji" and continuous selection and development, more than 30 excellent varieties with short branches, good color and high quality were selected to form the current apple cultivation system.
As a mixed-race "Fuji", it has many advantages. It is relatively large, crisp and refreshing. It has the advantages of no fruit falling or cracking in planting, and it is also resistant to storage. It has gradually developed into a leading variety.
For fruit farmers, which kind of apple is easy to grow, has high yield, good storability, and good profit, they will be the first choice for planting.
At this stage, different regions have their own characteristic varieties, but so far, Fuji apples have not been surpassed in terms of quality, planting efficiency, and consumer preference.
Shandong Qixia Apple Art Festival.
Photo by Ren Mengxue
China News Agency reporter: Why can apples occupy the world fruit market and become the most widely planted and produced fruit in the world?
Jiang Zhongwu:
First of all, it has high nutritional value.
Apple is a neutral fruit with a balanced content of pectin and mineral elements, which is very beneficial to the body.
Second, apple cultivation, management and storage are more convenient.
In northern China, apples are a good source of vitamins during the long winter and become one of the most popular fruits.
Third, Apple is "inclusive".
Suitable for all ages, it is a fruit accepted by all nations in the world.
In addition, experts have found that there are unique ingredients in apples, which can make people happy and provide "good mood". There is a proverb in the West that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away".
At present, the use of apples can be said to be "squeezed dry and eaten clean", and there is no waste at all.
The big ones are sold directly to the market, and the small ones are made into cans, applesauce, apple chunks, apple crisps, preserved fruit, apple cider vinegar, apple cider, and pectin can be extracted from the peel...
Apple has a unique position in the food culture of various countries in the world, and is an indispensable part of people's life in many regions.
There are countless "apple lovers" in the world, and they make apples into various delicacies.
For example, some countries process apples into powder for making bread, ice cream, etc.
In recent years, applesauce-based products have been sold well all over the world. People in many countries use applesauce as a filling to make special delicacies, which is very popular.
Apple has long since become a culture or "symbol".
In many fields, it is easy to see design elements with apples as patterns.
Apple looks stable and stable, which means peace in China, and many countries in the world also regard it as a symbol of "health" and "wisdom".
Apple has a symbol of peace in China.
Photo by Yu Liangyi
China News Agency reporter: What is Apple's "Chinese flavor" like? How did it go to the world?
Jiang Zhongwu:
Yantai apples are typical Chinese flavors. The fruit is well-known at home and abroad for its regular shape, bright color, sweet and crisp flesh, rich aroma and rich nutrition.
This is mainly inseparable from the suitable climate and environment. At the same time, the hard work of local fruit farmers, the continuous exploration of scientific and technological personnel in the fields of breeding, cultivation, and pest control, the government's industrial policy support, brand promotion and other factors have jointly created this. A classic flavor.
Pick apples.
Photo provided by Propaganda Department of Yantai Municipal Party Committee
At present, Yantai has a total apple planting area of 2.8 million mu, with an annual output of 5.7 million tons.
At a time when the apple market is full of flowers, Yantai Apple has been the No. 1 brand in China's fruit industry for 13 consecutive years, with a brand value of more than 15 billion yuan.
Since the 1950s, other apple producing areas in China have introduced seedlings and learned technology from Yantai, and a large number of Yantai fruit technology promotion personnel have left their footprints in various places, and the flavor of "Yantai apple" has spread across the country.
Not only that, but this flavor continues to go abroad.
China is one of the most important apple exporting countries in the world, and the export of Yantai apples and processed products occupies an important position.
The Qixia Apple Wholesale Market in Yantai is the largest apple trading center in Asia. The apples shipped from here are sold to most countries around the world through entrepot trade and other methods.
Exhibitors promote Apple products at the Shandong International Apple Festival.
Photo by Sun Wentan
The United States is one of the countries with the strictest quarantine measures in the world. In 2015, Chinese apples were exported to the United States for the first time.
The "China-EU Geographical Indication Agreement" will come into force in 2021. In the agreement, "Yantai Apple" has become one of the first batch of China-EU geographical indication products.
Inspection and quarantine personnel in Yantai, Shandong Province are inspecting the Yantai apples that will be exported to the United States for harmful organisms.
Photo by Tang Ke
Reporter from China News Agency: During astronaut Wang Yaping's "space business trip", Yantai apples appeared many times, attracting onlookers from all over the world. Apples have become "space fruits". How do you think to tell the story of Chinese apples to the world?
Jiang Zhongwu:
Because of its rich nutrition, easy storage and other advantages, apples stand out among many fruits and become "space fruits".
Wang Yaping is from Yantai. Eating apples from his hometown on the space station is a great encouragement to practitioners in the apple industry, especially young people.
Astronaut Wang Yaping performed juggling with apples in space.
Image source: China Manned Space Engineering Office
In recent years, Yantai Apple has had many bright moments, appearing in major events and conferences such as the Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai World Expo, the G20 Summit, and the Qingdao SCO Summit, representing the best quality of Chinese apples and presenting them to the world.
To give higher value to China's apples and the apple industry, we should do a good job in brand building and tell the story of apples.
China's apple industry has experienced a magnificent development, hard-working workers, and famous and high-quality varieties are like stars shining.
The legendary figures in the history of apple cultivation, the collision between apples and world cuisines, the craftsmanship behind the apple industry, the growth path of agronomists, etc. can be explored in depth.
For more than 100 years, the fusion of species has helped the "upgrading" of apples, and the "flow" of apples around the world has also promoted cultural exchanges.
(use up)
Respondent profile:
Jiang Zhongwu accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "East and West".
Photo by Wang Jiaoni
Jiang Zhongwu, president of Yantai Apple Association, vice president of Shandong Apple Fruit Industry Technology Research Institute, master tutor of Yantai University College of Agriculture.
Mainly engaged in the research of apple breeding and cultivation physiology, fruit processing, etc., he is the only apple seed industry expert selected among the experts in the Shandong Taishan Scholars Seed Industry Plan.