Chapter 159 Adjustment

Chapter 159 Adjustment

Chapter 159 Adjustment (Update)
Just when the southern parts were experiencing widespread drought.

The large tracts of farmland in the north of Hongcao Town showed two extreme phenomena at this time.

The farmers who took over the soybean planting contract from Hailufeng Company have planted large tracts of soybeans that are performing very well. Even in very dry weather, the soybeans are growing lushly. After planting them in late February, they were watered three times and are now blooming.

However, according to traditional customs, some rice fields that were not watered in time showed slow growth and short plants.

Even in a small number of more serious rice plants, not only will the growth of leaves be inhibited, the new leaves will find it difficult to unfold, and the old leaves will begin to turn yellow and wither.

The stress resistance of these rice varieties has also weakened a lot.

Even if the reservoir releases water in time, there is still no way to take care of all the rice.

Fortunately, 10,000 acres of rice fields around were converted to soybeans, which do not require watering, so most of the rice was saved. Otherwise, it would be even more difficult to use water.

The following May is the heading period of rice. If it still doesn't rain, there will be big trouble. After all, the water in the reservoir is limited and will evaporate in large quantities, unless wells are dug to pump groundwater.

Hongcao Town and Taohe Town are better off, with 10,000 acres of soybeans replacing rice, allowing the reservoir water to be concentrated on the remaining rice. In addition, by abandoning some rice fields on higher terrain, they can strive to preserve the remaining 30,000 acres of rice.

But other places are not so lucky. If there are big rivers, lakes or reservoirs nearby, they can still maintain some of their production. If not, they can only apply to pump groundwater for irrigation.

Jiang Miao came to Meilong Town, opposite the Huangjiang River.

Meilong Town has a relatively large plain area. The northwest part is not close to the Huangjiang River and can only rely on several reservoirs for irrigation.

However, there are several villages that do not have large reservoirs around them.

For example, Meilian Village in front of Jiang Miao, as well as Yuling Village, Yunlu Village, and Dongjia Village near the southwest of Meilong Town, have all been severely affected by the drought.

These rice fields have been hit hard by the drought. Because the terrain is relatively high and there are no large reservoirs around, the rice there is generally short and has scorched yellow leaves.

Chen Xingang, the mayor of Meilong Town, was with Jiang Miao. Looking at the poorly growing rice in front of him, he looked troubled: "I looked at the weather forecast and it said there is a high probability that there will be no rain in the next month. This is difficult!"

"We can pump groundwater for emergency use," suggested another staff member from the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.

Chen Xingang said helplessly: "This is the only way."

Jiang Miao didn't want to come here at first, but the rice, bean and fish project that was discussed last year suffered a significant setback this year, forcing him to come here in person.

"Chen Zhen, in addition to pumping groundwater, there is another solution to alleviate the local water problem."

Chen Xingang looked at Jiang Miao curiously: "Boss Jiang, do you have any good suggestions?"

"We will abandon some of the rice fields on higher ground and plant our company's new soybean varieties in all of them." Jiang Miao continued, "We will concentrate the water on the remaining rice-based fish ponds. This will save the Egyptian catfish raised in some of the rice-based fish ponds, and we can plant soybeans in the rice fields that don't have much water."

"Can the new soybean variety be so drought-resistant?" Chen Xingang widened his eyes.

The staff member of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau nearby reacted and nodded: "Chen Zhen, what Mr. Jiang said is correct. At present, the soybeans planted in seven towns including Hongcao Town and Taohe Town have not been watered and have successfully survived for nearly a month. I think we can give it a try."

Hearing this, Chen Xingang thought for a while. He thought of Jiang Miao and Hailufeng's technology, and felt that this matter had great potential, so he decided: "Mr. Jiang, I agree with this arrangement. Please ask your company to talk to the cooperatives in each village!"

"no problem."

Jiang Miao quickly asked the deputy manager of the planting department to come forward and discuss with the cooperatives in various villages in Meilong Town to adjust the planting of rice-based fish ponds.

Soon, based on the terrain, 7600 acres of rice-based fish ponds were selected, plowed again with a tractor, and then the previously frozen soybean roots were planted.

The roots of the 600 acres of soybeans harvested after the Spring Festival were also harvested. On average, each soybean plant will produce 12 to 15 root tubers, and each root tuber can develop into a new soybean independently.

Therefore, these roots are enough to plant 7600 acres.

With the abandonment of these 7600 acres of rice, and the switch of some Egyptian catfish farms near the sea to using salt water and eel farms to using sea water, the water demand for the remaining 2.2 acres of rice fields was suddenly alleviated, and even the water demand for lotus root fields was greatly alleviated.

After Jiang Miao handed the matter over to the company's management, he returned to the headquarters.

It hasn't been quiet for a few days.

At the end of April, someone came to visit again.

On a large soybean field in the north of Hongcao Town.

A dozen researchers looked at the soybeans in front of them with great curiosity and surprise.

"Professor, this is a good variety!" A doctoral student in agronomy at South China Ecological Park University looked at the soybeans carefully.

Xiao Jieshi, the head of Shanmei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, proudly introduced: "Professor Wang, this is a new variety of soybean cultivated by the team of Professor Jiang Miao, an outstanding local entrepreneur in Shanmei. The variety planted here is called Xiandou No. 1."

"Professor Jiang Miao?" The doctoral student suddenly remembered: "He is the founder of Hailufeng Company, right?"

Xiao Jieshi said with pride: "Yes, Professor Jiang's team promoted the planting of new soybean varieties locally last year, and these were planted at the end of February this year."

Professor Wang, who was squatting silently beside the field, naturally knew Jiang Miao's name.

Professor Wang's name is Wang Yingxiang. He is currently a second-level professor and an outstanding young scholar at South China Eco-Park University. He is also a researcher at the Lingnan Modern Agricultural Science and Technology Laboratory. From 2022 to the present, he has served as a professor and dean of the School of Life Sciences at South China Eco-Park University.

Although Jiang Miao graduated from Lion Rock Agricultural University, he did not refuse graduates from other agricultural universities to join him.

At present, Hailufeng Company has recruited nearly seventy fresh graduates from South China Ecological Park University.

Originally, Professor Wang's team only came to eastern Guangdong for an investigation, and by the way cooperated with the local Academy of Agricultural Sciences to collect some wild soybean seeds.

Professor Wang's research areas are also related to soybeans, namely:
In the field of genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of plant reproductive development, Arabidopsis and soybean are mainly used as materials to study the molecular mechanism of meiotic recombination and its application in breeding.

Another research direction is the molecular genetic basis of soybean adaptation to tropical and subtropical environments and the creation of new soybean germplasm. It is committed to exploring the genetic basis of soybean adaptation to tropical and subtropical environments and creating new soybean germplasm resources through technologies such as gene editing.

The day before yesterday, after they finished their inspection at Echeng Agricultural Science Academy, they drove to Shanmei Agricultural Science Academy for a visit.

When Xiao Jieshi, the head of Shanmei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, heard the purpose of Professor Wang's team's visit, he remembered the new variety of soybeans that Hailufeng Company promoted in Hongcao Town and other places, so he personally brought Professor Wang's team here for inspection.

Professor Wang carefully examined the structure of the back of soybean leaves, frowning, then he raised his head and asked, "Dean Xiao, do you know the details of this variety?"

"I know a little. After all, Hailufeng Company has applied for various patents, even genetic patents. In the current experimental planting stage, the Provincial Crop Variety Approval Committee approved the experimental planting last year, and our unit is one of the assisting agencies." Xiao Jieshi explained with a smile.

Professor Wang took out a bottle of mineral water and asked, "Can you tell us some details?"

"no problem."

Professor Wang had already poured water on the soybean leaves and was observing them intently.

Xiao Jieshi on the side gave a brief introduction to the Senzu Bean series to everyone. Of course, he knew the content, which was actually the first edition. The new root characteristics of the Senzu Bean series were discovered during the later planting process and have not yet been reported to the Crop Variety Approval Committee.

After listening to Xiao Jieshi's description, Professor Wang stared at the leaves, and the water droplets on them were absorbed in a short while.

"So fast?" Another researcher widened his eyes.

Professor Wang was equally astonished: "It only takes about ten minutes to absorb all the water on the leaves. No wonder it is so drought-resistant. This is a completely new property."

“I also heard that the root system of these soybeans is different from that of ordinary soybeans.”

"Different?" Professor Wang took out a hundred yuan and handed it to the farmer next to him: "Fellow villager, I'll give you a hundred yuan so that I can pull a few soybeans and take them back for research."

"Sure, just pull it out." The old farmer showed his white teeth and accepted the hundred yuan.

Of course, this was done out of consideration for Xiao Jieshi, the guide, otherwise this behavior might involve seed theft.

A doctoral student nearby squatted down and wanted to help Professor Wang pull out the soybeans. However, despite his best efforts, he failed to pull up the soybean vines and roots together.

"Is it okay? Xiao Song, you should exercise more!" another researcher joked.

"No, there's something wrong with the soybeans!" Xiao Song explained with a red face. Then he tried his best and finally pulled the soybeans up by the roots: "Huhu...Done."

However, Professor Wang and others were stunned.

They stared at the roots of the soybean plant.

"What is this?"

“Could it be mixed with potatoes?”

"Huh? These roots are connected!" "Really?"

Several researchers were stunned.

Even the knowledgeable Professor Wang was confused at this time: "Soybeans have grown tubers? Dean Xiao, is this a genetically modified variety?"

Xiao Jieshi, who was standing by, was also seeing the root condition of the Senzu Bean series for the first time. He had only seen the bean sprouts before, and had not paid much attention to the roots growing underground. He was confused and said, "No! I remember clearly that the Senzu Bean series are all new varieties cultivated using traditional breeding technology."

"Can traditional breeding screen out such highly specialized varieties?" If Professor Wang did not have a good understanding of his professional field, he would have suspected that he had studied fake agronomy.

Xiao Jieshi suggested awkwardly: "Why don't we go visit Professor Jiang Miao!"

"Okay." Before leaving, Professor Wang did not forget to pull out a few more soybeans.

Soon they drove to the temporary headquarters of Hailufeng Company.

Standing at the gate of the experimental area, you can see that the Magong Mountain behind has been transformed by more than half. Large greenhouses have been built on the four-level terraces above. Many researchers wearing Hailufeng Company uniforms are busy in the experimental greenhouses.

A working group that just came out of the tissue culture laboratory saw Professor Wang and others. One of them widened his eyes and asked, "Dean Wang?"

"Who are you?" Professor Wang really didn't recognize the other person.

"I am Huang Xinghe, who graduated from South China Ecological Park University last year. I have met Dean Wang several times at the college. Dean, what are you doing here?"

Although he didn't know the student, he smiled and said, "I'm here to visit Professor Jiang Miao."

Huang Xinghe guessed and asked, "The dean probably doesn't have an appointment!"

Professor Wang, who was somewhat embarrassed, finally realized that Jiang Miao was not an ordinary person. He was so busy every day, so he must not be someone you can meet casually. He quickly asked, "Student Huang, I came in a hurry. How can I make an appointment to meet Professor Jiang Miao?"

Huang Xinghe knew this was the case, so he could only help ask: "I'll go ask Secretary Li! President Jiang usually meets with guests at noon, and it's still early now. He's usually in the laboratory and doesn't bring his phone in. Unless there's an emergency, we can only wait until noon."

"It doesn't matter. It's almost noon now."

"Okay then! I'll go ask first."

Huang Xinghe ran in hurriedly.

More than ten minutes later, he came out with a visit application form and a dozen temporary visit passes in his hand.

"Dean Wang, this is the visit application form. Fortunately, President Jiang has time at noon today. Fill it out and I'll take it to Secretary Li for filing."

After receiving the visiting application form, Professor Wang quickly filled it out at the dining table nearby.

Going back and forth, another ten minutes passed.

When Huang Xinghe came back again, he smiled and said to everyone: "Dean Huang, Dean Xiao, fellow researchers, let me take you in to visit our laboratory!"

"Will this affect your work?" Professor Wang still had a good impression of this student, whom he had no impression of at all.

Huang Xinghe shook his head: "It doesn't matter, I can apply for a transfer today as a temporary receptionist."

This is also one of the special regulations of the Science and Technology Division. If experts and scholars in the field of scientific research come to visit, employees of relevant majors can come forward to receive them.

"In that case, I'll trouble you, Mr. Huang."

"Everyone, please come this way."

The first place we visited was the tissue culture laboratory.

Since the tissue culture seedling production was moved to the smart greenhouse farm in Hongcao Town, the more than 100-acre tissue culture laboratory here has become a real laboratory.

"This is our company's tissue culture laboratory, which mainly conducts various tissue culture experiments. We currently have 23 professional researchers."

Through the glass window, Professor Wang saw the seedlings being cultivated in the culture bottle: "What kind of crop is this?"

"It's a banana."

"Where's this side?"

“That’s a green pepper…”

After touring the tissue culture laboratory, Professor Wang came to the genetic modification laboratory.

Seeing all the expensive experimental equipment, everyone couldn't help but show envy, even Professor Wang, who actually didn't have his own independent biology laboratory.

A laboratory of this level requires an investment of at least tens of millions, plus annual maintenance costs. It is difficult for ordinary scientific researchers to afford the operation of a laboratory of this level on their own.

In particular, a cryo-electron microscope that was just purchased at the beginning of the year attracted everyone's attention.

Coming out of the GMO laboratory.

Huang Xinghe did not continue to enter the edible fungi laboratory and the biological mining laboratory, because the research there involves fungi and bacteria, the protection level is very high, and outsiders are not allowed to enter.

Then, he led Professor Wang and his team out through the back door and came to the foot of the Magongshan Experimental Planting Base.

"Everyone, this is an experimental planting base for various new varieties of crops. Before you enter, I need to remind you of something." Huang Xinghe said seriously, "Don't pick any plants inside, because this involves our company's commercial secrets."

Professor Wang was of course aware of the importance that commercial companies attached to their seedlings. He nodded and said, "We understand and will definitely not make things difficult for Mr. Huang."

“Please follow my steps.”

The experimental greenhouse at the foot of the mountain is filled with grasses such as rice, corn, millet, wheat, sorghum, oats, rye, and barley.

Everyone saw all kinds of strange-looking varieties, but as agricultural workers, Professor Wang, Xiao Jieshi and others were not too surprised. After all, they often encountered these strange mutant strains.

Until they came to a large banana planting experimental greenhouse.

"These banana varieties have been patented, so they can be picked. Let me see if any are ripe." Huang Xinghe smiled and patted a sign.

Doctoral student Xiao Song looked at the introduction on the sign with surprise on his face: "Is this the endangered Gros Michel banana?"

Another researcher shook his head and said, "This variety is too fragile. If Panama disease and yellow leaf disease are not solved, it can only be grown in this laboratory. The Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences introduced a few seedlings from Siam before, and grew dozens of them through tissue culture. In the end, only four were left in the laboratory."

Huang Xinghe found a bunch of yellow bananas and cut them with a knife.

These bananas were supposed to begin to mature in May, but due to the warm winter this year and the sufficient water and fertilizer in the greenhouse, the bananas began to mature in early April.

Carrying a bunch of dozen bananas, Huang Xinghe returned to Professor Wang and others.

"Everyone, this is one of the new varieties of Gros Mike cultivated by our company. The taste is similar to the traditional Gros Mike, and it has excellent resistance."

Professor Wang took a banana and peeled it while curiously asking, "New variety? How did you solve the problem that the gene of the Gros Michel is single and the triploid cannot hybridize naturally?"

"It was solved by our boss, using somatic cell hybridization technology."

"Cell hybridization technology? The success rate of this technology is too low." Professor Wang has peeled off the thick banana skin. This is one of the characteristics of the Gros Michel banana. The skin is relatively thick and very suitable for long-distance transportation.

After taking a bite, I found it was indeed extraordinary.

It was also the first time for others to eat Gros Michel bananas, and the taste was obviously different from the Mandarin bananas currently on the market.

Xiao Jieshi exclaimed: "If this variety can acquire the characteristics of resistance to Panama disease and yellow leaf disease, it can indeed crush the bananas currently on the market."

"Mr. Xiao, this variety you guys can eat is fine." Huang Xinghe said with a smile.

"What?" Xiao Jieshi suspected that he had heard it wrong, and asked again: "Is this variety resistant to yellow leaf disease and Panama disease?"

"Yes."

After getting this answer.

Everyone was very shocked. They did not expect that Hailufeng Company had such technical reserves. This made Professor Wang and others look forward to meeting Jiang Miao even more.

(End of this chapter)