"The temperature is not particularly high, why do cucumber heads always fall? When she first settled in the Cucumber Science and Technology Courtyard in Huaiyin, Jiangsu Province, she visited her door-to-door, and Su Li, a doctoral student at Yangzhou University, was asked by a farmer.
Recalling that experience, Su Li said that she had just come into contact with production practice at that time, "I felt that I had read books for so long, and I didn't seem to know much about practical knowledge." She checked the information, consulted the teacher, and finally understood that the cucumber had dry fever.
Today, Su Li and the college students who are stationed in the science and technology academy in turn have become familiar "fellow villagers" of local farmers, helping local industries and farmers solve practical problems while completing their own research.
Founded in 2009 by Zhang Fusuo, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor of China Agricultural University, and his team in Quzhou County, Hebei Province, the Science and Technology Academy has expanded to more than 1,000 villages in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country in the past 15 years, and is gradually solving the problem of the "last mile" of comprehensive rural revitalization.
Recently, the second session of the "Pinduoduo Cup" Science and Technology Academy Competition of China Graduate Rural Revitalization Science and Technology Strong Agriculture + Innovation Competition came to an end, and 46 science and technology academies teams from 22 colleges and universities across the country, including Jiangsu Huaiyin Cucumber Science and Technology Academy, appeared on the final stage.
In March 2022, Yangzhou University established Jiangsu Huaiyin Cucumber Science and Technology Academy. During the cucumber planting season in spring and autumn, Su Li has to spend two or three months of experimental time in the science and technology courtyard.
At that time, the cucumber planting industry in Dingji Town, Huaiyin, Jiangsu Province had been developing for more than 30 years, and the problems of soil continuous cropping obstacles, seed production and cultivation yield and quality were gradually exposed. Teachers and students from the Science and Technology Academy began to assist in soil improvement in the local area.
Su Li said that they would go door-to-door to educate farmers that the reason why cucumber yields were low or sick was because there were too many crops, and that "in the summer, you can plant corn for soil remediation." The students of the small academy have also written two academic articles through the experiment of this topic."
Su Li told the reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that everyone has to plant many varieties of cucumbers for experiments, and about 10 of each variety are planted, "Some students have to plant more than 200 varieties, from early sowing, seedling raising to transplanting, planting, etc., all of which are completed by ourselves."
After a period of experimentation, the Science and Technology Institute introduced suitable varieties for the local area and cultivated a new variety of "Yuxiu No. 2". For the pest and disease problems that farmers are most concerned about, they also specially tested and launched a query software, which identified pests and diseases through AI technology after taking pictures, and obtained the corresponding first-class plan at the same time.
A courtyard, a few acres of cultivated land, and more than 10 students are the "standard configuration" of the science and technology courtyard. In recent years, more and more college students have come here to "find their own hardships", and even brushed out new learning "copies", while delving into knowledge learning and subject research, while touching the various "capillaries" of the agricultural industry.
In February last year, Quan Tielin, a master's student at China Agricultural University, started a two-year life in the Chucheng Science and Technology Courtyard in Xinping County, Yunnan Province.
Many years ago, Chu Shijian contracted the sugarcane field at the eastern foot of the middle section of Ailao Mountain to plant oranges to create the "Chu Orange" brand. However, piebald fruit and cracked fruit have always been the most serious problems that plague the quality of Chu oranges. After testing and comparison, the Chu Cheng Science and Technology Courtyard focused on the cause of the occurrence of the spotted fruit to the wind.
In order to solve these problems, they erected a high net on the outside of the orchard and sprayed pesticides on the fruits to form a protective film; In order to reduce the yield of cracked fruits, nitrogen and calcium elements are also specially supplemented, in the past, a tree produced 200 fruits, about twenty or thirty cracked fruits, after a "treatment" in the science and technology courtyard, now it has dropped to two or three.
Quan Tielin told the reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network that Xinping County mainly grows rock sugar oranges, but because its market time is relatively concentrated, they hope to introduce more new varieties and extend the market sales time, which has become her problem. "I am responsible for observing the planting performance, growth and development patterns, and fertilizer application rates of 4-5 new varieties after they are introduced. Different varieties can also be harvested at different times, which can also bring income to local cultivation. ”
In August last year, before the greenhouse was completely built, we were in the greenhouse almost every day, and we installed the irrigation equipment, cameras and networks ourselves. Quan Tielin said that this is "very different" from her imagination of graduate life: "In the past, we used to go back and forth between the teaching buildings to take classes, and the extracurricular practice was also short-term, but now we have to stay in the mountains every day, and when we go downstairs, there are citrus trees, and that's where we go to class." Now we can see at a glance how citrus is growing, and see what disease is born."
However, after planting citrus by himself, Quan Tielin and his classmates found that it is particularly important whether the theoretical knowledge and technology they have learned can be applied to actual planting and production. "One day, someone came over and reminded me that the citrus trees that were planted late outside were a circle bigger than our fruit trees. She admits that she later found that because they "served" the fruit trees in the greenhouse too carefully, they did not bear fruit for two years. Her project had to be put on hold for the time being, and she was replaced by a study of nitrogen fertilizer application.
What made her sigh was that in the science and technology courtyard, she could not only deal with citrus trees, but also learn more knowledge in the communication with the company's technical personnel. "When I came here, I realized that citrus trees were only a little taller than people, and there was a lot of practical knowledge related to the industry to be learned. ”
Except for a two-week break last summer, Shen Xiaoge, a master's student at Southwest University, was almost stationed in the Chongqing Tongliang Vegetable Science and Technology Courtyard.
How to improve the economic benefits of these crops while reducing the use of fertilizer in the planting process has become the direction of their research. "In response to the national low-carbon policy, reducing carbon emissions in the process of crop production is worthy of further study. Shen Xiaoge said.
During a visit early last year, farmers working in the fields told her that due to the extreme heat in Chongqing in 2022, they had almost "no harvest" that season, and "the farmers hoped that we could help them increase their income."
In the promotion of innovative fertilizers, we must focus on highlighting the economic benefits. Shen Xiaoge said that reducing the amount of fertilizer used will also reduce the cost of fertilizer and increase income, which is more acceptable to farmers, "In fact, we have added new synergists to innovative fertilizers, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing carbon emissions."
It is worth mentioning that cross-industry and multi-subject collaboration and joint efforts to promote rural revitalization are becoming the development direction of national science and technology institutes.
Chongqing Tongliang Vegetable Science and Technology Institute has also explored a new model of taking the industrialization consortium as the starting point and multi-subject participation in the development of agriculture. On the R&D side, the Science and Technology Institute is responsible for analyzing the problems and creating a green production model for the whole vegetable industry chain; On the sales side, we will unite multiple entities such as universities, agricultural enterprises, and e-commerce platforms to broaden sales paths and increase the income of vegetable owners.
According to reports, after the promotion of the new model, only one crop of pepper will increase by 953 yuan per mu in the season, and the income will increase by 9.53 million yuan according to the promotion area of 10,000 mu.
If the science and technology courtyard has demolished the wall between the school and the society, between disciplines, between teaching and scientific research, and between teaching and learning, then Pinduoduo will help break the wall between scientific research and the market, help promote the standardization, branding, and digital development of agricultural specialties, and improve the modern agricultural industry chain. At the award ceremony of the 2nd Science and Technology Academy, Hou Kaidi, vice president of Pinduoduo, said, "Even if this is a systematic project with a long development cycle and slow return on investment, we will spare no effort to firmly reinvest in agriculture and adhere to long-termism." ”
Lin Wanlong, vice president of China Agricultural University, said that through the science and technology courtyard, college students mingle with the people in the front line of the industry, they have a deep understanding of China's national conditions and agricultural conditions, and they also know the value they can really play in rural revitalization, "so it is natural that they will connect their future career choices with rural revitalization and contribute to the modernization of agriculture and rural areas."
We should regard the science and technology courtyard as a model for serving the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. In the future, the science and technology courtyard should not only be aimed at small farmers and the update of traditional production technology, but also connect with modern industries and modern enterprises. Lin Wanlong said.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Meng Peipei **China Youth Daily.
*: China Youth Daily).