The land of Xianyang is currently lush and full of vitality. On May 30th, at the Jingyang R&D Center of Xi'an Jinpeng Seedling Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jinpeng Seedling"), breeding staff were systematically conducting tomato variety selection trials in greenhouses. This is the final step before a hybrid tomato combination is finalized and moves toward commercial promotion. Since last year, Jinpeng Seedling has focused on three core aspects of tomatoes—taste and flavor, comprehensive disease resistance, and high yield—continuously selecting and breeding new varieties that are high-yielding, excellent in flavor, and possess superior resistance. Currently, the company has 39 self-developed tomato varieties registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, with cumulative nationwide promotion covering nearly ten million mu.
Jinpeng Seedling has been deeply engaged in the breeding field for decades, consistently dedicated to tomato variety research and development. Its independently developed third-generation variety, "Jinpeng 8," features excellent characteristics such as good storage and transport tolerance, a long shelf life, and resistance to yellow leaf curl virus, effectively addressing related production challenges. "New varieties must first undergo verification of various trait indicators to confirm they meet cultivation and production standards and achieve preset breeding goals. If all conditions are met, the company will proceed with variety demonstration and promotion. Varieties with outstanding market performance will ultimately complete certification and achieve commercial launch," explained Li Yuanjie, Deputy General Manager of Jinpeng Seedling. "Our newly launched 'Jinpeng 101' can yield over 10% more than the currently mainstream 'Provence' variety on the market, with better disease resistance."
Jingyang County's Vegetable Industry Service Center Deputy Director Liu Yong stated, "As of now, there are two enterprises in our county with research and development capabilities for new tomato varieties, which has also led to the emergence of numerous seedling companies. There are five enterprises with an annual seedling production capacity exceeding 10 million plants, and 15 medium-sized enterprises with capacities ranging from 1 million to 10 million plants. The county's annual seedling production volume reaches 170 million plants, which not only meets local planting demands but also satisfies the market needs for tomato seedlings in surrounding counties, other provinces, and even the entire Northwest region."
Last year, Xianyang's total vegetable output reached 4.225 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, maintaining its position as the top producer in the province. The influence of its specialty vegetable brands continues to grow, solidifying the foundation for securing the Northwest's "vegetable basket" supply. This represents a new path for rural revitalization, characterized by industrial quality and efficiency improvements and stable income growth for residents. Behind this impressive report card lies the support of the vegetable seed industry. Jinpeng Seedling is a vivid example of Xianyang leveraging seed industry revitalization to drive vegetable industry development.
In recent years, Xianyang has broken through bottlenecks in seed industry development, adhering to a dual-drive strategy of independent research and development in breeding and the construction of an intensive seedling cultivation system. This has enabled a leap from purchasing seedlings externally to self-cultivation, and from scattered seedling production to large-scale supply, solidifying the industrial source foundation for its status as the province's leading vegetable city. Independent breeding has achieved breakthroughs that lead the market, while services such as providing seedlings and purchasing finished products have smoothed the "last mile" of service.
At the trading hall of the Sanyuan County Yijia Youxuan Seedling Professional Cooperative, many vegetable farmers are delivering freshly harvested tomatoes of the new variety "Tianyu 930." "This variety has strong disease resistance, saves labor and effort, and the purchase price per jin is 0.3 to 0.5 yuan higher than the market price. Coupled with its good growth, a three-mu greenhouse can save about seven to eight thousand yuan in labor costs alone. This year, the yield of 'Tianyu' is about 5,000 jin per mu higher than other varieties, and one greenhouse is expected to increase income by approximately 30,000 yuan," said Zhao Peng, a vegetable farmer from Anle Village, Beixi Town, Sanyuan County.
Sanyuan County Yijia Youxuan Seedling Professional Cooperative has established a full-process service system. It not only provides free field technical guidance to growers, helping solve problems related to seedling cultivation, planting, and pest control, but also purchases quality agricultural inputs in bulk to reduce planting costs and signs guaranteed purchase agreements to protect farmers' income. Since last year, "Tianyu 930," leveraging its advantages of disease resistance, labor-saving qualities, high yield, and excellent quality, has been promoted and planted on 230 mu locally in Sanyuan, driving income growth for the community and gaining widespread recognition. "We produce about 10 million seedlings annually, which can support planting on 50,000 mu of land. Tomatoes are mainly sold to Shanghai City, Jiaxing City, and major supermarkets, with annual sales reaching over 7 million jin," said Shen Jianning, Chairman of the Sanyuan County Yijia Youxuan Seedling Professional Cooperative. "This year, the cooperative will add 3,000 mu of promoted planting area, driving more people to increase their income and prosperity."
Foundation of Independent Seed Industry
"Firmly grasp the 'chip' of the vegetable seed industry, promote vegetable seedlings from reliance on external purchases toward self-cultivation, and strengthen the industrial development foundation with high-quality seeds." Over the years, Xianyang has consistently adhered to this concept to drive the development of its vegetable industry. On the breeding front, it has improved and perfected the independent breeding and seedling cultivation system, introduced and nurtured key seed industry enterprises such as "Jinpeng" and "Sangnong," and established a breeding framework comprising "test centers + seed enterprises + trial planting bases + demonstration bases." It has cumulatively introduced over 1,000 vegetable varieties and successfully cultivated a batch of fine varieties with independent intellectual property rights, effectively solving the "bottleneck" problem of vegetable seedlings.
On the seedling cultivation front, Xianyang has vigorously promoted the construction of intensive and standardized seedling cultivation bases. The city has established 11 standardized intensive seedling cultivation centers, with an annual production capacity of 555 million high-quality vegetable seedlings. This not only fully guarantees local planting demands but also supplies the five provinces and regions of Northwest China, significantly increasing the local self-sufficiency rate of seedlings. It has completely broken free from external purchase dependence, achieving independent control over vegetable seedlings and continuously injecting strong "core" momentum into the high-quality development of the city's vegetable industry.
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