A spring breeze sweeps across the banks of the Jing River. In the orchards of Fengtai Town, Jingchuan County, fruit growers are busy with bud-notching, garden-clearing, and strengthening branches and buds in preparation for this year's harvest. For the local residents here, apples are not just fruit; they are a livelihood and the hope for prosperity.
Fengtai Town is situated at 35 degrees north latitude, an area with deep soil layers and abundant sunlight, making it a "golden zone" for apple cultivation. However, in previous years, challenges such as a lack of crop variety, aging trees, low rates of high-quality fruit, and significant market risks once plunged this "apple town" into difficulty.
"We used to grow old varieties; the trees aged, and so did the people. The returns diminished year after year," recalled Zhang Xihong, an orchardist from Zhangguanca Village.
Change began with a single "new sapling." In recent years, Fengtai Town has closely aligned with Pingliang City's goal of creating a "model zone for modern, high-quality agriculture in Western China," boldly shifting direction within the apple industry. Based on local soil and climate conditions, the town introduced promising new varieties like David Gala, Venus Golden, and Ruixue. The ratio of early, mid, and late-season varieties has been gradually optimized to 1:2:7. These are paired with dwarfing, high-quality, virus-free rootstocks like G935 and Qingzhen, fundamentally addressing the issue of aging varieties.
"Fruit now comes to market in stages, allowing for off-peak sales. We no longer fear a market glut driving prices down," said Zhang Xihong, noting that last year, one mu of land yielded an income of 12,000 yuan.
With new varieties came new cultivation methods. In Fengtai Town, a dwarf rootstock, high-density planting technology, summarized as offering "Four Savings, Two Highs, and Two Earlies" (saving water, fertilizer, land, and labor; high yield and high quality; early fruiting and early returns), is revitalizing the orchards. This new approach has allowed growers to taste success.
"Growing apples used to be very laborious, taking five years to bear fruit. With the new technology, we see results in just two years. The fruit quality is excellent, and buyers compete for it," said Zhang Weihong, an orchardist from Zhangguanca Village, with a smile.
Fengtai Town has cumulatively established over 3,000 mu of new dwarf, high-density orchards, achieving "blossoms in the first year, fruit in the second, and high yield in the third." Early-stage yield per mu has increased by three to four times compared to traditional orchards.
The technology brings not only higher yields but also superior quality. In villages like Fengtaidun, Zhangguanca, and Nanpuzi, four standardized modern fruit demonstration parks have been successively established. Meticulous management techniques, including soil enrichment, drought resistance and moisture conservation, and pest and disease control, are being widely promoted. For older orchards, the town has developed tailored renovation plans village by village. Through methods like thinning, pruning, and heading back, over 10,000 mu have been renovated, allowing "old trees" to regain vitality.
With improved orchards, the questions became: Who will cultivate them, and how will the fruit be sold? Fengtai Town's approach involves models like "Enterprise + Base + Farmer" and "Cooperative + Base + Farmer," letting professionals handle specialized tasks. For households lacking labor or technical skills, over 1,200 mu have been contracted to fruit companies like Ganjiantou and Shannvqiu through land transfers. These farmers now earn both land rent and wages, achieving "dual income." For motivated individuals, support is provided to establish share-holding economic cooperatives, enabling unified labor and dividend-sharing.
"I transferred my land to the company and also work in the orchard, earning 100 yuan a day. With two income streams in a year, it's much better than farming alone," calculated Wang Xiaotian, a villager from Fengtaidun Village.
In sales, the "Internet + Fruit Industry" model helps apples reach farther markets. The "Shannvqiu" two-tiered e-commerce service system at the town and village level sells over 6,000 tons of apples annually, bridging the "last mile." Growers no longer worry about sales, focusing instead on producing quality apples.
Upgrading the industry chain relies on support from the service chain. Fengtai Town has established 13 service teams integrating "Technology + Agricultural Supplies + Marketing." Technical personnel provide guidance throughout the process, while town and village cadres offer follow-up services, promptly introducing growers to new varieties, technologies, and market information.
The town has coordinated over 16 million yuan in project funds to support soil improvement, dwarf dense planting, drip irrigation installation, and the promotion of integrated water-fertilizer systems. It has also secured 2.4 million yuan in subsidies for agricultural machinery purchases, helping major distributors and cooperatives expand their operations.
To combat natural disasters like frost, Fengtai Town has established a three-tier meteorological warning system (town-village-group), conducted training on low-temperature frost damage prevention, actively raised funds for disaster mitigation facilities, and increased the uptake of政策性保险政策性保险 (policy-based insurance), providing a "protective umbrella" for orchardists.
Today, Fengtai Town's apple industry is transitioning from merely "growing trees" to "building an industry." The town's apple output is growing steadily, growers' enthusiasm has significantly increased, and the rural landscape is transforming—orchards are becoming scenic spots, farmhouses are turning into guest rooms, the countryside is gaining charm, and farmers are seeing their incomes rise.
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