"We have overcome not just a technical barrier, but the barrier to fruit farmers' prosperity!" On February 2nd, during a provincial activity focused on consolidating poverty alleviation achievements and effectively linking them with rural revitalization, coupled with a grassroots tour by central and provincial media for the Spring Festival, the press delegation visited Shaanxi Zhaojin Xianheng Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. The company's Promotion and Application Director, Gao Feng, pointed to a sapling as he explained, his voice brimming with pride. This is precisely "Qingzhen," the world's first new apple variety with apomictic dwarfing rootstock possessing China's independent intellectual property rights. Academician Shu Huairui, a leading authority in the fruit tree industry, once inscribed the words, "Qingzhen is the Chinese root for apple dwarf cultivation." Just how remarkable is this "root"? It boasts outstanding advantages such as a well-developed root system, strong stress tolerance, and wide adaptability, successfully solving the critical "chokepoint" problem of China's long-term reliance on foreign rootstocks for apple dwarf cultivation. However, technological leadership does not automatically equate to practical implementation; the key lies in whether it can be translated into tangible benefits. "Our task is to truly turn laboratory achievements into productive forces in the fields," Gao Feng explained, noting that the company has established a full industrial chain layout covering breeding, seedling cultivation, demonstration, and promotion, forming an integrated development pattern of seedling production, experimental demonstration, and cultivation display. It is particularly noteworthy that Xianheng Agricultural Technology has paired Qingzhen with high-quality scions to develop 20 types of Qingzhen apple seedlings, including Ruixue, Qincui, and Ruixianghong. Simultaneously, the company has also explored a "support-free dwarf close planting cultivation model" and the "H1358" integrated technology for early fruiting, high quality, and abundant yield, making apple cultivation both easier and more efficient. Fruit farmers are beaming with joy: new orchards can actually achieve "fruiting in the second year and a bumper harvest in the third year"! Gao Feng did a quick economic calculation on the spot: "After adopting the new technology, the yield per mu can achieve stepwise growth—1,000 jin in the second year, 3,000 jin in the third year, 5,000 jin in the fourth year, and 8,000 jin in the fifth year. Calculated, this results in an increase of over 3,000 jin per mu, with profits rising by more than 20,000 yuan." For prosperity to have an outlet, the industry must take root. At Xianheng Agricultural Technology, the advanced seedling industry is not only the "core chip" of modern fruit cultivation but also a "powerful engine" for increasing the income of local residents. "During busy farming seasons, we can provide over 600 seasonal positions, mostly filled by villagers from nearby areas," said Gao Feng. Furthermore, the company innovatively launched a "seedling entrusted propagation" model, delivering high-quality Qingzhen seedlings and supporting techniques to farmers and implementing guaranteed purchase agreements, ensuring that entrusted farmers achieve a stable net income of over 5,000 yuan per mu. Additionally, through a linkage mechanism of "enterprise + village collective + farmer," the enterprise provides seedlings, technology, and purchase orders, the village collective is responsible for organization and coordination, and farmers focus on production management, forming a pattern of close cooperation and multi-party win-win outcomes. To date, the company's cumulative cooperative seedling production has reached 18 million plants, involving more than 150 farming households, bringing total earnings of over 27 million yuan to cooperative farmers, with an average household income of 180,000 yuan. Starting from Tongchuan, the footprint of "Qingzhen" is continuously expanding. Currently, this variety has been promoted across 300,000 mu in major domestic apple-producing regions such as Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Shandong. This "Chinese root" has also stepped beyond the national border, taking root in the soil of Uzbekistan. In the base of Xianheng Agricultural Technology, saplings gather strength quietly, awaiting the spring growth. What the lenses of the press delegation recorded was not just the overwintering saplings, but a vivid story of technology-driven development, deep local roots, and leading farmers to prosperity. Each independent "Chinese root" is nurturing vibrant "shared prosperity gardens."
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