In December 2025, amidst the biting cold winds of the Guanzhong region, the atmosphere in Qianyang County's dwarfing rootstock apple demonstration garden was bustling with activity. Farmers were busily pruning, fertilizing, and laying plastic mulch for the fruit trees, preparing for the next year's harvest.
"Over a decade ago, this was still a traditional orchard where apples couldn't fetch a good price. Now, thanks to the 'golden seedlings,' our village's 500 mu of upgraded orchards are laden with fruit, and the village collective's annual income exceeds one million yuan," said Zhao Hongqiang, Party Secretary of Zhaojia Yuan Village in Cuijiatou Town, Qianyang County, pointing to the neatly arranged orchards with evident pride in his voice.
The "golden seedling" he referred to is the dwarfing rootstock apple seedling cultivated through technological innovation in Qianyang County. This small seedling has altered the destiny of Qianyang's apple industry.
The industrial transformation: a comeback from "Qinguan overstock" to "space apples"
Over a decade ago, the price of traditional Qinguan apples plummeted, at times failing to even cover freight costs, leaving farmers distressed by mountains of unsold fruit.
It was against this backdrop that in 2012, Qianyang County made a bold decision—to comprehensively introduce European dwarfing rootstock high-density planting techniques to drive the transformation and upgrading of the apple industry.
"Many people didn't understand at the time, believing foreign technology would face issues of local adaptation. But our research found that dwarfing rootstock technology could solve the problems of high investment, slow returns, and unstable quality associated with traditional planting," said Yang Hongzhong, Director of the Qianyang County Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, on December 18, 2025.
Persuading farmers to upgrade their orchards was no easy task. To this end, Qianyang County organized technical experts to visit households one by one, promising seedling subsidies and technical guidance, and established the first demonstration garden in Nanzhai Town.
"The experts said that by planting the new seedlings and using the new techniques, apple trees could 'bloom in the first year and bear fruit in the second.' I was skeptical but tried planting 2 mu, and to my surprise, I achieved a decent profit by the third year," said Xue Jifa, a villager from Caojia Yuan Village in Zhangjia Yuan Town.
Data proves the success of this transformation: the dwarfing rootstock high-density planting technology achieved 60% savings in water and labor, 70% savings in fertilizer and land use, a 90% rate of high-quality fruit, an average yield of 3,500 kilograms per mu, and cost savings and efficiency gains exceeding 2,000 yuan per mu, resulting in doubled yields and profits without increasing the cultivated area.
In recent years, Qianyang County has closely followed the industry trend of efficient dwarfing rootstock apple cultivation, vigorously promoting the breeding of new varieties, the application of new technologies, and the operation of new models, continuously enhancing the scale and standardization of the apple industry. This year, Qianyang apples have entered markets in countries like Vietnam and Thailand.
Even more excitingly, on October 31, 2025, Qianyang's "Fujin" apples traveled into space for the sixth time aboard a Shenzhou spacecraft, becoming part of the astronauts' space provisions.
"Qianyang apples' journey to space relies precisely on technological innovation as the 'golden key'," said Yang Hongzhong.
The advantage of fruit seedlings: capturing one-quarter of the global dwarfing rootstock apple seedling market
A high-quality seedling is like an "agricultural chip," crucial for empowering the future of orchards and determining farmers' profits.
"We have established the nation's largest rootstock germplasm repository and specialized variety scion garden. The rootstocks use the specialized rootstock MM111, with the mother plants imported from Europe. From scion collection to grafting, storage, and transport, we implement virus-free management, ensuring the purity of Qianyang seedling varieties," said Zhang Lin, General Manager of Baoji Huasheng Fruit Industry Co., Ltd.
The rise of Qianyang's dwarfing rootstock seedlings is attributed to technological control over the entire industry chain. Qianyang County took the lead nationally in introducing the latest international dwarfing rootstock seedlings and cultivation techniques, collaborating with Northwest A&F University to establish the Qianyang Apple Seedling Research Institute and the province's only county-level virus detection center. They conduct space breeding and master techniques such as sugar-free tissue culture, virus-free rootstock layering propagation, and "in vitro grafting," achieving self-sufficiency and control over seed sources.
"Viruses are the 'hidden killers' of seedlings. We conduct research on apple seedling virus detection and virus elimination technology to control seedling quality at the source," said Li Bingzhi, a professor at the Qianyang Apple Experiment and Demonstration Station.
Standard setting reflects industrial influence. Qianyang formulated two group standards: "Quality Grade Requirements for Qianyang Apple Dwarfing Self-rooted Rootstock Seedlings" and "Technical Specifications for Establishing Orchards with Apple Dwarfing Self-rooted Rootstock Seedlings," providing unified standards for multiple technical procedures including orchard establishment, rootstock propagation, and branched seedling cultivation.
"Previously, seedling quality was inconsistent. Now, with unified standards, buyers only need to recognize the 'Qianyang Fruit Seedling' brand," said Yang Hongzhong.
Currently, Qianyang dwarfing rootstock seedlings hold a 72% share of the domestic market and a 25% share of the global market for dwarfing rootstock apple seedlings. In 2024, at the Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Fair, the Qianyang Fruit Seedling regional public brand was launched, marking the nation's first regional public brand for fruit seedlings.
"We aim to equip Chinese apples with a 'Chinese core'," said Yang Hongzhong.
The future track: "Selling seedlings" and also "selling services"
"In 2024, our village collective income reached 10 million yuan, primarily from land transfer, cold storage dividends, and technical services," said Zhao Weijun, Village Party Secretary of Dazhai Village in Nanzhai Town.
The development of the apple industry in Dazhai Village benefited from the entry of leading enterprises. "In 2012, we began building the nation's first dwarfing rootstock high-density apple orchard in Nanzhai Town, increasing residents' income through orchard land transfers, employment within the park, and contracted orchard establishment," said Lu Chenghong, Deputy General Manager of Baoji Haisheng Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd.
This "leading enterprise + village collective" model is being comprehensively promoted throughout Qianyang. Currently, the total collective income of the county's 65 villages has reached 110 million yuan, with 12,000 fruit-growing households seeing an average annual increase in income of 20,000 yuan per household.
Simultaneously, Qianyang County actively promotes technology export. Industrial prosperity has given rise to the "Qianyang Apple Master" labor service brand, with 12 service teams composed of 328 apple masters active in 10 provinces and autonomous regions across the country.
Qianyang County not only sells seedlings but also provides "orchard establishment butler" services, participating in the entire process from planning to management. To date, Qianyang County has exported dwarfing rootstock seedlings and orchard establishment technical models to South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, and over 60 cities and counties in 19 domestic provinces, driving the development of 5.175 million mu of dwarfing rootstock apple orchards, achieving the simultaneous export of Qianyang's seedlings, talent, technology, and equipment to serve the nation.
From the Weibei dry plateau to the vastness of space, from traditional planting to smart agriculture, the industrial transformation sparked by one "golden seedling" continues to unfold. To date, the total output value of Qianyang's apple industry chain has reached 2.7 billion yuan, driving employment for 12,000 people.
"We will continue to follow the approach of 'variety leadership, model support, stabilizing acreage and improving quality, and integrated development,' persistently adhering to leading enterprise guidance, industry-university-research cooperation, and breeding research breakthroughs to create a national integrated service highland for the transformation and upgrading of the apple industry," said Yang Hongzhong.
