Transforming "barren land" into "granary of the country"

Standing at the Salt Alkali Land Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Comprehensive Utilization Science and Technology Innovation Demonstration Base in Dalate Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, sunflowers stand tall and spread a moving color of yellow and green between the earth and the blue sky. Upon closer inspection, the plump sunflower seeds were falling from their heads, causing the flower plates to droop - this sunflower field is about to harvest abundantly! The saline alkali land covered in speckled white salt was once synonymous with barren and barren land, known as the "ringworm of the earth"

Standing at the Salt Alkali Land Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Comprehensive Utilization Science and Technology Innovation Demonstration Base in Dalate Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, sunflowers stand tall and spread a moving color of yellow and green between the earth and the blue sky. Upon closer inspection, the plump sunflower seeds were falling from their heads, causing the flower plates to droop - this sunflower field is about to harvest abundantly!

The saline alkali land covered in speckled white salt was once synonymous with barren and barren land, known as the "ringworm of the earth". For China, the world's third largest country with saline alkali land distribution, carrying out comprehensive utilization of saline alkali land is of great strategic significance for ensuring food security and securing China's rice bowl.

With this mission, the innovation team for saline alkali land improvement at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Regionalization, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is like a magician, transforming the once barren land into a "green oil" and "golden" form from two dimensions of "suitable land for planting and land use". They planted 'new granaries' in saline alkali soil.

Check the pulse of salt and alkali, write your paper on the ground

What are they doing in the field all day? Can that piece of land grow anything? "" In previous years, when sunflowers were planted on that piece of land, not a single seedling could grow well, could they do it? "" They were just fooling around, leaving good land but not planting it, and instead using this' bare land '. "... In May this year, Li Xiaobin, a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Zoning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, came to the Ordos Saline Alkali Land Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Comprehensive Utilization Technology Innovation Demonstration Base, A plot of land with the most severe salinization was selected as the experimental field. Since then, the voices of surrounding farmers have never stopped talking.

What we do in scientific research is to write papers on the earth! "Without much time to think, Li Xiaobin plunged into the experimental field to" check the pulse "of saline alkali, vowing to play the key role of technological innovation and awaken the" sleeping "resource of saline alkali land.

Li Xiaobin's research team used an integrated agricultural machine called "rotary tillage+ridging+drip irrigation belt laying+film covering+sowing" to sow sunflowers. After precise water and salt regulation and integrated drip irrigation with water and fertilizer regulators, sunflowers began to emerge one week later. In the end, the emergence rate of sunflowers covered with white film is over 85%, and the emergence rate of sunflowers covered with black film is over 95%!

The emergence of seedlings has also changed the content of farmers' discussions. Oh, the seedlings are coming out really well, they can catch up with the seedlings coming out of good ground. "" It's not easy, those poor ground can produce these seedlings, but it depends on how they grow in the back

As the sunflower dish became heavier and heavier, the questioning voice disappeared, replaced by the voice: "Researcher Li, can your technology be used in our field next year

Wang Jing, a team member and associate researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Regionalization of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, remembers that she and her research team members visited the abandoned heavy saline alkali land in Hetao Irrigation District, Wuyuan County, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia in 2010. When an old farmer heard that they were coming to improve the saline alkali land, she excitedly drove a donkey cart to invite them to drink salty "hospitality water". The taste of that cup of water, Wang Jing still couldn't forget: "In fact, the 'hospitality water' is still very salty. It's too difficult to drink non salty water there

I clearly feel the local people's desire for saline alkali land management! "Wang Jing said. The team had integrated multiple technologies such as cultivation and salt inhibition technology, fertilizer and salt regulation technology, irrigation and salt washing technology, saline alkali conditioner application technology, and salt tolerant variety planting technology to improve moderate saline alkali land. That year, they screened out various efficient technologies with good effects and low costs. Through repeated experiments, verification, and demonstration, Within 3-5 years, the saline alkali wasteland in the core experimental demonstration area was transformed into middle-class farmland.

Every time I hear local farmers and agricultural technicians say 'you're really good', I feel that my work is particularly meaningful and fulfilling, "Wang Jing said.

Joint efforts to tackle key problems and promote the growth of interdisciplinary talents

Creating a "Dongying Model" for suitable growth, salt control, and ecological utilization in the Yellow River Delta: Developing technology for reducing fertilizer application and increasing efficiency in mild saline alkali land, achieving a 20% fertilizer saving and no reduction in corn yield, while increasing soybean yield by 85 kilograms per acre; Establish a technical system for salt resistance and fertilization of forage crops in moderately saline alkali land, achieving an average salt reduction of 20% in the arable layer, an increase of over 10% in saline alkali land, and a water saving of over 20%; In severe saline alkali soil, the average yield of wild soybean per mu reached 240 kilograms through root zone salt leaching technology, which is 5 times the natural yield.

Exploring the "Ordos Model" of water-saving and salt control in saline alkali land and intelligent ecology in the "Several Character Bend" of the Yellow River, achieving an average salt reduction of 20% in the arable layer and an increase of over 10% in saline alkali real estate.

Awesome's achievements are supported by awesome's talents.

In the past two years, we have increased the introduction of young talents, "said Li Yuyi, the team's chief scientist and researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Regionalization of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The introduction of young talents includes both internal training and external introduction.

"Like Zhang Hongyuan, a post-90s doctor, and Li Shengping, a postdoctoral fellow, they both stayed in the team after graduation from the institute (out of the station). Researcher Li Xiaobin was specially introduced from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Saline alkali land governance involves many research directions, and we need to build a multidisciplinary cross complementary comprehensive team," said Li Yuyi.

In the major scientific research task of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, "Key Technologies and Integrated Demonstration of Salt Alkali Land Barrier Reduction and Capacity Enhancement", the innovation team for salt alkali land improvement mainly undertakes the research task of "Rapid improvement and fertilization of salt alkali land and capacity expansion and efficiency enhancement technology".

The task has arrived, and everyone is performing their respective duties and working together to tackle the problem. Li Yuyi is overall responsible and comprehensively coordinated, leading the team to conduct systematic research from three aspects: salt alkali barrier mechanism, adaptive improvement, and crop productivity improvement; Researchers Wu Xueping and Li Shengping are responsible for research on soil structure improvement, carbon and fertilizer enhancement, and coordinated regulation of water, fertilizer, and salt; Li Xiaobin is responsible for the research and development of multi water source utilization and precise water salt regulation technology and products; Researcher Zhang Huaizhi is responsible for the research and development of soil nutrient storage capacity expansion and efficiency enhancement technology in saline alkali soil; Wang Jing is responsible for researching the principles and technologies of salt alkali degradation resistance control and rapid fertility recovery; Zhang Hongyuan is responsible for the research on the mechanism and technology of enhancing the quality and efficiency of biological enhancement in saline alkali land. All members lead graduate students to connect with the research personnel of the base and carry out various research projects.

Improving saline alkali land is like polishing a handicraft, with dedicated personnel responsible for each process. Craftsmen collide with each other to create sparks of wisdom in communication. In the discussion and learning, everyone grows together. "Wang Jing gave an example," For example, we found that there is a bottleneck in the effectiveness of single fertilizer source fertilization. After multiple discussions, we finally agreed on a multi fertilizer source fertilization technology plan and achieved preliminary success in the experiment

For the country and the people, helping China's rice bowl remain stable and secure

Although quite mature in scientific research, the innovation team for saline alkali land improvement at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Zoning of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences is actually young.

In fact, it's just over one year old, "Wu Xueping said with a smile. In 2022, the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Regionalization of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences decided to establish a salt alkali land improvement and innovation team based on the new situation of ensuring national food security and comprehensive utilization of salt alkali land. Although young, they have a deep foundation. Since the 1950s, generations of team researchers have delved into frontline research and accumulated a large number of achievements in saline alkali land improvement, making outstanding contributions to China's saline alkali land improvement.

The research on soil cultivation and fertilization, soil improvement, soil nutrient transformation, soil moisture regulation, and soil digitization is being led by a single line, and talents from different fields are approaching and gathering in the team.

What kind of line is this?

To put it bluntly, this line is to provide technological support services for improving the production capacity of crops in saline alkali land. To say 'high and high' is to serve the country and the people! "Everyone's answers were consistent and firm.

Engaging in the improvement of saline alkali land is closely related to the national strategy and the livelihood of the people. Agricultural researchers will research and create whatever the country and farmers need.

In order to turn the "barren land" into the "granary of the country," team members threw themselves into the ground, experiencing hardships, fatigue, joy, and satisfaction. In the early stage of land preparation and spring irrigation, improvement and comprehensive utilization plans should be designed and implemented in the field. In the fertilization stage, field experiments should be conducted in terms of types, dosage, and application methods. In the sowing and seedling stage, the effectiveness of measures should be monitored to check the emergence situation. During the growth period, indicators such as soil, greenhouse gases, and crop growth should be monitored. During the busiest harvest period, all personnel should be mobilized to carry out harvest and examination in various experimental demonstration areas Planting, production testing, and other work, of course, this is also the time when the sense of achievement is strongest Wang Jing said.

The formation of saline alkali land is a regional problem. If the specific natural conditions for saline alkali occurrence do not change, saline alkali will have repeatability. The comprehensive utilization of saline alkali land requires our continuous investment and long-term efforts! "Li Yuyi's words are forceful and forceful.

Now, this team, which contributes to achieving high-level agricultural technology self-reliance and self-improvement through practical actions, and provides technological support for maintaining a stable and stable Chinese rice bowl, is ready to continue moving forward and continuously tackling challenges.

(Reporter Chen Chen, Correspondent Zhang Xinyue)

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