A few pounds of watermelon has attracted widespread concern, with some media suggesting that the watermelon “sold cheaply” to farmers, but others noting relatively strong prices。
For example, a few days ago, the “audience news” reported that, as shanghai's famous melon, “sudway 8424” came on the market at the end of april and early may of each year, when it was “frequent goods”, and that the sale price of a 4-kilogram “showay 8424” was close to $90; after the scale came on the market in june, the same specifications were sold to $70。
Seeing this news, my eyes lock and confirm this "sweet code" -- 8424。
I have eaten 842 watermelons on several occasions, but from the perspective of the survey, for the first time i have discovered that behind this “code” is a wealth of information about the hard work of scientists and the development and upgrading of the watermelon industry。
After eating, maybe we should all understand what's behind it。
Watermelon's so sweet because someone's been working for us
First of all, it is necessary to say about the origin of 842 watermelons, and about the king of the west。
In 1930, wu myung ju was born in wuhan, hubei, 19-year-old, in the department of horticulture at the south-west college of agriculture (now the university of south-west), and one of his fellow students was later known as yuan ryuping。
At the school, wu myung ju cut off his long hair and travelled with his classmates to the test fields, sowing seeds, fertilizing, studying and insulating. In her diary, she wrote, "the best thing in life is that everything you create can serve the people."
Upon graduation, and following the social “track” of the time, u myung ju was assigned to an institutional unit and worked for about two years. However, during this period, one thought lingered: “i studied horticulture, i studied fruit and vegetables, i should be at the forefront of scientific research, and i should not be in an agency”
In 1955, she chose to respond to the call of the state to build its borders, to travel to xinjiang and to take root in the torrupan region. To be precise, it's in xiansu county。
As the site of the flaming mountain in the western tribune, during the years of the orthodox church of the ming dynasty, it was incorporated into torufan, known as the “mutilation” — the equivalent of the uighur “skin” (meaning marangrass) translated, literally speaking, but it gave rise to a sense of a direct agitation。
It is the hottest “fireplace” in the world, with high temperatures and less rain, but the “potable soil” of various species of watermelon and melons, which makes it possible for wu to study melons。
The problem is that the locally grown melons are agricultural varieties that are grown using traditional technologies, are not systematically improved, and there is considerable room for improvement in quality and production。
More importantly, u myung-ju believes that any species that is not purified or improved will eventually be degraded, “even extinct”。
To that end, she began with a basic exercise: over a period of about three years, more than 300 production units were surveyed, and the melon resources of the torrupan area were grouped into 44 varieties, equivalent to a “basic archive” of the melons of the region。
There was no land cruiser for her in that age, and sometimes it took wu myung-ju to walk a few days, cross the flaming mountain, cross the great gobi, ask about, find, confirm and collect。
After the collection, the next step is to be purified and improved。
In doing so, wu has used new breeding techniques such as radiation breeding, molecular breeding, and crop breeding methods such as rice, bringing some of xinjiang's western melon varieties to seaside breeding, and working together with inland breeding institutions to fight hard。
In 1984, the wu myung joo brigade produced a group of watermelon species, known as “journal 8424” — “good morning” — which refers to pre-maturized varieties of excellent quality; “84” or 1984; and “24” refers to group 24。
“8424 good morning” was cultivated, and u myung ju gave pro bono teaching of planting techniques to guano. Since then, many chinese have enjoyed the sweetness of this sweet and thin watermelon nation。
One of the netizens wrote, “the watermelon is so sweet because of the suffering it has suffered for us”, and another said, “yon yongping has given us enough food and oh myung ju has made us eat good.”。
In the last few pages of the monuments of wu myeong joo, wu myeong joo said, “there has been no big deal in this life
As u myung joo's assistant, ihongping said, “i grew up with her after graduating from college in 1984 and spent more than 30 years with her, and from her i saw the dedication of the older scientists and the dedication of the state.”
I'm going to have to thank henan
Speaking of watermelon, a lot of people think about the melon first。
This is part of the industrial reality. In short, shandong has watermelon species such as changlegua, east mingua and early spring magnificent。
However, in terms of cultivation area and production, the shandong people have to make way for the henan people ahead。
According to hugo: analysis of china's watermelon industry data 2024, in 2022 the production of watermelon in china was concentrated in the provinces of henan, shandong, jiangsu, hunan and anhui。
Of this total, 3,481,500 hectares were cultivated in the province of henan, with a production of 1,192. 32 million tons, representing 15. 63 per cent of the country's total area and 20. 51 per cent of its total production, and ranked first in all provinces。
The “status” of the henan people in the watermelon industry, the “analytical report” referred to above as the “crawling lead”. From this point of view, the melon eaters should probably thank henan。
As in shandong, there are many species of watermelon that are important in the market in henan, such as sealing melons, black kong, and natural “8424”。
In particular, deep-seated and well-known links were made to the “good morning 8424”, leading the merchant, chau county. As a large agricultural county, the planting of watermelon began early in summer, but on a scale of “early 8424”, around 2005。
According to local media reports, the summer prefecture began planting “good morning 8424” and introduced seedling (non-nuptial) techniques。
The aim is to give greater prominence to the “early good”. It is possible to take up the market about seven days before planting, while retaining the taste and taste inherent in 842 watermelons, “with characteristics such as clean quality, good taste, low fibres, fragrance, bright colour and high sweetness”。
As the market was early and the melons were better and more efficient, the summer city gradually started cyclone 8424. By 2018, hundreds of thousands of acres of water were grown throughout the county, most of them “early 8424”。
Last month, the henan media reported that in 2024, quality watermelon cultivation in the entire summer county stabilized at 200,000 acres, with a projected total production of 700,000 tons。
At present, there are 326 specialized watermelon cooperatives, family farms, more than 8,000 watermelon growers, more than 200 watermelon brokers, more than 150 professional surveyors and more than 130 trading markets。
I also took note of several of these points: in addition to the purchase of “crowding” points by merchants from beijing, shanghai, zhejiang, xi'an and zhengzhou, the county has established 132 direct sales points in 56 cities and towns across the country, with 120,000 practitioners。
This means that watermelon has become an important industry, based on “good morning 8424”。
This is only the case in one county in xia province, which extends to the whole of henan, with a large number of beneficiaries of “early 8424” in the watermelon industry; it extends to the whole of china, and even more so to the “early 8424” beneficiaries and the melon eaters。
In the windfall of the price drops, why is the south side 8424 strong
In henan, which is represented by the summer, people have eaten good melons at lower prices, while in shanghai, the opening of this paper, “8424 on the south,” has eaten “brand food” and has been relatively strong in the “blind wind” of lower prices。
The former southern competitor is located in the eastern new district of shanghai, where the soil of the coastal zone is sandy salin and where the production and quality of watermelon cultivation are ideal. As a result, local efforts have been made to produce watermelon varieties and develop the watermelon industry。
During this period, good seeds were also introduced from xinjiang, but they were slowly withdrawn from transport because of fracking skins, until the introduction of “good morning 8424” in 1989, which opened the way for the planting of 8424 on a scale。
Why does it eat brand food
In fact, at an early stage, the watermelons produced by the southerner farmers were also mixed, much less branded. The real change took place in 2009, when the putu nintendo developed a “three-good” strategy for agriculture, emphasizing variety, quality and branding, followed by the construction of a “8424” brand on the south side。
First, the quality. In order to ensure quality, the pudong and xinjiang agricultural institutes have collaborated in the establishment of breeding bases, and the members of the southern bank's 842 scucumber brands cooperative association, including its contracted production base for the guadian, have been integrated。
Standards were then developed, including the application of bread or earthworm fertilizer based on the pursuit of organic fertilizers, the predominance of artificial pollination, etc。
This was followed by enhanced harmonization of the management of the southwards, “conforming technology, harmonization of standards, harmonization of quality, harmonization of trademarks, harmonization of packaging markings, harmonization of retail guidance prices”。
According to news watch, this year also saw the use of block-chain technology to “one size” and to help feed the population to effectively identify the authenticity of high-quality, high-value agricultural products, including watermelon 8424 on the southern side。
A series of “actions” has come down, with the variety, quality and branding of “southway 8424” firmly established, and the brand power continues to grow as consumers choose and recognize each year。
The latest news is that the “south ride 8424” began to export and that the first melons entered the hong kong and macao markets last month. One of the officials in charge of exporting enterprises stated that “the expansion of export operations is intended to increase the visibility of indigenous agricultural products”。
In terms of the area under cultivation and production, “south ride 8424” is not comparable to the “natma” alone, but only about 1/25 for the latter, but it creates a branding and high value added that is worthy of reference for “dominant” cultivation of watermelons such as henan and shandong。
Of course, it is important for consumers to buy watermelons that fit their needs quickly and enjoy the joy of “summer best value for money”。
It was also, i think, the beginning of wu myung-ju's undaunted effort to nurture the melons。
Today, with alzheimer's disease, u myungju is no longer recognized, but every time she eats a melon season, the media and netizens write about her, talk about her, remember her。
For years to come, someone will write about her, talk about her, remember her — thank her。
