Blueberry cultivation benefits from field research
Print Edition
PROFESSOR Wu Xiaochun of Shanghai Institute of Technology prefers to do his research outside of the laboratory.
Ten years ago, he bought a 7.5-hectare farm in Huangqiao Village, Maogang Town, with his own money. He turned it into an agricultural base for research on blueberry cultivation.
“The blueberry is not a Shanghai-native plant,” Wu said. “I was trying to see if it could be localized and mass-grown, and to determine its market viability in Shanghai.”
After a decade, the soil on his farm has been enriched to what is considered “near natural” quality.
The 55-year-old professor quite enjoys life as a “farmer.” Tanned and wrinkled from endless hours outdoors, Wu is easily recognizable out in the fields by his ubiquitous straw hat and loose-fitting clothing.
He often works from sunrise to sunset, spreading manure, mulching, pruning and jotting down observation notes.
His students often are with him in the field. There is a family-style feel to the work.
Born into a family of forestry workers in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, Wu was naturally drawn to the outdoors. After graduation from the Northeast China Forestry University in the early 1980s, he was assigned to the Chinese Academy of Forestry’s Heilongjiang branch to do botanic research.
Wu’s interest in blueberries was influenced by the influx of Western influences as China opened its borders to the outside world beginning in the 1980s. Du shi, or blueberries, eventually gained popularity in China.
A wild variety of blueberry was common in Wu’s hometown, thriving in the ideal soil conditions and environment. Blueberries, which are North American by origin, are choosy about where they grow. They require an acidic soil that is rich in organic matter, well-drained but moist.
“Blueberry cultivation was pretty much ignored in China because the berry wasn’t viewed as economically viable,” Wu said.
He became one of the few agronomists in China to do research on the plant.
“Most of my academic colleagues prefer lab research or teaching, but I prefer working in the field,” he said.
Wu’s blueberry farm has a surprising look. Interspersed with the blueberry bushes are weeds. Visitors and local farmers have suggested to Wu that he clear the weeds because they rob the soil of nutrition.
The professor begs to differ.
“I want to simulate a natural environment,” he said. “Those are not weeds. They are ground covers that are part of the ecological system. They can live in the soil for 10 or 20 years and are greatly beneficial to the soil.”
The weeds help keep the soil moist, he said. They can also help protect the berry bushes from excessive exposure to the sun.
“To change people’s minds is difficult,” Wu said. “My fellow famers like to get rid of weeds no matter how many times I counsel them to just leave them. Old weeds eventually die as new ones take their place. Nature has his own rules.”
Wu eschews insecticides and commercial fertilizers.
“What I want is an integrated mini ecosystem,” he said. “In such a system, when one species disappears, it causes a chain effect.”
In 2004, when he came to Shanghai to do his blueberry research, Wu found the soil here not conducive to cultivating the berry bushes. However, he was determined to give it a go.
At first, his experiment started poorly. Without pesticides, the blueberry bushes succumbed to insect infestation.
“Failing is part of experimentation,” Wu said.
The professor set about improving the soil and introducing insect species that would help keep harmful varieties at bay.
“The longhorn beetle is a bane to blueberries, so I introduced scleroderma guani (a type of bee) to fight the beetle,” Wu said.
He also encouraged his students to pick off beetles, given them one yuan for each beetle exterminated.
With success in recent years, Wu is expanding his organic farmland in Xinbang Town and Zhujiajiao Town to cultivate blackberries, raspberries, Japanese persimmon, pomegranates, apples and cherries.
In each case, he is careful to replenish soil nutrients to keep growing areas in prime condition. “Organic methods might increase the cost of crops, but nurturing natural soil is more important to economic growth,” he said.
With each passing year, the professor looks for new plant varieties for research. Farmers, agricultural experts and government officials from around the country have visited his farms. Wu is also invited to give lectures on his work.
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