Chapter 63: Seed Saving Three days later, after trying thousands of different combinations, Guo Yang finally completed the directional breeding of corn, wheat, sweet peppers and screw respective information is: Corn, Tianyu No. 1, consumes 47 points of natural energy. Its special traits are high density tolerance, high yield, and strong resistance to stress. Wheat, Tianmai No. 1, consumes 30 points of natural energy. Its special properties are high gluten and high protein content, making it suitable for processing high-gluten flour. Sweet pepper, Red No. 1, consumes 26 points of natural energy. Its special traits are high yield, strong resistance to stress and good commercial quality. Screw pepper, Tianjiao No. 1, consumes 23 points of natural energy. Its special traits are high yield and good taste when eaten fresh. It can also be used for processing. All four varieties were blue-level seeds, and 138 of the 126 points of natural energy were consumed at once, leaving only 12 points. In order to promote the product quickly, Guo Yang selected the corn, sweet pepper and screw pepper varieties with the characteristic of high yield. For farmers, high yield is definitely the first factor when choosing seeds, and then other factors will be considered. Based on the data provided by the seed store, Guo Yang made a simple calculation. The average yield of Tianyu No. 1, Chihong No. 1 and Tianjiao No. 1 is more than 20% higher than the yield of seeds currently on the market.
Especially Tianyu No. 1, which is worthy of being a seed that consumes 47 points of natural energy. Its average yield is as high as 1000 kilograms per mu! This made Guo Yang surprised and happy. You know, even by 2023, it will be difficult to produce more than kilograms of corn per mu. Not to mention that this was in 2002, and the per-acre corn yield in provinces across the country was still in the range of 400-500kg. For example, the average corn yield in Henan Province this year is 437kg! Excluding material costs, labor prices and taxes per mu, the net income per mu is only about 70 yuan. Of course, there are also super-high-yield fields. For example, in Northeast China, there is a national demonstration base with an annual yield of more than 800 kg per mu. But Tianyu No. 1’s 1000kg is the average yield per mu! If it is the same land and the same management level, the per-acre yield of Tianyu No. 1 will definitely increase significantly! But in fact, although Guo Yang hopes to be ahead in technology, he does not want to be ahead too much all at once. The company's higher quality corn seeds should be launched at the right time to keep the company's products vibrant. Moreover, if you hit someone too hard all at once, it will inevitably attract the covetousness of higher levels. Among the several varieties, the only one that did not produce high yields was the wheat variety Tianmai No. 1. However, it has a high gluten content and is suitable for processing into flour. It is also the most scarce wheat variety in the country and has considerable market potential in the future. After several days of cultivation, Guo Yang also gained a deeper understanding of the breeding methods of the seed store. The cultivation method is similar to hybrid breeding, which requires the provision of parental materials. However, the seeds cultivated are not hybrid seeds, but conventional seeds. This made Guo Yang realize a problem: what should farmers do if they want to save seeds? Hybrid breeding is the process of selecting the superior properties of each variety and then combining them to produce more superior seeds. During his lifetime, Yuan spent many years researching hybrid rice, which was actually a process of selecting and cultivating good varieties. However, the difficulty of breaking through the barriers of genes and biological traits through artificial technology is self-evident. Moreover, due to the separation of seed traits, once the seeds continue to be propagated to the second and third generations, the advantages of hybrid seeds will decrease significantly. Therefore, farmers often give up keeping the hybrid seeds they keep because of poor yields. Therefore, whether or not seeds can be saved has a lot to do with whether they are hybrid seeds, and has nothing to do with the genetic modification technology as speculated by the public.
The most intuitive example is the mule. For thousands of years, humans have used horses as a means of transportation. Although horses are strong, they are fierce and difficult to raise. Although donkeys are relatively docile, they have limited strength. Thus, through hybridization, the mule appeared. The mule is strong and obedient, but it cannot reproduce. Whether it is a breed produced by the mating of a male donkey and a female horse, or the offspring produced by a male horse and a female donkey, there is only one generation. If you want to continue to use mules, you must continue to crossbreed donkeys and horses. Although this example is a bit inappropriate to explain seed cultivation, the most essential situation is the same. That is, although hybrid seeds have great advantages, they are full of disadvantages in breeding the next generation. Compared with hybrid seeds, conventional seeds are equivalent to the seeds saved by farmers in the past. They are a natural selection process, and the quality of varieties is determined by nature. Seed stores produce conventional seeds, which farmers can keep for themselves. Even if the performance of the offspring declines, it will not be too obvious. Thinking of this, Guo Yang felt a little melancholy for a moment. Conventional seeds reduce the difficulty of seed production for seed companies, but also leave room for growers to keep their own seeds. When farmers can keep their own seeds, will they still buy seeds from seed companies? This involves the life and death of Tianhe Seed Industry! Guo Yang was thinking about a solution, but his eyes wandered around the seed store. Suddenly, he remembered that the seed store also had after-sales service, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Yes! After-sales service! The seed shop must have a solution! Guo Yang quickly looked it up and actually made a discovery: conventional seed (sweet pepper) self-breeding sterile breeding technology, sold for 2 points of natural energy! Corn, wheat, sweet pepper, and chili, each variety has corresponding breeding technical information. buy! There is nothing to hesitate about. Currently, only a few countries in the world have studied and mastered the sterile breeding technology, and the varieties involved are very limited. From the perspective of technical information alone, these documents have to be purchased. But in this way, only 4 points of natural energy are left. It's really not durable! After the seeds were cultivated, Guo Yang devoted himself to the busy work of the two companies. The organizational structure and personnel recruitment of Tianhe Seed Industry have also been basically completed. Currently, the newly recruited production personnel and technical personnel have participated in the construction of the company's expansion base and production base. Because the project was launched in a hurry, the city only approved about 3000 acres of land to Tianhe Seed Industry in the early stage. In addition to building a seed production and processing plant, these 3000 acres also involve the expansion and propagation base of original seeds such as corn, wheat, and pepper, and the rest are seed production fields. The area is definitely small for Tianhe Seed Industry. Because Muhe also needs to establish its own logistics and delivery system. Jiuquan is located in the northwestern frontier, with obvious geographical disadvantages, and is completely unattractive to talents.
Tianhe Seeds and Alfalfa Agriculture and Animal Husbandry have already suffered losses in talent recruitment and do not want to suffer further setbacks in marketing networks and logistics systems. In Longnan Province, the leader of the seed industry is Shazhou Seed Industry, a joint-stock enterprise established by the government through the integration and reorganization of Jiuquan's state-owned seed company and cotton company. Relying on the geographical advantages of the Hexi Corridor, the province is currently expanding and establishing a hybrid corn seed production base. But in fact, Guo Yang did not regard Shazhou Seed Industry as a rival at all. Although it is a state-owned enterprise, Shazhou Seed's main business is still seed propagation, and it only occupies a large market share within the province. But outside the province, it is completely not good enough. Tianhe Seed Industry's initial goal was to develop into a large corn-growing area. (End of this chapter)