Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1835 Passing the Interview

Zhou Zhi came here originally to ask for help, and wanted to persuade Liu Liangzhen to recruit a few local assistants as technicians to sow the seeds of popularizing agricultural techniques in Lianhe Township. Now he hadn't mentioned it yet, but Liu Liangzhen mentioned it first, which shows that she is also considering this issue.

"Cutting propagation emphasizes the selection of mother trees and cuttings. The mother plant should be of pure variety, vigorous growth, and a strong plant within 20 years old. Cuttings should be selected from strong branches growing at the top of the tree crown and on the sunny side. It is best to choose two-year-old cuttings for hardwood cuttings. One-year-old cuttings are too tender, grow poorly, and bear fruit late. For tenderwood cuttings, choose semi-woody branches that are grown in the current year and are already full."

"There are two methods of cuttings: long cuttings and short cuttings. In the arid areas of the north and in gardens, long cuttings are used. The cuttings are about one meter long. We have conducted experiments in Lintong, Shaanxi Province, using the method of digging trenches 50 to 70 centimeters long and 30 to 50 centimeters deep, inserting two cuttings into each hole. The cuttings are inserted about two-thirds deep into the soil."

"In Zhejiang Province, we have tried short cuttings. Hard cuttings are 15 to 20 centimeters long; tender cuttings are 4 to 5 centimeters long, and several leaflets are retained on the top." Liu Liangzhen seemed to be explaining the cutting technique to Zhou Zhi in a rambling manner, but suddenly asked, "What branches do I have to choose for the hard cuttings I just mentioned?"

Zhou Zhi was connecting the cables of the pot cover. He was afraid that the workers would not do a good job, so he took over after the pot cover was installed. Hearing this, he said, "Didn't you just say that you wanted to use two-year-old branches? One-meter-long branches, buried about two-thirds of the way."

Liu Liangzhen smiled and said, "You really won't be delayed. You are quite suitable to be a technician."

"Oh, Grandma Liu was having an interview just now?"

"The interview is not over yet. Guess what method of cuttings will we use in Lianhe Township?"

"It must be short-term cuttings." Zhou Zhi was very sure: "Because you just said that you are going to try to use the branches that were controlled in autumn for cuttings, which means you have to top them, and the branches that are cut are all one-year-old new branches."

"In addition, we need to maximize the scale of expansion. Of course, we must try to make the branches reproduce as many seedlings as possible. A one-meter-long branch is equivalent to four or five 20-centimeter spikes, and at least three or four 4-5-centimeter-long tender branches. This is equivalent to a deep-rooted branch of about one meter, which can produce about ten seedlings."

"Also, you just said that long-branch cuttings are done in Shaanxi Province, and short-branch cuttings are done in Zhejiang Province, which shows that short-branch cuttings have certain temperature requirements."

"Although the climate in Lianhe Township is not as hot as that in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in summer, the temperature in autumn and winter is very warm. If we can use mulch, the sunshine here will be enough to raise the ground temperature by a lot. In other words, the climate in Lianhe Township in autumn and winter should be similar to that in Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

"In summary, I think the Academy of Agricultural Sciences will definitely try to use short-branch cuttings, which can propagate faster, in our Lianhe Township."

Liu Liangzhen nodded: "The fact that you can list so many considerations shows that you have put a lot of thought into it. You have passed the interview as a technician!"

"As you said, short-term cuttings are more suitable for large-scale cultivation. If you want to quickly expand the base, you must use softwood cuttings."

"But the technical requirements for short-branch cuttings are much higher. Special attention should be paid to shading and heat preservation. The temperature should be controlled between 18 and 33 degrees Celsius, and the humidity should be kept at around 90%."

"The black ground film you just mentioned is something none of us have thought of. The temperature here at night in autumn is around 12 degrees, so we only need to raise the ground temperature by 6 degrees to meet the requirements." Liu Liangzhen said, "Your idea of ​​the black ground film is really good. How did you come up with it?"

"People in Liangshan Prefecture are used to using solar water heaters. The most important component in a water heater is the black heat exchange membrane... Hey, the country doesn't have any black ground film yet?"

"It's not that the country doesn't have it..." Liu Liangzhen shook her head and said, "It's not available anywhere in the world." "No way?" Zhou Zhi was very surprised: "This thing should be able to be made by combining the mulch matrix with carbon black, right?"

"It's a problem of our thinking." Liu Liangzhen smiled and said, "Ground film evolved from plastic greenhouses, then small greenhouses, and finally ground film covering. Before, there was a requirement for light transmission, otherwise it would affect the photosynthesis of plants. If we only take the function of ground film to increase the ground temperature, black film is of course better than colorless film. Hey... then does this kind of ground film also have the function of inhibiting the growth of weeds?"

"That should be it." Because black is light-proof, only the seedlings grown in the opening can get light, while light cannot penetrate into other places, thus inhibiting the growth of weeds. Agricultural technicians can naturally think of this.

"I have to go and check if the production of this kind of mulch film is difficult..." Liu Liangzhen couldn't wait any longer: "Such a good idea, why hasn't anyone thought of it before?"

"Grandma, please don't be busy yet. We still have a problem to discuss."

"what is the problem?"

"Pollution problem." Zhou Zhi said: "The main function of ground film is to keep warm and retain moisture, and improve the soil environment to facilitate sowing. But there is a problem. If the thickness is too thin, it will be difficult to recycle. This will cause a large amount of plastic waste to remain in the soil, seriously threatening the soil environment. So it is a double-edged sword."

"This is indeed a problem, a big problem. There is no good solution at the moment. Should we learn from foreign countries and develop biodegradable plastic films?"

"The cost of that may be too high, and it may not be possible to develop it." Zhou Zhi thought for a while: "Can we go with recyclable plastics, or recycled plastics?"

"That is, without changing the existing technology, we can increase the thickness of the film appropriately to make it recyclable, and recycle it through waste collection channels. Can this solve part of the problem?"

"Xuan, this will increase costs and increase the burden on farmers. Another problem is that the thicker the film, the more its light transmittance will be affected. The black film we want is not a big deal, but other films need to increase thickness while maintaining transparency, and the technological content must be improved, so the price will naturally go up."

Zhou Zhi thought about it and realized that it was true. He couldn't help feeling a little depressed.

Liu Liangzhen comforted Zhou Zhi, saying, "Science and technology are like this. First, we need to solve the problem of whether something exists, and then solve the problem of whether it is good or not. If we don't take the first step because of a small obstacle, it will be impossible to make progress."

After saying that, he patted Zhou Zhi on the shoulder and said, "I'll contact Shandong Province to see if it's possible. If it really works, it will be a contribution to our country's agricultural science and technology."

It took a day to transfer the satellite mobile network. The move was actually not too complicated. There was a switch between the two bases, so the satellite communication center could actually be shared by the two bases.

The only one who had trouble was Zhou Zhi. Before the dedicated communication line between the base and the grain station was built, he had to drive to the base every day to "go to work" and manage the company's affairs.