Jinhua farmers have cultivated more than 1000 Rhododendron varieties in 20 years (Fig.)

Fang Yonggen, 46, is an authentic farmer in fangxiadian village, Zhuma Township, Wucheng District He has a domineering name - "cuckoo king" What kind of farmer can plant azalea to be king? In terms of area, Fang Yonggen's Rhododendron kingdom is not large: more than 70 mu of experimental field, 120 mu of exhibition garden and more than 200 mu of plantation are all his "land" The variety and quality of Rhododendron are the reasons for Fang Yonggen's fame In China, there are less than 70 species of Rhododendron In the past 20 years, Fang Yonggen and his team have cultivated thousands of Rhododendron varieties, and there are more than 700 excellent ones In the parks of Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other cities, the azaleas cultivated by Fang Yonggen are in full bloom; the research on azaleas in scientific research institutions is mostly the flowers provided by Fang Yonggen In recent days, he is negotiating with Taipei and Qiandao Lake If things go well, Fang Yonggen's azalea will bloom in Taipei, where azalea is the city flower, and on an island in Qiandao Lake How did the "king of azalea" get along with azalea in the past 20 years? Zhuma is the hometown of Camellia in China Fang Yonggen, who grew up here, likes to deal with flowers and grass YINGSHANHONG is the first Rhododendron species he came into contact with After graduating from high school, Fang Yonggen took three-year classes in the shipping department After that, he went home and planted fields Tired of aesthetic appreciation of Camellia, he began to look for other ornamental plants He took a fancy to Rhododendron, which had the consideration of doing business: "Rhododendron blooms every year when it comes to the season Compared with camellia, there is no worry that if it can't be sold in the first year, it will accumulate goods." In 1994, like several large azalea cultivation bases in China at that time, Fang Yonggen also started with the introduction of Belgium azalea into China Since he was young, he has been fond of playing with plants He has created new varieties "I like to study On the other hand, I think Belgium Rhododendron needs to be improved." The improvement is to make Rhododendron more suitable for China's climate Compared with the foreign cultivation environment, the domestic cultivation is more extensive Cuckoos that are afraid of the cold in winter and the sun in summer can't be better stored, so they can't be sold at a good price He has become a "learning bully" in the field of flowers by selecting good varieties from 100000 seedlings Fang Yonggen is a native farmer, but he has a momentum of "learning bully" Improving varieties is a very meticulous and hard work What kind of azalea is cold resistant, what kind of heat-resistant, what kind of flower is big and what kind of color is bright? First of all, find out these flowers with excellent genes "Many of them are wild flowers, running all over the country When there are more people they know, they will also send good flowers " After two summer and two winter, when flowering in spring, a single plant with good characteristics was selected according to the comprehensive characteristics People who have studied simple mathematics and biogenetics all know that because there are many hybrid combinations, the resulting population of hybrid is growing in geometric progression, and Fang Yonggen needs to find the desired variety from the offspring of 100000 plants every year Fang Yonggen now has a team of more than 40 people, specializing in the R & D, breeding and breeding of Rhododendron More than more than 1000 varieties of Rhododendron have been cultivated, with a large diameter of 12 cm and a small single leaf less than 1 cm He didn't panic for two months in this hot and dry summer The continuous high temperature and drought in Jinhua is a painful thing for every farmer The camellia planting in Zhuma township has been seriously affected, but Fang Yonggen is as calm as before: "I know my variety has good drought resistance This summer, I put it all in the field, without sunshade, and I still live well." However, according to Fang Yonggen, there is no Rhododendron that is suitable to be named after his wife and children "When it is better to be cultivated, use their name and give it to them." Next, Fang Yonggen plans to expand his Rhododendron Kingdom and set up bases elsewhere Fang Yonggen said that Jiaonan in Shandong Province and Chengdu in Sichuan Province are all his favorite places "The new varieties can adapt to the climate there and continue to cultivate azaleas adapted from south to north."