Chapter 303 Natural Enemies
Guo Yang carefully told Luo Xiu about the current situation in the country during this period, including Happy Farm, drones, and the disputes with Japan and the United States in the past two days.
Luo Xiu frowned slightly and said, "Will there be any unplanned risks when going to North America?"
In recent years, there have been many problems between Jiahe and Laomei's companies. compete.
Monsanto, DuPont Pioneer, etc., but the competition is still within the commercial scope, and they all involve the Chinese domestic market.
From this perspective, there is not much danger.
After thinking for a while, Guo Yang was worried about the fact that during the soybean war a few years ago, Jiahe won a piece of fat from the four major grain merchants and international funds.
From here, there is a lot of risk.
The rest is Jiahe’s Alfalfa No. 1, which is a great temptation for Lao American companies and scientific research institutions.
After hesitating for a while, Guo Yang weighed the pros and cons.
Laos and the United States are the largest exporters of agricultural products in the world. According to the current domestic development trend, competition between the two sides in agricultural exports will only increase in the future.
The contradiction will become deeper and deeper.
If you have to go to North America, now is the best time. It may be more difficult in the future.
Is it necessary to go?
Maybe I really have to go.
The agricultural development, layout, etc. of Lao America can be solved through information transmission, and even local seeds can be introduced.
But how to bring the cultivated seeds into North America will become a new problem.
Nowadays, intentional or unintentional biological invasion is no longer a secret, and all countries have been harmed to varying degrees.
It is estimated that harmful alien species, such as Asian carp and long-horned longhorned beetle, cause hundreds of billions of dollars in losses to the United States every year.
There are also cases of water hyacinth, Egyptian pond turtle, etc. in China.
It is also because there are various examples in the past that customs quarantine in various countries is becoming more and more strict.
It is difficult for foreign seeds to enter the country, not to mention the seeds that want to cause trouble.
If you want to plant mines for the agriculture of the United States, the quantity and variety must be indispensable. Forage, corn, cotton, fruits, etc., you can bring some if you have the opportunity.
After thinking for a while, Guo Yang said: "You have to go even if there is a risk. This may be the last chance."
Luo Xiu nodded silently, thinking about how to arrange it.
"Maybe nothing will happen."
The planning of this food crisis from beginning to end took more than three years. On the surface, Jiahe Grain and Oil is also a party that raises food prices.
As long as we solve it quickly, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Guo Yang took the opportunity to talk to the Ministry of Agriculture, and sure enough, the answers he got were pretty much the same. The relationship between the two parties had not deteriorated that much during this period.
However, the relevant departments still arranged for a visiting delegation to Guo Yang, but they had to wait another two days.
Moreover, after arriving in the United States, Guo Yang still had to act alone. This visiting group only added Guo Yang's name, which was barely an official status.
Taking advantage of this gap, Guo Yang came to Tianhe Seed Industry Academy early that morning.
Bi Qiang was not in the courtyard, but Guo Yang had the relevant authority and directly collected a copy of the courtyard's recent resource accumulation.
I then called Bi Qiang, "Where is it? How is the last cooperation with Professor Zhong Yang?"
"At the experimental station on the edge of the desert." Bi Qiang said: "Professor Zhong Yang also sent a three-person team to help collect seeds, but they haven't come back yet."
After asking again which experimental station it was, Guo Yang and Luo Xiu rushed over directly, which was equivalent to an inspection.
After the development of Tianhe Academy of Sciences in the past two years, due to sufficient funds, the team of scientific researchers has gradually become larger.
Sometimes, breeding really relies on human labor.
Tianhe Academy of Sciences is based in the northwest and uses more manpower to develop plant resources in saline-alkali and sandy areas.
Extensively collect salt-tolerant plants and discover halophytes and psmophytes with specific uses.
At the same time, influenced by Guo Yang's breeding philosophy, these scientific researchers are not rigid and biased. They are generally able to transcend conventional understanding, put forward some novel ideas, and put them into research to strive for breakthroughs.
After Guo Yang arrived at the experimental station on the edge of the desert, he discovered that the experimental station and the 500,000 acres of saline-alkali land newly contracted by Alfalfa in Jinta were close to each other, less than one kilometer apart.
It’s just that the experimental station is already a sandy area.
A group of scientific researchers wearing hats and dark skin sat in the sand before the sun was so strong in the morning, holding tweezers to pollinate the plants little by little. After pollination, Also record and label in detail.
Bi Qiang was standing in the sand with a man wearing long sleeves, chatting about something.
Guo Yang walked straight over.
"What kind of seeds are you cultivating?"
Bi Qiang smiled and asked Shamu to tell you that this project was initiated by him.
At this time, Guo Yang noticed that Shamu should be an ethnic minority. With a high nose, big eyes, and thick eyebrows, he looked like a Kazakh.
Younger, but equally tanned.
Shamu said: "We are studying a type of leguminous plant in the sandy area that can adapt to small amounts of rainfall and can store water in an 'instant' amount of water."
For a moment, Guo Yang was stunned before asking Said: "Actually, it is still a drought-tolerant plant, right?"
"It can be understood that way." Shamu explained: "But it is actually more similar to Haloxylon ammodendron seeds. As long as there is rain, they can germinate quickly in a short time. Take root.”
Guo Yang didn’t understand where this thing could be used, so he stopped worrying and pulled Bi Qiang aside.
“Okay, the research is extensive enough now.”
"There is no other way. We have sufficient funds. As long as the projects seem feasible and promising, I will approve them."
Bi Qiang took Guo Yang to a poplar tree beside the road and said with a smile. :
“As well as the plan you mentioned earlier to use natural enemies to control insects, two experimental observation stations were also built.”
“But the experimental station here in Jiuquan, after collecting Among the insects, some herbivorous insects with strong feeding habits have also been screened out. Now we are excited again. We plan to conduct more extensive collection and screening to see if they can replace some chemical herbicides. ”
“ This is a good thing!" Guo Yang also praised.
Natural enemy insects have been used internationally, and some famous natural enemy insect companies have emerged.
The expansion and commercial production of natural enemy insects in some countries are gradually maturing.
But I don’t know if there is any research on using insects to control companion weeds.
“I don’t know much about it, but I recruited a few people and made it quite impressive.”
“Let’s go and have a look.”
"I'm still busy here!"
"Why, you still have time to do experiments yourself now?" Guo Yang took Bi Qiang and left, mainly about this insect, he thought, maybe he can do it Come out with a surprise.
"You have to let me explain."
"Okay, okay."
After waiting for a while, a few people went to the insect observation point. Vegetable base.
Viewed from a high altitude, it looks like a colorful canvas.
The observation and experiment site is located in the middle of the vegetable base. It looks very simple, with only two houses, one large and one small, but the facilities inside are quite complete.
"Where is the other observation point?"
"In the capital." Bi Qiang said: "The scientific research foundation is stronger over there."
Guo Yang was noncommittal. In the future, natural enemy insects in China were also developed in Beijing and other places, but that was driven by policies.
There is almost no natural enemy industry development at the moment, but there is indeed a group of insect experts with extensive experience in colleges and universities.
Xu Xuenong, the head of the Tianhe Entomology Department, is a doctoral graduate in agricultural entomology and has studied under many famous entomology professors.
Originally, I could have stayed in school to teach, but in the end I chose to join Tianhe.
“Monitoring natural enemy resources is a century-old project.” Xu Xuenong said, “This is a basic and long-term work.”
“If we don’t know the natural enemy insects in nature, Without the resource base, we don’t know which natural enemies can be used in pest control, and it is impossible to talk about natural enemy prevention. ”
Guo Yang said: "You mean there are too few observation points?"
Xu Xuenong was stunned, did you understand it this way? But it doesn’t seem wrong.
"Our country has a vast territory and rich resources. It is not easy to find out the family background. This should be a national project."
Guo Yang raised his eyebrows and asked: "If you want to cover the whole country, , how many observation points are needed at least? "
"Observation points are not enough," Xu Xuenong said: "It must be at least monitoring experimental stations, and there must be no less than 100, and then the first-hand data collected at all stations must be collected regularly. Unified and summarized into the Natural Enemy Center, processed and coordinated to form a data resource with reference significance. ”
"There is no country in the world that has a natural enemy center."
Guo Yang was silent for a moment and said, "Let's take a look first."
Xu Xuenong didn't expect Tianhe to really invest. The experimental station is a small amount of money, but the key is that it needs people.
There are many methods for monitoring natural enemy insects, including using Malay net collection, sweeping net collection, shock collection, direct observation, etc.
Xu Xuenong used Malaynet.
This is a small tent-like net with a slope-like top that becomes increasingly narrower. There is an opening at the top, and alcohol bottles hang from the opening.
Insects are intercepted at the bottom of the net as they fly or crawl over them.
Because they tend to only climb upwards, they will climb all the way to the top and fall into the bottle, which only needs to be retrieved periodically.
Xu Xuenong took Guo Yang and Bi Qiang to the edge of a pepper field and took out the bottle from a Malay net.
“This thing is convenient. You can collect a bottle full of bugs every two weeks, which saves labor and time. The collected samples are also relatively clean and have less impurities, which is convenient for subsequent DNA testing to see what the bugs are. What kind?”
"There are now more than 30 categories of natural enemies that have been isolated and identified, including natural enemy groups such as Coleoptera, Aranea, Acarina, etc. There are still a large number of natural enemies that need to be identified."
"Give me some data later. Guo Yang said: "Have you found anything so far?"
"Yes, in addition to common predatory ladybugs such as the seven-spotted ladybug, the six-spotted ladybug, and the turtle ladybug, there are also 2 There is a group of mycophagous ladybirds that feed on pathogenic bacteria and are natural enemies that can treat powdery mildew on plant seedlings. They were initially identified as Mycophylla angustifolia and Mycobacterium icosellae."
"Very good. "
Guo Yang didn't understand many professional terms, but he still understood the word "treating".
"Can it be used directly in production?" Guo Yang asked.
“It’s still a bit difficult.” Xu Xuenong said: “Currently there is no experience in building natural enemy factories in China.”
“In addition to our insufficient understanding of the natural enemy resources themselves, an important reason is the natural enemies themselves. There are certain criteria for whether natural enemies can be raised in laboratories or on a large scale, such as whether they have strong insect-catching abilities and whether they are suitable for breeding. "
" For example, the giant red mite is a powerful hunter of many small pests in the field, but it is very difficult to raise because it has a very strong self-mutilation ability and will "kill each other" when the population becomes large. "
< br>
"Currently, only a few species such as Trichogramma, lacewings, and ladybugs have mastered the breeding methods. However, factory production lines still require the cooperation of multiple departments to try."
"Try boldly."
Guo Yang said without hesitation that although he didn't know much about entomology, after only listening for a while, he knew that Xu Xuenong had something in his stomach.
And he should have already thought about how to develop the natural enemy industry. What he has to do at this time is to support, support, and support again.
“I’m not afraid of the cost of trial and error. What I’m afraid of is missing out. If you need anything, just report it directly. I’ll say hello to Qu Yang, Pu Fei and Yu Qin.”
Xu Xuenonghe and Bi Qiang all nodded solemnly. Bosses who are willing to invest in this way are the favorites of all scientific researchers.
The natural enemy factory is a new thing in China, and collection is relatively easy, but just like production, monitoring is also a difficulty.
Because insect populations change dynamically.
Only by mastering ‘how to change’ can we provide reference for subsequent biological control.
Otherwise, releasing natural enemies directly may destroy the ecological balance.
The topic returned to the original natural enemy center.
It is the same as the germplasm resource bank. This is a resource reserve, like buried minerals, which can be used directly when needed.
However, unlike germplasm resource banks that can rely on national resources, there is little basic research on natural enemy insect resources in China.
The three of them had a discussion together.
Finally, Guo Yang said:
"It is not realistic to build a national-level natural enemy center, but we can start from the regional level and radiate to areas where Jiahe develops organic agriculture."
"While collecting and monitoring, we will expand production, and then directly connect with field opponents to conduct Practical application."
Xu Xuenong thought for a while and said: "It is best to choose agricultural products with higher value."
"That's right. That's it." Guo Yang said: "Let's go, pack up, go back together, and collect the existing information for me."
After a while, Guo Yang got the insect information that Xu Xuenong and others had analyzed.
In the evening, Guo Yang invited Bi Qiang, Xu Xuenong, and several other members of the Future Natural Enemy Insect Resource Center to have a feast together.
He encouraged the newly formed team and expressed his importance.
Build an army of natural enemies as early as possible.
After returning home, Guo Yang had time to check the insect information, which recorded information on various natural enemy insects.
Coccinella axyridis, Chinese lacewings, Trichogramma... and corresponding pests such as white moths, aphids, scale insects, etc.
Then Guo Yang took out a white bottle containing predatory mites and other insects.
After tinkering with the seed store for a while, it is easy to cultivate and modify insects.
But in order to perfectly fit the regional ecological environment, the natural energy required will increase exponentially.
Guo Yang endured it.
Then I tried species of animals and plants that can specifically disrupt the ecological balance, and I was shocked to find that more natural energy was required.
For example, white-level pasture varieties only require 0 to 20 points, but if they become weeds with ecological destructive capabilities, the natural energy required will increase by 3 to 5 times.
The higher the level, the more energy is required.
Guo Yang was in a daze for a while. "Natural energy can only be obtained through environmental restoration. It seems reasonable to destroy the ecological environment and require more natural energy."
"Fortunately, there is enough natural energy left, otherwise there would be a little trouble."
Another half month has passed, and now the energy has reached 6238 points, which is still very sufficient.
"Flowers, fruits and vegetables, extreme environments, insects..."
Guo Yang typed several species that he already intended to cultivate on a word document and wrote them down.
I plan to start cultivating them after returning to China.
On June 14, Guo Yang convened a short meeting with the senior management team and explained some work.
At the same time, Bi Qiang was given greater power.
Guo Yang even thought about promoting Bi Qiang to the vice president of the group, but after thinking about it, he decided not to go too far.
That afternoon, Guo Yang rushed to the capital and met Zeng Changxing from the China Institute of International Studies, who was traveling with him this time.
And He Wen, director of the Chinese American Economics Association.
In addition, there were some accompanying people, but Guo Yang did not communicate too much and was still prepared to keep a low profile.
However, he wanted to keep a low profile, but He Wen beside him took the initiative to stir up the topic.
"Mr. Guo, will Jiahe's elf drone be available for pre-sale overseas tomorrow?"
"Yes." Of course Guo Yang remembered this, this morning After communicating about this matter, Wang Tao also arrived in the United States.
"Congratulations in advance to Mr. Guo on the great sale." He Wen said with a smile.
Guo Yang said: "Jiahe is unknown in the field of science and technology, and there are probably not many people attending the pre-sale meeting."
"Jiahe is well-known in the agricultural field. Tianhe's grass, corn and other seeds are well known in the world." "It's also a first-class seed."
"Director He has done some research on agriculture?"
"Hahaha, I know a little bit about it." He Wen said with a smile: "I have studied it before." American Agriculture for a Time.”
He Wen obviously wanted to talk to someone, and Guo Yang had no reason to refuse.
"Then I would like to ask for advice."
"Asking for advice is not about talking about it, it is about learning from each other."
He Wen pondered for a while and said: "When it comes to American agriculture, there is nothing I can say about it. That’s a lot.”
“In 1862, the United States enacted the Homestead Act, allowing immigrants to occupy no more than 160 acres of wasteland as long as they paid a $10 fee.”
“And. After 5 years of farming, you can become your own property, and this has established the basic form of family farm management.”
"As of last year, there were 2.2 million farms in the United States, about 1.9 million of which were owned entirely by individual farmers."
"There are 2.2 million farms, with an average operating area of 418 acres, which is about 2,500 acres."
“At this point, the agricultural paths of China and the United States are far apart, and China still has a long way to go.”
Guo Yang nodded noncommittally. I found that He Wen somewhat admired the old and American agriculture.
Sure enough, He Wen then praised the high efficiency of its agriculture around scale, knowledge, informatization, mechanization, internationalization, etc.
During this period, Guo Yang just listened and did not express his opinion.
He Wen may not have a problem. At this time, there is indeed a group of people in China who believe that we should learn from European and American agricultural practices.
“The United States is the world’s largest exporter of agricultural products, accounting for one-sixth of the world’s total. The total export value of agricultural products last year was nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars...”
When He Wen said it correctly When he got excited, Zeng Changxing from the Institute of International Studies could not sit still.
He coughed first, then turned around and said, "What's so glorious about this?"
"Among the 100 billion US dollars, 10 billion US dollars are soybeans. How much of it was purchased domestically?"
The atmosphere fell silent for a while.
Guo Yang recalled the numbers in his mind, "Last year, domestically imported soybeans were about 28 million tons, and about 10 million tons of them came from the United States."
"Worthed at US$2.5 billion."
Zeng Changxing looked at Guo Yang in surprise and said, "As expected of the boss of Jiahe, he is very knowledgeable."
He Wen also came to his senses and realized that it was just a one-man show for him.
“That’s because the domestic soybean industry is too competitive.”
Zeng Changxing said: “Mr. Guo, why don’t you tell me that Jiahe also has a soybean business, right?”
Guo Yang smiled and said: "What's the point of discussing the past? We have to look forward."
With the domestic pessimism about the development of the soybean industry, Zeng Changxing had not heard this for a long time. remarks.
"Oh? Mr. Guo is very optimistic about the domestic soybean industry."
"It's OK."
"If it's OK, it's OK, if it's not OK, it's not OK. What is OK?"
< br>Guo Yang smiled and said nothing, obviously not wanting to get entangled.
He Wen said at this time: "Soybeans are indeed a weakness, but the main reason is the gap in economic strength. The subsidies in the United States are too high."
Zeng Changxing also agrees with this.
“Subsidy agriculture and support exports. Since the promulgation of the Farm Bill in 2002, the whole world has been opposing America’s agricultural hegemony.”
“But little effect has been achieved.”
He Wen said: "It's not completely ineffective. At least it has switched from explicit subsidies to hidden subsidies. The crop disaster insurance policy purchased by farmers only costs US$300, but the government wants to subsidize you US$1,000."
< br>“American agriculture has always enjoyed generous government subsidies. Since the new bill, the annual total of various agricultural subsidies has reached 100 billion US dollars.”
“In addition, for the export of agricultural products, the government will also provide an export guarantee of US$30 every year.”
“So American farmers have nothing to fear. They can sell in the international market at lower prices and do not worry about bad debts. Of course it’s guaranteed.”
“Mr. Guo must be very impressed, right?”
His eyes returned to Guo Yang.
Guo Yang thought for a while and then said: "Well, I am deeply touched."
"It's gone?"
"I'm just a businessman, how can two experts study it deeply." Guo Yang said sincerely.
“Jiahe has planted one million acres of soybeans in the northwest this year. There are also soybean bases in Binhai, Southwest and other places that cooperate with Jiahe Cereals and Oils, right?”
“Mr. Zeng is so fond of Jiahe. Understood?”
“I was present during the expert review of the soybean industry’s subsidy policy, and the young man from Jiahe also left my phone number.”
Guo Yang quickly thought about the relationship between international issues research and the soybean industry.
The subsidy policy for domestically produced soybeans must indeed take into account the subsidy situation in other countries.
"In the international agricultural product market, the United States currently has a strong control. Jiahe is just a company and can only contribute as much as possible to domestic agriculture."
Zeng Changxing was not very satisfied with this answer. He knew something about Jiahe's situation.
Not only soybean bases and soybean processing plants, Tianhe’s soybean seeds also show high potential, and the domestic cultivated land area is also growing.
But maybe there were other people on the plane. Boss Guo was obviously not very interested and didn't want to talk more, so he stopped pestering him.
He Wen didn’t think too much about it. America’s high subsidies are a threshold that no country can get around.
As Guo Yang said, Jiahe is just a company, how big a role can it play?
The plane became quiet.
Guo Yang also breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to talk too much about the soybean issue.
Everyone on the plane is going to the United States. If I talk too much, I don’t know what trouble I might get into.
Besides, he really wanted to rest for a while.
Long-distance flying is very painful, and Guo Yang can only plan the next itinerary while thinking about how to cause damage without being noticed.
Creating a completely new species is expensive, and it is best to modify an existing invasive species.
……
June 17, Los Angeles, California.
"Mr. Guo, we will stay here for half a month and meet up in half a month."
"Okay."
Farewell to He Wen and his party, Guo Yang and Luo Xiu transferred to Chicago again.
Here is the world's most important agricultural product futures exchange, and Jiahe Cereals and Oils also has offices here.
The branches and breeding stations established by Tianhe in North America are also in Illinois, where Chicago is located.
After arriving here, Guo Yang will have enough manpower to call on.
This is also one of the major agricultural states in the United States. 80% of the land is agricultural land, and each farmer has an average farming area of 2,100 acres.
Soybean production ranks first in the United States, and corn production is either first or second.
Guo Yang’s goal is very clear.
There is no need to get too involved in grain futures. It is only right to seize the time to complete breeding.
The first is corn and soybean varieties. In order to enter the North American market, Guo Yang used the germplasm resources collected by the breeding station to cultivate one variety each.
Then there was planning to cause destruction.
Guo Yang has already thought about it. The soybeans and corn in Illinois are mainly genetically modified seeds.
Monsanto’s genetically modified soybeans are resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. Glyphosate will kill regular soybean plants along with weeds.
Monsanto’s new Roundup 2 soybean is also a high-yielding seed.
In this case, Guo Yang plans to cultivate a weed that cannot be killed by glyphosate, or cannot be completely killed.
Soon, Guo Yang found his goal.
Tribulus terrestris and datura are both native plants in the Americas and are very common in barren mountains and slopes.
It was easy to collect two kinds of seeds.
Guo Yang also completed the cultivation immediately.
[Variety]: Tribulus
[Characteristics 1]: An annual plant, easy to take root and difficult to remove. It can complete its life cycle and produce offspring even under limited water resources. A large number of seeds, the vitality of seeds is also amazing.
【Characteristic 2】: The plant contains alkaloids, so it is a toxin-containing plant.
【Characteristic 3】: This plant is harmful to the field.
[Characteristic 4]: Weeds specifically developed to target glyphosate.
[Natural Energy]: 1251 (there is a malicious tendency to destroy the environment).
After the cultivation was completed, Guo Yang directly scattered the seeds in the surrounding wasteland, leaving only a few scattered in the land in surrounding towns, allowing it to take root and germinate.
Then for corn, Guo Yang also plans to start with genetically modified corn.
Bt corn is mainly used to deal with corn borers, also known as heart borers.
Guo Yang originally wanted to breed resistant corn borer, but there was only one variety that could be cultivated: super corn borer.
Natural energy is not enough.
Corn borers are indeed a bit difficult to deal with. Even ordinary corn borers can cause corn yields to decrease by more than 90% in severe cases.
The super corn borer is likely to cause a world-class disaster.
Even if it could be cultivated, Guo Yang would not dare to try it rashly without countermeasures.
Had to give up.
Tribulus can also affect corn production.
But coming here specifically to cause damage and only cultivating a harmful weed species made Guo Yang feel a little uncomfortable.
On this day, Guo Yang stayed in the hotel and studied what else he could cultivate.
Do you want an enhanced version of Asian Carp? Anyway, we already have one, so there is no doubt about him.
Cuscuta in alfalfa fields can also be used.
Alfalfa and dodder are widely distributed around the world, but the United States is one of the most successful countries in the world in controlling dodder.
You have to put more burdens on it.
Guo Yang kept sifting through targets, and an ant species suddenly appeared in his sight.
Fire ants!
At the beginning of the 20th century, due to negligence in quarantine and epidemic prevention, they invaded the southern part of the United States.
Currently, tens of millions of acres of land in 12 states in the South are occupied by invasive fire ants.
Omnivorous fire ants can cause catastrophic damage to soil-dwelling animals, and even earthworms in the soil will be eaten up.
In addition, fire ants will also feed on the seeds, fruits, buds, tender stems and roots of crops...
After being bitten by red fire ants, they will develop poisonous sores and pus. There is even a fatal risk.
This originally inconspicuous alien fire ant has caused very important problems and economic losses in agriculture and environmental health in the United States.
"It's you, fire ant."
(End of this chapter)