Free Web NovelChapter 54: Chapter 54: Selection of New Crops
As Jiang Miao spoke, he led Lü Weibin toward one of the experimental greenhouses.
After arriving at the large iron gate, he quickly entered the password and passed a facial recognition scan. The experimental greenhouse’s iron gate automatically swung inward.
Stepping inside, they found the half-mu of farmland within the greenhouse was already densely planted with pepino melons, nightshade plants commercially known as "Ginseng Fruit."
Jiang Miao pointed to the Ginseng Fruit on their left. "The ones on your left are a heat-tolerant, early-maturing variety. They can withstand high temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius while maintaining normal growth, flowering, and fruiting."
"The ones on your right are a cold-tolerant, early-maturing variety. They can continue to grow, flower, and bear fruit normally in temperatures as low as 5 degrees Celsius."
Jiang Miao then squatted down, plucked a ripe Ginseng Fruit, rinsed it with some mineral water, and broke it in half. He handed one piece to Lü Weibin. "Have a taste. This variety is called Amethyst."
Lü Weibin quickly accepted the piece and took a bite, savoring it carefully. After a moment, he remarked, "The sweetness is moderate, but the flavor is excellent."
Jiang Miao nodded. "That’s the advantage of the Amethyst variety. When it ripens naturally, the skin turns completely pale purple. In other words, if it hasn’t changed color, the fruit isn’t ripe. You can just pick any of the purple ones, and I guarantee the flavor and sweetness will be up to standard."
"Oh?" At this, Lü Weibin walked between the rows of plants, picked three purple-skinned Ginseng Fruit, rinsed them, and tasted each one.
"You’re right, there’s hardly any difference between them. They’re all excellent."
Of course they were excellent. These were two varieties Jiang Miao had meticulously selected from hundreds of thousands of mutated pepino melon seeds, taking every possible aspect into consideration. freewebnoveℓ.com
The quality of Ginseng Fruit currently on the market was noticeably inconsistent. If you got a good one, the flavor was superb and it had a decent sweetness. But if you got a bad one, not only was it hard as a rock, but it tasted like plain water and might even have that strange, unpleasant flavor characteristic of nightshade family fruits.
This "blind box" level of quality often deterred customers from buying Ginseng Fruit.
That was precisely why Jiang Miao had specifically selected these two varieties.
When a Purple Crystal Ginseng Fruit ripened, its skin turned a pale purple. Unripe fruits were a creamy white, making them very easy to tell apart.
The other variety was also part of the Amethyst line, but it produced smaller fruit.
The larger Purple Crystal Ginseng Fruit was similar in size to a regular apple, with each fruit typically weighing 150 to 200 grams. When ripe, it had a sweetness level of 8% to 9%. Compared to existing varieties, its flavor had an added hint of cucumber and sweet horn melon.
The smaller Purple Crystal Ginseng Fruit was shaped like a large tomato, with each fruit weighing around 80 to 120 grams. Its ripe sweetness was 7% to 8%. The flavor was more traditional but significantly richer.
Both of these varieties were high-yielding. In a greenhouse environment, the yield was about six to seven tons per mu.
Propagating from cuttings takes about 35 days. After the cuttings are planted, they begin to flower in only about 80 days. From flowering to the fruit becoming fully ripe takes another 100 days, followed by a harvesting period of about four months.
In other words, the total growth cycle for these two new varieties, up to the point the fruit ripens, is about 215 days.
This is because both are early-maturing varieties.
By contrast, a traditional variety needs 120 days from planting to flowering and another 120 days from flowering to ripening. Add the 35 days for propagation, and the total cycle takes about 275 days, with a harvesting period of only about three months.
The new varieties shortened the pre-harvest growth period by 60 days and added an entire month to the harvesting window.
The reason for this shortened growth period was their genetic makeup, which allowed for more efficient fertilizer absorption. This resulted in broader leaves and a more vigorous plant. Consequently, the new varieties needed trellises to climb on, similar to some tomato varieties.
After listening to Jiang Miao’s explanation, Lü Weibin was beginning to grasp the commercial potential of these two varieties. He immediately said, "Boss, I think these two varieties have immense commercial value. We should make them a priority for our future planting."
"Yes, the commercial potential of these two is quite good." Jiang Miao gestured to the half-mu of Ginseng Fruit before them. "Starting tomorrow, arrange for the agricultural technicians to come over. Have them lead the workers in taking cuttings for propagation."
Lü Weibin nodded. "Noted."
"But just strawberries and Ginseng Fruit aren’t quite enough for the farm and our online store."
Hearing his boss, Lü Weibin quickly suggested, "Boss, how about we plant some other fruits? For example, Shine Muscat grapes have been really popular these past few years. Or what about Netted Melon No. 8?"
Jiang Miao shook his head. "Come with me."
"What?" Lü Weibin scratched his head in confusion.
A moment later, the two arrived at another experimental greenhouse next door. This one also contained a half-mu plot of farmland.
It was just as lush and green inside. On neatly constructed trellises grew rows of leafy tomato plants, their branches already heavy with fruit.
"Are these tomatoes?" Lü Weibin crouched down to get a better look at the small clusters, which resembled bunches of grapes. The tomatoes themselves were a dark, reddish-black.
Jiang Miao explained, "This is a new tomato variety called Black Pearl. On the other side is another variety called Red Heart."
Lü Weibin picked a few to taste and found they were delicious. Their flavor and balance of sweet and sour were particularly good, reminding him of the local varieties grown in the villages when he was a child.
"They’re a bit like the old local varieties."
Jiang Miao smiled and nodded. "One of its parent plants was an old local variety. They have that same rich tomato flavor, a balanced sweetness and acidity, and a crisp, sweet texture. But the old varieties weren’t suitable for shipping, which is why they were gradually phased out. This new variety corrects that flaw; it’s durable enough to be transported."
Then Lü Weibin tried a Red Heart tomato. Its flavor and balance of acidity were also reminiscent of traditional heirloom varieties, and like the Black Pearl, its main improvement was being durable enough for storage and shipping.
The Black Pearl was a small, cluster-type tomato.
The Red Heart was a large-fruited variety.
Jiang Miao had developed these two varieties very quickly because all he needed to do was induce mutations for storage and transport durability in already-delicious heirloom varieties.
"Boss, I think these two tomato varieties have incredible potential! If the price is right, they could completely crush the current market for standard cooking tomatoes."
"Let’s forget about crushing the cooking tomato market for now," Jiang Miao said. "We’ll start by targeting the premium market. Later on, we can just sell the seeds directly."
Lü Weibin suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked, "Boss, have we registered our new varieties?"
"They’re registered. A few months ago, I commissioned a firm that specializes in plant variety registration to register our company’s new varieties and their specific genetic sequences."
This was not the sort of thing Jiang Miao would overlook.
If he didn’t register the varieties and their genetic markers, professional breeding companies, both domestic and international, could take Hailufeng Company’s new varieties and register them as their own. Then they could even turn around and sue Hailufeng.
There had been cases in their country where an American breeding company had preemptively registered native wild soybean varieties and their genetic markers.
For a variety with registered genetic markers, if you grow it without the owner’s consent or without purchasing the seeds from the originating company, they can easily prove infringement. All they have to do is test the genetics of your produce. The test is foolproof, and the grower is guaranteed to lose any subsequent lawsuit. frёeωebɳovel.com
Of course, if it was just a small-scale farmer, the large corporation might turn a blind eye.
But if you were a large-scale grower or another company, you could expect to be served a court summons.
Therefore, Hailufeng Company’s goal in registering its varieties wasn’t to go after small farmers, but to protect itself from other breeding companies.
After they finished looking at the tomatoes, Lü Weibin continued to follow behind Jiang Miao.
Jiang Miao turned his head and, seeing Lü Weibin still trailing him, realized he had the wrong idea. "There are no other new varieties to show you," he said. "You can go back to your work."
"Oh? Haha..." Lü Weibin gave an embarrassed laugh. "I thought there were more!"
"Not right now. The other varieties are still in the experimental phase," Jiang Miao said, shaking his head.
After Lü Weibin left, Jiang Miao didn’t head back to his own experimental greenhouse. Instead, he walked toward Shuya’s edible fungus greenhouse.
In truth, his experimental greenhouse still contained more than a dozen other high-value new varieties, but Jiang Miao wasn’t about to let his recent success go to his head.
Hailufeng Company was currently releasing new varieties at rocket speed. If he were to roll out even more, it would start to draw too much unwanted attention.
