Current Situation and Countermeasures of Platycodon grandiflorus Industry Development in Shandong Province

Shaoshan WANG, Lixin SUN, Yu SHAN, Hongfeng HAN

1. Gaoqing Digital Countryside Development Center, Zibo 256300, China; 2. Zibo Rural Reform and Development Center, Zibo 255000, China; 3. Zibo Digital Agriculture Rural Development Center, Zibo 255000, China

Abstract In order to promote the green, healthy and sustainable development of Platycodon grandiflorus industry, the current situations of P. grandiflorus industry development in Shandong Province were analyzed. That is, an advantageous area has been gradually formed; product processing is diversified; industrialization development pattern is gradually emerging. Three problems in the development of P. grandiflorus industry were deeply analyzed. That is, it is difficult to control product quality; the problem of soil obstacles to continuous cropping is serious; the problem of talent shortage is prominent. Four countermeasures for the next development were put forward as follows: increasing government support, strengthening the construction of talent team, implementing crop rotation or intercropping, and increasing technology promotion.

Key words Platycodon grandiflorus, Current situation, Problems, Countermeasures

1 Introduction

Platycodongrandiflorusis native to China and belongs toPlatycodon, Campanulaceae. It is mainly cultivated in Anhui, Inner Mongolia, Shandong and other places, and it is an important economic plant used for both medicine and food in China; it has great market development potential and application value, and can be called "the treasure of grass"[1-3]. Because it contains platycodon saponins, polygala saponins, phytosterols,etc., it has medical effects such as dispersing the lungs and relieving sore throat, expectorating phlegm and relieving cough, anti-inflammatory and expelling pus, lowering blood sugar and protecting liver, anti-tumor and anti-fatigue. Because it contains 17 kinds of amino acids and 22 kinds of trace elements required by the human body, it is currently processed into quick-frozen prodcuts, pickles, canned food, preserved fruit, powder and medicinal slices,etc., as functional foods. In addition to supplying the domestic market, it is also exported to the United States, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other countries. Shandong is one of the three major planting and producing areas ofP.grandiflorusin China. In the 1970s, Shandong Province began to plantP.grandifloruson a large scale, breaking into a new world of its own in the cultivation and processing ofP.grandiflorus. With the continuous development and growth ofP.grandiflorusindustry, it has begun to go abroad and exported to South Korea in large quantities, beginning to enter the ranks of large industries.

2 Development situation of P. grandiflorus industry

2.1 An advantageous area has been gradually formedAs one of the three main producing areas ofP.grandiflorusin China, Shandong Province gives full play to its regional advantages, actively builds a production base ofP.grandiflorusfor vegetables, and improves the standardized production level ofP.grandiflorus. At present, it is planted in Zibo, Jinan, Weifang, Linyi and other places in the province, and the annual planting area is 3 600 ha, of which 2 133.33 ha ofP.grandiflorusis concentrated in Zibo City. The total output ofP.grandiflorusis 56 200 t, with a total output value of 860 million yuan.P.grandiflorushas become one of the main ways to increase agricultural efficiency and farmers’ income in Shandong Province, especially in the main producing area Zibo City. Chishang Town, Zibo City is the core production area ofP.grandiflorusin the whole province. It is located in the southern mountainous area of Zibo City, Shandong Province. Relying on the unique ecological empowerment and industrial planting advantages, and giving full play to the popularity and reputation of "China Geographical Indication" brand ofP.grandiflorusin Chishang, the producedP.grandiflorusis crisp and juicy, and is favored by domestic and foreign markets. In 2019, the annual yield of high-qualityP.grandiflorusin Chishang Town was up to 21 000 t, and there was a processing team of more than 7 000 people, more than 80 processing points, more than 10 municipal-level leading enterprises; the export transaction volume reached 163 million yuan, so it became one of the main sources of local agricultural foreign exchange earnings. Even though the planting scale ofP.grandiflorusin Shandong is not as large as that in Inner Mongolia and Anhui, the products ofP.grandiflorusfrom all over the country are traded in the market ofP.grandiflorusin Chishang town every year. It has become "the country’s largest processing and distributing center ofP.grandiflorus" and is known as the "hometown ofP.grandiflorusin China".

2.2 Product processing is diversifiedIn Shandong Province,P.grandifloruswas first planted in the trial field established by a medicinal company. In 1996, during a visit to Yanbian in the northeast of China, it was discovered thatP.grandifloruswas eaten as a functional vegetable in South Korea, which opened up a "new continent" for the development ofP.grandiflorusindustry in Shandong Province. Later,P.grandifloruspickles and canned food gradually opened up the Korean and Japanese markets. In 2015, Shandong Province’sP.grandiflorussuccessfully entered the American market, and the quick-frozenP.grandiflorusimmediately occupied about 60% of the share in the United States.

2.3 Industrialization pattern is gradually emergingIn recent years,P.grandiflorusindustry in Shandong Province has seized the opportunity of exporting to the United States, South Korea and Japan, and gradually formed a new pattern of driving the development ofP.grandiflorusindustry with new business entities such as leading enterprises, farmers’ professional cooperatives, and family farms. The "associations+leading enterprises+family farms+professional large households+professional farmers" management model integrated production and marketing has been established, and the "four unification" (ie unified planting technology, unified purchase price, unified quality standard, and unified sales price) management has been implemented to guideP.grandiflorusindustry to accelerate the pace of industrialized operation.

3 Problems in P. grandiflorus industry

3.1 It is difficult to control product qualityAlthough the development ofP.grandiflorusindustry in Shandong Province is at the forefront of the country, the level ofP.grandifloruscultivation and planting technology is still not high, which affects its output and appearance quality. As the competition in theP.grandiflorusmarket continues to intensify, the requirements for the appearance quality of the roots are getting higher and higher.P.grandifloruswith long and heavy roots, large root diameter and fewer lateral roots is more favored in the market[4]. In addition, the production ofP.grandiflorusin Shandong Province lacks relevant provincial and local standards; especially in the intensive processing ofP.grandiflorus, there is a lack of unified technical processing standards, and the level of standardized production needs to be improved.

3.2 The problem of soil obstacles to continuous cropping is seriousPlantingP.grandiflorushas high economic benefits, but continuous cropping is unavoidable due to the limitation of arable land. Continuous cropping causes soil pathogenic bacteria to increase, microecological imbalance and serious root rot, and 4-5 years of continuous cropping reduces the output by 40%-50%[5].

3.3 The problem of talent shortage is prominentWith the development of society, rural young people with higher education level gradually entered a city, and they are unwilling to return to their hometown to start a business and grow vegetables. The production staff ofP.grandiflorushas a fault, and the aging is serious. Vegetable farmers are less able to accept new varieties and new technologies, and rely more on their own personal experience. There is an urgent need for compound talents who understand technology, can operate, and can manage.

3.4 The driving ability of new business entities is weakAt present, the total number of new agricultural business entities in Shandong Province is growing. However, as a whole, most of the new operating entities are not standardized, small in scale, weak in anti-risk ability, less in policy support, and short in industrial chain, and their ability to drive and promote farmers to become rich is weak. Due to the weak risk-taking ability of new business entities, the difficulty and high cost of financing have also become the bottleneck factors restricting development.

3.5 The level of industrial integration development is not highMost of the processing enterprises ofP.grandiflorusin Shandong Province are small in scale, low in technical level, and relatively backward in equipment; the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries is low, and there are loopholes in the production and marketing system, short industrial chain and low economic benefits. There is a lot of room for excavation in promoting the smart, simple and efficient production, market circulation, tourism, history and culture ofP.grandiflorus.

4 Strategies for the development of P. grandiflorus industry

4.1 Increasing government supportIt is necessary to correctly guide the transfer of rural land, support leading agricultural enterprises (cooperatives) and leading planting households to transfer land, and develop large-scale planting ofP.grandiflorus. Financial capital and technology investment should be increased, and the establishment of a technology innovation research and development system and a market development system forP.grandiflorusindustry should be encouraged. Multiple measures should be taken to promote the brand ofP.grandiflorus. While media such as television, newspapers, the Internet, high-speed rail, aviation, iron towers, and large advertising screens inside and outside the province are used to do a good job of publicity, a docking platform should be built, and activities such as farmers’ harvest festival and picking festival should be hold. Besides, it is necessary to implement the integration of the three industries, extend the development chain ofP.grandiflorusindustry, and cooperate with bases to create "agricultural culture", "agricultural tourism" and other projects to enhance the added value ofP.grandiflorusproducts.

4.2 Strengthening the construction of talent teamTalent incentive methods should be formulatedand implemented to attract high-level, professional and hard-working technical personnel to joinP.grandiflorusindustry. In addition, it is necessary to pay close attention to the combination of production, education and research, increase the affiliation with Shandong Agricultural University, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other scientific research institutes, increase the breeding of excellent varieties and original varieties ofP.grandiflorus, and speed up the replacement of the varieties. Aiming at the difficulties, blocking points and breakpoints in the development ofP.grandiflorusindustry, scientific research should be carried out to cultivate a group of high-end skilled talents engaged in the production ofP.grandiflorus.

4.3 Implementing crop rotation or intercroppingP.grandiflorushas a long growth cycle, and it takes about two years from sowing to harvesting. Moreover, it has high requirements for soil nutrients. After the land has been planted several times, it is necessary to rotate crops and recuperate to avoid repeated planting.P.grandiflorusand pepper intercropping can reduce the incidence ofP.grandiflorusroot rot and improve product yield and quality. Zhangetal.[6]found that whenP.grandifloruswas planted in the plots that have been continuously cropped for 3 years, the intercropping ofP.grandiflorusand pepper with row ratios of 4∶2 and 5∶2 increased the taproot yield and total yield ofP.grandiflorus, improved the intrinsic quality ofP.grandiflorus, so the intercropping advantage was obvious.

4.4 Intensifying the promotion of technologyIt is necessary to actively organize and observe demonstrations of high-yield and efficient cultivation techniques forP.grandiflorus, hold training courses on new varieties and new technologies ofP.grandiflorus, and encourage vegetable farmers to apply new technologies such as high-ridge cultivation and integration of water and fertilizer. Experts shoud be organize to regularly visit the park base to answer questions and solve problems, and break through difficulties, blockages and breakpoints in production. Relevant local standards should be formulateed in the production and processing ofP.grandiflorusto provide reference and basis for the development ofP.grandiflorusindustry.