Interview local G3 kiwi growers in Sichuan who hope to cooperate with Zespri for sales in the future 流氓种植者渴望加入Zespri 采访四川本地的G3猕猴桃种植者
In China, growers of Zespri’s proprietary varieties want to produce their fruit under the label it was taken from.
Kiwifruit orchardists growing the Zespri G3 variety in Sichuan province are keen to have their fruit sold under the label of the company it was taken from.
在中国，Zespri专有品种的种植者希望按照其原始标签生产水果。
在四川省种植Zespri G3品种的猕猴桃果农们热衷于以该公司的标签出售他们的水果。
A recent China court ruling has confirmed China’s commitment to upholding its newly boosted plant variety protection rules, with the defendant being fined NZ$1.3 million and ordered to pull out his 260-plus hectares of G3 vines. The grower is appealing the judgement.
中国法院最近的一项裁决证实了中国对维护其新加强的植物品种保护规则的承诺，被告被罚款130万新西兰元，并被命令拔除260多公顷的G3葡萄藤。种植者正在对判决提出上诉。
However, there is tacit acknowledgement within the industry that the cost of taking case-by-case court action rules out ever being able to rein in growers of an estimated 5000ha in Sichuan alone.
For local husband-and-wife growers Mr Chen and Miss Xu, obtaining G3 rootstock presented an opportunity to turn their bare 4ha block of heavy soil into a kiwifruit orchard. Four years on they say they are still learning the intricacies of the crop and are working hard to meet “NZ standard” fruit.
然而，业内人士默认，采取逐案诉讼的成本排除了仅在四川就能够控制估计5000公顷种植者的可能性。
对于当地的夫妻种植者陈和徐来说，获得G3砧木为他们提供了一个机会，可以将他们光秃秃的4公顷厚土变成猕猴桃园。四年过去了，他们说他们仍在学习这种作物的复杂性，并正在努力达到“新西兰标准”的水果。
▲Mr Chen and Miss Xu
“The local Red variety – Donghong – and other local varieties are better suited to this soil. But we wish to continue with G3, in the hope we may be able to supply Zespri with it in the future,” said Miss Xu.
Their orchard is one of 20 Zespri included in its recently concluded five-year monitoring and observation programme in the Chengdu region.
徐小姐说：“当地的红品种——东红——和其他当地品种更适合这种土壤。但我们希望继续使用G3，希望我们将来能为Zespri提供它。”。
他们的果园是最近结束的成都地区五年监测和观察计划中包括的20个Zespri之一。
Sichuan orchardist Miss Xu says she and her husband are very keen to continue growing G3 fruit, hoping to collaborate with Zespri to supply out-of-season fruit to complement NZ growers’ produce. Photo: Richard Rennie
A key drawcard for the couple wanting to supply Zespri with G3 to meet counter-seasonal supply to complement NZ supply is the premium Zespri fruit gain in the Chinese market. Typically, the difference can be double what local varieties of Gold fruit get per kg, and 30% above the unauthorised local G3 fruit.
“But we are also very interested in receiving advice from Zespri on ways to improve our crop and our practices.”
They say the G3 is less vulnerable to many diseases than local varieties of kiwifruit.
想要向Zespri供应G3以满足反季节供应以补充新西兰供应的夫妇的一个关键吸引力是Zespri水果在中国市场的溢价增长。通常，这种差异可能是当地黄金水果每公斤的两倍，比未经授权的当地G3水果高出30%。
“但我们也非常有兴趣听取Zespri关于如何改善我们的作物和做法的建议。”
他们说，G3比当地品种的猕猴桃更不容易感染许多疾病。
The heavy soils receive organic and chemical fertilisers and approved insecticides.
Psa disease does not affect their G3 as it does the local Red variety. They say, however, that a key challenge is fruit dropping off vines just prior to harvest.
重质土壤接受有机和化学肥料以及批准的杀虫剂。
Psa病不会像当地的红品种那样影响它们的G3。然而，他们说，一个关键的挑战是水果在收获前从葡萄藤上掉下来。
But they see more upside in G3’s yield potential, harvesting about 37 tonnes of fruit a hectare compared to most NZ orchards’ 45t/ha. To protect fruit and aid ripening, all fruit is bagged on the vine prior to harvest.
They say they have generated a “reasonable” profit to date.
但他们认为G3的产量潜力更大，每公顷可收获约37吨水果，而新西兰大多数果园的产量为45吨/公顷。为了保护果实并促进成熟，所有果实在收获前都会在葡萄藤上装袋。
他们表示，迄今为止，他们已经产生了“合理”的利润。
▲For Zhang Ping, the move from government office job to kiwifruit growing is highly rewarding, and earns him a better income. Photo: Richard Rennie
With their hope of being taken into a collaborative partnership dashed when the 2021 NZ grower vote went against a China production trial, the couple are in something of a holding pattern.
“It would depend upon what Zespri was to do for us whether we would commit or not,” said Miss Xu.
由于2021年新西兰种植者投票反对中国生产试验，他们希望建立合作伙伴关系的希望破灭了，这对夫妇处于观望状态。
徐小姐说：“这取决于泽斯普里为我们做了什么，我们是否会承诺。”。
For fellow orchardist Zhang Ping, the incentive for planting G3 several years ago on 3.5ha was the potential for co-operation with its source company Zespri.
He closely researched orchard layout and fruit type, opting for Bounty rootstock as better suited to his heavy soil and offering good disease resistance.
对于同为果园主的张平来说，几年前在3.5公顷的土地上种植G3的动机是与它的来源公司Zespri合作的潜力。
他仔细研究了果园布局和果实类型，选择了Bounty砧木，因为它更适合他的重土，并且具有良好的抗病性。
As an ex-government employee, he has come to orcharding having had enough of office work, and is keen to leave a legacy for his two children. He said his income from kiwifruit growing is higher than what he made in the government job.
Being new to orcharding he found plenty of technical support to help him learn to grow kiwifruit better, and said his biggest challenge is finding workers year round, while labour costs have also risen 15% in the last two years.
作为一名前政府雇员，他已经厌倦了办公室工作，并热衷于为他的两个孩子留下遗产。他说，他种植猕猴桃的收入高于他在政府工作的收入。
作为果园的新手，他找到了大量的技术支持来帮助他更好地学习种植猕猴桃，并表示他最大的挑战是全年都能找到工人，而劳动力成本在过去两年中也上涨了15%。
“Growers are around with lots of expertise, and they are happy to share their information and experience.”
Living in the city of Chengdu, Zhang monitors his orchard remotely, overseeing soil moisture and irrigation application through his smart phone.
“种植者拥有丰富的专业知识，他们很乐意分享他们的信息和经验。”
张住在成都，他通过智能手机远程监控果园，监测土壤湿度和灌溉应用。
He applies a tonne a month a hectare of organic matter to build topsoil quality and aid drainage on the heavier areas. Applying organic composted fertiliser has also helped improve the soil.
“For me orcharding is something I can do for my kids, and it is important to produce healthy agricultural produce.”
他每月每公顷施用一吨有机物，以提高表层土质量，并帮助较重地区排水。施用有机堆肥肥料也有助于改善土壤。
“对我来说，果园是我可以为孩子们做的事情，生产健康的农产品很重要。”
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