Rapeseed is the leading agricultural industry in Baojing County, Xiangxi Prefecture, with a long history of cultivation. In the past, due to the bitter taste of rapeseed stalks, villagers only picked seeds to extract oil. Now, both rapeseeds and stalks can be harvested through scientific breeding, helping farmers increase income.
In the rapeseed planting base of Ladong Village, Qingshuiping Town, Baojing County, villagers are picking, sorting and packaging the rapeseed stalks.
“I used to worry that picking rapeseed stalks would affect the rapeseeds that can be harvested. After visiting other bases in the village with agricultural technicians, I don’t worry about this problem anymore and planted 6 mu (0.4 hectares) of rapeseed. This year, just rapeseed stalks can sell for over 10,000 yuan,” said a local villager.
In recent years, Baojing County has focused on cultivating the rapeseed industry, and introduced new rapeseed varieties like Jingyou 69 and Chunyun No.2. These varieties have been successfully planted in villages and towns such as Fuxing, Qingshuiping and Yangchao, receiving good market feedback.
Peng Hongming, village secretary, introduced that the village has worked to increase income on existing land. After a sufficient market investigation, the village chose to plant Jingyou 69 rapeseed, with a short production cycle and high oil content.
Around the Spring Festival every year, rapeseed stalks enter the picking period, and can be sold for up to 8 yuan per kg, which are highly favored by customers in Changsha, Wuhan, Chengdu and other places. The cooperative can get an annual net income of 500,000 yuan from rapeseed stalks.
The rapeseed oil in Ladong Village has a strong aroma and a clear color, making it a coveted commodity for merchants to purchase. Blooming rapeseed flowers are beautiful scenery, the rapeseeds can be used to extract oil, and the rapeseed stalks can be sold at a high price.
“In 2023, after picking 400 kg of stalks per mu (about 0.067 hectares) of rapeseed, villagers can also harvest more than 140 kg of rapeseeds, with an average increase of over 1,000 yuan per mu (about 0.067 hectares),” said Huang Shengming, chief agronomist of the bureau of agriculture and rural affairs of Baojing County.
Now, the rapeseed base of Baojing County covers over 75,000 mu (5,000 hectares), and the planting area of rapeseed stalks is over 15,000 mu (1,000 hectares).
