The total vegetable cultivation area in China is 320 million mu and the total output is 769 million tons, ranking first in the world. The total output value is the highest in China’s planting industry. Among them, the area of ​​vegetable facilities exceeds 70 million mu and the output accounts for over 40% of the country’s vegetable supply.

The vegetable industry plays a huge role in ensuring the supply of agricultural products, increasing the income of farmers, and promoting employment. However, in recent years, several major bottlenecks have restricted the further development of the vegetable industry in China.

Professor Yu Xianchang, researcher of the green technology integration model research and demonstration program for vegetable crops and the vegetable and flowers research institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told the reporter that on the one hand, excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in vegetable production has led to potential safety hazards of product quality and environmental pollution risk at production sites. On the other hand, labor costs have been increasing, labor costs have accounted for about 73% of vegetable production costs, which has led to a decline in the economic benefits of vegetable production; in addition, there are still problems such as insufficient mechanization, low degree of organization, and dispersion of business entities.

In 2017, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences initiated the collaborative innovation project of science and technology innovation project “research and demonstration of green cropping technology integration model for vegetable crops”. The project was presided over by the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. It organized 12 units inside and outside the hospital to technically explore the green development path for the Chinese vegetable industry.

It is reported that compared with the conventional production of farmers, this technology integration model reduces chemical pesticides by more than 40%, reduces chemical fertilizers by more than 30%, saves water by more than 20%, saves labor by more than 40%, and increases efficiency by more than 15%. The bottleneck of industrial development is of great significance and provides important scientific and technological support for the green development of China’s vegetable industry.