Zhalantun Sunflowers

Zhalantun Sunflowers

Zhalantun Sunflowers are a product with geographical indication status.

　　The planting area of sunflowers in Zhalantun City and surrounding regions has gradually expanded, bringing significant economic benefits to farmers each year. It has become a major growth point and pillar industry of the local economy. This is primarily due to the region’s suitable soil environment and climatic conditions for sunflower growth, which are mainly characterized by: significant variations in accumulated temperature across different mountainous areas, complex and diverse terrain including slopes, infertile land, and rocky hills, uneven soil fertility, insufficient precipitation, poor irrigation conditions, and large diurnal temperature variations. Sunflowers, with their strong adaptability, low soil requirements, resistance to poor soils, drought, low temperatures, and frost, as well as being easy to plant and manage with high yields and good returns, have become one of the main crops in the area. With the rise and development of the domestic and international sunflower oil pressing and snack industries, Hulunbuir has now become an important raw material base for the sunflower industry, offering broad prospects for development. However, in some regions, farmers lack comprehensive knowledge of various aspects of sunflower cultivation techniques, resulting in extensive planting with low yields and reliance on weather conditions, which affects the crop’s profitability locally. Through years of extensive planting and promotion involving multiple varieties and locations, technicians from the Agricultural Technology Extension Center have accumulated rich and practical cultivation experience. They have summarized a complete set of sunflower cultivation techniques suited to the local conditions, aiming to guide sunflower production and contribute to the development of the sunflower industry and agriculture in Hulunbuir.

　　Geographic Scope

　　Zhalantun City is located at the southern end of Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on the eastern foothills of the Greater Khingan Mountains and the western edge of the Nenjiang Plain. It borders Arong Banner and Gannan County of Heilongjiang Province to the east, the Ewenki Autonomous Banner and Horqin Right Front Banner of Xing'an League to the west, the Jalaid Banner of Xing'an League and Longjiang County of Heilongjiang Province across the Chengjisihan Town border fort to the south, and Yakeshi to the north. The geographical indication protection area for Zhalantun Sunflowers as an agricultural product includes 14 townships (offices): Nanmu Oroqen Ethnic Township, Harasu Office, Woniuhe Town, Daur Ethnic Township, Gaotaizi Office, Dahewan Town, Chengjisihan Town, Yargenchu Office, Zhonghe Town, Samajie Ewenki Ethnic Township, Mouguchi Town, Watiz Town, Sejilahuhu Office, and Haoraoshan Town, along with their 101 administrative villages. The protected area lies between 120°28′51″–123°17′30″ east longitude and 47°5′40″–48°36′34″ north latitude, covering a production area of 33,000 hectares.

　　Natural Ecological Environment and Humanistic Historical Factors

　　(1) Soil and Topography: The geological structure of Zhalantun City belongs to the eastern side of the middle section of the Xing’an-Mongolian uplift belt within the China-Xinjiang System, and the western edge of the central Songliao subsidence zone. During the Mesozoic era, the Greater Khingan Mountains rose while the Songliao subsidence zone relatively sank, forming the currently flat and broad river valleys as well as low hills and mountains. The terrain slopes from north to south, with elevations ranging from 1,695.9 m at the source of the Qih River at Ke’erguo Mountain to 200 m at the Yin River. The region features a mix of mountains, hills, ridges, and valleys, categorized into three major landform types: mid-to-low mountains, undulating hills and ridges, and river valley plains. The soils are predominantly dark brown forest soil, black soil, and meadow soil, all fertile with good tillage properties. Soil pH ranges between 4.8–7.1, indicating favorable fertility levels, with an average organic matter content of 6.54%. The average total nitrogen content is 2.18 g/kg, and effective...

　　phosphorus averages 17.4 mg/kg, while available potassium averages 174 mg/kg. The area is rich in trace elements, and loess soil contains abundant organic matter with good granular structure, making it highly suitable for the growth and development of sunflowers.

　　(2) Hydrology: Rivers in Zhalantun City include the Yalu River, Woniuhe River, and Jiqin River, with a total runoff of 3.49 billion cubic meters. Water bodies cover 0.7% of the total area. The total groundwater recharge is 604 million cubic meters, base flow is 443 million cubic meters, and usable amount is 111 million cubic meters. All rivers in Zhalantun originate from the eastern foothills of the Greater Khingan Mountains. There are no pollution sources within their basins, ensuring naturally good water quality—an optimal location for sunflower cultivation. With numerous rivers and year-round flowing streams in the north-south oriented valleys, distributed in a stepped pattern with high density across the city and good water quality, along with mineral-rich groundwater free from industrial pollution, the area offers uniquely favorable natural conditions for high-quality sunflower production.

　　(3) Climate: Zhalantun City has a mid-temperate continental semi-humid climate. The annual average sunshine duration is 2,722 hours, the mean annual temperature is 3.4°C, and the effective accumulated temperature above 10°C averages 2,495°C. Annual precipitation ranges from 450–550 mm, concentrated mainly in July and August. The frost-free period is short, averaging 100–125 days. Springs are dry, windy, and warm up quickly; autumns see sharp temperature drops; summers are short; and winters are long and cold. The unique climate is well-suited for developing distinctive Zhalantun sunflowers. The distinct seasons support robust sunflower growth, laying the foundation for high yields. Abundant sunlight and large diurnal temperature variations are key factors behind the large, smooth, and shiny sunflower seeds of Zhalantun. Their uniform color, plumpness, and low rate of empty shells make them highly popular among consumers, with broad market potential.

　　(4) Humanistic and Historical Background: During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, oils and oilseeds in the Zhalantun area were freely traded. Urban and rural oil mills regularly purchased locally produced soybeans, sunflower seeds, and other oil crops for processing into finished oils for sale or custom processing. During the Japanese occupation of Northeast China, the Japanese puppet authorities, through grain and agricultural cooperatives, farming cooperatives, and various regional grain and oil exchanges, heavily purchased soybeans and sunflower seed oil crops to ship back to Japan. In October 1946, after the establishment of the Nalimeng Limin Industrial Company, alongside grain procurement, it also purchased oil crops such as soybeans and sunflower seeds through local supply departments. In July 1947, the Zhalantun Public Grain Central Warehouse and various local public grain warehouses and oil reception stations were established, purchasing grains as well as soybeans, sunflower seeds, rapeseeds, and flaxseeds. Between 1982–1984, oil crops were subject to a unified purchase, sale, and distribution contract system fixed for three years. Sunflower seeds were a major minor oilseed variety in the city and banner, with 30% of the procurement quota under fixed pricing and 70% at a premium. During this period, an average of 21.61 million kg of sunflower seeds were purchased. In January 1985, oil crops, along with other major grain varieties, were incorporated into a contract-based procurement system. That year, Zhalantun City’s oil crop contract procurement target was...

　　12 million jin, all for sunflower seeds. Within the contracted quota, a reverse 40-60 ratio was applied, while outside the quota, prices followed market rates. That year, 29.08 million jin of oil crops were procured under contract, with 6.456 million jin purchased at negotiated prices. In 1986, a severe sclerotinia infection occurred in the city’s sunflower-producing areas, leading to significant yield reductions. The contracted procurement was completed at 11.58 million jin, achieving 83.9% of the plan. After 1987, sclerotinia spread widely across sunflower fields, drastically reducing planting areas. The Hulunbuir Regional Government reduced the procurement quota to 7.5 million jin. Between 1987–1990, none of the sunflower contract procurement targets were met, and procurement volumes dropped to their lowest, averaging only 100,000 jin under fixed price and 1.56 million jin at negotiated prices annually. In recent years, with adjustments in planting structure, sunflower cultivation areas have increased year by year. By 2007, Zhalantun City had 33,000 hectares of sunflowers, yielding 75,000 tons annually, with an output value of 240 million yuan. The first professional cooperative organization in Hulunbuir dedicated to the sunflower planting industry—integrating production, procurement, processing, and providing comprehensive technical information services—Zhalantun Yulin Sunflower Professional Cooperative, began operations in Yargenchu in 2008 after nearly a year of preparation. Membership grew from the initial 24 to 371 members, increasing farmers’ income by 30 million yuan. In recent years, Zhalantun City has actively guided farmers to develop sunflower planting. In 2006, the Wadi Town Committee and government broke away from traditional planting structures, guiding farmers to plant sunflowers on a large scale. Kangdi Company, which supplied the seeds, was responsible for contract purchasing, and farmers enjoyed a bountiful harvest that year, with net profits of over 500 yuan per mu. On the eve of the 2007 Spring Festival, a sunflower cooperative initiated by Shen Shuqing, a young entrepreneur from Wadi Town in Hulunbuir, was established. The cooperative’s 24 members included major local growers and brokers—new-type farmers. Managed according to the Farmers’ Professional Cooperative Law, it organized farmers to optimize the allocation of production factors such as talent, land, capital, and technology, and invested 1.5 million yuan in cooperative construction. This year, relying on the unpolluted black soil resources in Wadi Town, the city placed contract orders for 35,000 mu of sunflowers, driving the citywide planting area to 600,000 mu with a successful harvest. Wadi Town alone earned 30 million yuan from sunflowers, contributing 400 million yuan to the city’s total sunflower revenue. Currently, the cooperative has signed a 5 million yuan support project with Taiwan’s Yongtai Feng Group during the 2008 Inner Mongolia (Zhalantun) Green Food Trade Fair and Green Industry Development Forum. It has also applied for a project to establish a 100,000-mu standardized green sunflower raw material production base, producing 15,000 tons of green sunflower seeds annually. The product has been successfully registered under the “Hadaohe” brand trademark, with membership covering all 14 townships in the city. The convening of the Third Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee has further motivated members of the Zhalantun Yulin Sunflower Professional Cooperative to build a new socialist countryside. The cooperative will fully implement unified provision of production materials, unified training in production techniques, unified formulation of production procedures, and unified product sales, with all contract production covered by agricultural insurance. It aims to increase membership to over 1,000 within three years, driving 1,500 grower households, promoting hybridization across the city’s 600,000 mu of sunflowers, achieving an annual production of 75,000 tons of high-quality sunflower seeds, and generating an annual output value of 112.5 million yuan.

　　The Yulin Sunflower Professional Cooperative in Zhalantun City, the first specialized cooperative in Hulunbuir dedicated to sunflower cultivation, integrates production, procurement, processing, and comprehensive technical information services. After nearly a year of operation, it was officially launched in Yargenchu in 2008. Its membership has grown from an initial 24 to 371 members, helping farmers increase their income by 30 million yuan. In recent years, Zhalantun City has actively encouraged farmers to develop sunflower farming. In 2006, the Wadi Town Committee and Town Government broke away from traditional crop structures and guided farmers to plant sunflowers on a large scale. The seeds were provided by Kangdi Company, which also ensured contract-based purchases. That year, farmers enjoyed a bountiful harvest, with a net income of over 500 yuan per mu. On the eve of the 2007 Spring Festival, the Sunflower Cooperative was established under the initiative of Shen Shuqing, a young entrepreneur from Wadi Town in Hulunbuir. The cooperative’s 24 founding members were large-scale farmers and brokers—new-type farmers from the town. Managed in accordance with the *Law on Farmers’ Professional Cooperatives*, the cooperative organized local farmers to optimize the allocation of agricultural resources such as talent, land, capital, and technology, and invested 1.5 million yuan in its development. This year, leveraging the unpolluted black soil resources in Wadi Town, the city planted 35,000 mu of sunflowers under contract, driving the total sunflower cultivation area across the city to 600,000 mu with a successful harvest. Wadi Town alone generated 30 million yuan from sunflowers, while the city’s total sunflower income reached 400 million yuan. Currently, taking advantage of the 2008 Inner Mongolia (Zhalantun) Green Food Trade Fair and Green Industry Development Forum, the cooperative signed a 5-million-yuan support project with Taiwan’s Yongtaifeng Group and has applied for the establishment of a 100,000-mu standardized green sunflower raw material production base. This base is expected to produce 15,000 tons of green sunflower seeds annually. The product has been successfully registered under the “Haduhe” brand trademark, and the cooperative now covers all 14 towns in the city. The convening of the Third Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee has further motivated the members of the Yulin Sunflower Cooperative in Zhalantun to contribute to building a new socialist countryside. The cooperative will implement unified supply of production materials, unified training in production techniques, unified formulation of production procedures, and unified product sales, with all contract-based production covered by agricultural insurance. It aims to increase its membership to over 1,000 within three years, benefit 1,500 farming households, promote hybrid sunflower cultivation across all 600,000 mu in the city, and achieve an annual production of 75,000 tons of high-quality sunflower seeds, generating an annual output value of 112.5 million yuan.