At present, there are three channels for the source of saltpeter for the senior officials.

1: Exhaust from all permanent populations, plus some finished products of rotten fish and shrimps after passing through the pile of nitrogen.

2: Saltpeter transported from India by Westerners.

3: Saltpeter collected from the Ming Dynasty.

The current situation is: except for the first channel that can stabilize the output of saltpeter, the latter two channels are very unreliable, and they are intermittent when they arrive, and can only be used as unplanned materials.

So what about the use of saltpeter?

The first place is naturally the army. Whether it is the black gunpowder used in the army or the diatomaceous earth nitroglycerin used in mines, a large amount of saltpeter is needed as raw materials.

The second is the kiln base itself. Industrial production requires a large amount of three acids and two alkalis, among which nitric acid is one of the most widely used chemicals.

After consumption by the above two departments, if... if there is still a little saltpeter left, then the agricultural department can get a little urea for farming.

So from the beginning, the grain company never expects a big agricultural killer such as urea. You should know that the area of ​​cultivated land in Tainan is 30,000 mu, and in the next few months, Mishuo’s plan is to double the total number of cultivated land, so whether that little urea is the same is the same, a drop in the bucket.

Unless one day the fleet landed 6 in the Bay of Bengal and brought mining machinery and small railways to the earth king who occupied the saltpeter mine there, the shortage of raw materials would be unsolvable, and Mishuo and the others were mentally prepared.

This is also the reason why Liang Letian and his team unanimously decided to expand the soybean planting area during their inspection today.

Legumin crops have rhizobia and have natural nitrogen fixing ability, which is equivalent to bringing its own nitrogen fertilizer, which to some extent avoids the problem of urea. Therefore, usually, the first crop of newly reclaimed wild land must be planted first to fertilizer the land.

This kind of land lack of fertilizer will not be seen in later generations - the land debris caused by excessive fertilizer by farmers can be seen everywhere.

Therefore, under the current agricultural situation in Tainan, golden soybeans have become the most compatible crop.

......

Soybeans are the highest-yield soybeans, native to China, and are called "Shu" in ancient texts. This crop is not only rich in plant protein, but also produces soybean oil. It is one of the most important social crops.

Soybeans are extremely widely used. First, the glycerin used as mine explosives can be refined with soybean oil. In addition, the paint made of mixed soybean oil and tung oil is exactly what can be produced in the current kiln area.

Soybeans are not only used for grain, but also made various soy products and soy sauce; their proteins are also extracted for various foods... Some synthetic steaks, crab meat sticks, etc. are mixed with soy protein, and no one can eat them anyway.

The bean cakes after being squeezed into dried soybean oil are high-quality protein feed, and domestic animals like to eat very much. In addition, bean cakes can also be used to fatten the fields, but this usage was replaced by chemical fertilizers in later generations. Because the officials were too poor, they were fed to livestock, and there was no extra fertilizer.

In later generations, soybeans originated from China have become one of the largest crops in the world. Those countries in the Americas rely on vast plains and have become soybean exporters... China imports 300 million tons of soybeans every year for feed and oil pressing. This has also become one of the country's weaknesses: as soon as the trade war begins, the prices of feed and meat will immediately begin to fluctuate.

There is nothing we can do about it: whether in industry or agriculture, the wealth that the plains can generate is far more than the mountains, but the cost is much lower than that of the mountains.

......

After confirming that all the newly reclaimed arable land was launched on the soybean project, Liang Letian and Mi Shuo returned to the electric tricycle and continued to drive eastward.

Not far ahead is the regular field crop area. On the endless plains, there are large fields of potato fields, sweet potato fields and corn fields. Farm workers like ants are working in the fields, and tractors as big as black spots can be seen moving slowly in the distance.

These three are staple food crops that were finally selected by grain companies after screening.

The Tainan Plain is warm all year round, with the average temperature between July and August being around 33c. Even in January and February, the average temperature is around 16c.

In addition, the local water source is abundant, so except for some tropical plants, most crops can be sown and grown on the Tainan Plain... It is nothing more than a question of yield. In fact, many northern crops grow better in the warm Tainan.

In the Tainan Plain in later generations, the main crops were rice and sugarcane. These two "high-end goods" have little market for the current high-end goods, or in other words, they can't afford to travel through the crowd in a short period of time to serve the two old men.

Rice and sugarcane are crops that require a lot of fertilizer and fine management in the field, and this is the shortcoming that is currently in the journey.

For cash crops like sugarcane, if there is not enough fertilizer, the yield will be very low... Although everyone knows that white sugar was a hard currency in the 17th century, it is hard for a good cook to cook without rice. Now it is better to consider filling your stomach first.

The same is true for rice. Rice fields that require water storage will not only attract terrible mosquito legions, but also require fertilizers, fine irrigation systems, and field management. In short, rice is delicious and difficult to plant.

Therefore, the planting area of ​​these two crops in Tainan is not large.

What really jumped on the stage was potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn.

The Age of Discovery was an era when the East and the West began to communicate closely, and many plant seeds were spread in this era. Among them, potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn were basically introduced to the Ming Dynasty during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

The three American crops that emerged from the army are the true "gospel of rulers", "the powerful killer of the dynasty", and "the crop that can resist climate abnormalities in the Little Ice Age".

Unfortunately, Brother Chongzhen was one step late, one step... and cried, and Chinese actors all collectively took calcium supplements.

As a time traveler who is familiar with history, he will naturally not miss these three types of killing weapons. Therefore, in the existing 150,000 mu of rotating fields, most of the three crops are planted.

In later generations, the improved yield per mu of potato can reach kilograms. Yes, this is not a satellite, and it is not uncommon for some places to produce 10,000 kilograms per mu.

Because the conditions on the Journeycomb cannot keep up with all aspects, the per mu of potatoes is usually around kilograms. Of course, in terms of the existing conditions, this yield is already satisfactory enough and no more can be sought.

The yield per mu of sweet potato is similar to that of potatoes. These two crops can not only be eaten immediately, but also provide food factories with raw starch to make various easy-to-storage foods.

As for corn... In later generations, Taiwan's corn industry embarked on another path: fruit corn.

Fruit corn is a kind of sweet corn. It has thin skin and lots of juice. It can be eaten raw directly. The thin skin will break when bitten, and the juice will overflow, just like fruit.

Of course, the travelers would not grow such a small bourgeoisie - ordinary corn suitable for growing in the fields is their vegetable.

In addition, in addition to Datian corn, on Kinmen Island, where the soil and soil are suitable, the grain company has also arranged to reclaim sorghum and corn fields - Kinmen sorghum wine in later generations is famous, and it does not hurt after drinking it. It is a very good Taiwanese specialty.

......

The above three crops are the confidence of traveling through the crowds of immigrants from the Ming Dynasty. These high-produced crops, coupled with the rice purchased from Hangzhou and South Asia, have resisted the expanded population like a balloon.

The reason why the Great Golden Dragon Empire, which is located in a corner, can expand rapidly is in this endless farmland.

Liang Letian and his team walked along the dirt road for a long time before they arrived at the hilly areas near the Central Mountains.

The scenery along the way is very monotonous: except for the newly opened soybean fields, the staple food fields that are growing vigorously, and the rest are all barren fields.

Due to insufficient fertilizer here, after planting arable land for one or two years, it will usually be abandoned for one or two years to restore the ground force. This method is also often used in large farms in later generations. Whether it is too much slab fields or ordinary fields with insufficient ground force, it can be restored by abandoning it.

...... From Chikan District Government to the east, it is almost 40 kilometers away. It is a hilly area. And it is not far from the Central Mountains.

There is a gravel layer below the soil layer in the mountainous area, so the cultivated land area in the hilly area is zero. In other words, no one will come to farm here until the millions of acres of land suitable for farming in the middle of the plain are built.

So since that's the case, what are Liang Letian and the others coming here to do?

There are water conservancy projects in hilly areas.

The Central Mountains are the source of all streams and rivers in Tainan. The lake renovation project in the hilly areas near the Central Mountains is a key project of the Ministry of Agriculture since this year.

The importance of water conservancy projects to agriculture cannot be exaggerated. The agricultural sector and infrastructure sector, including the previous large offices, have also invested a lot of resources in water conservancy.

Regarding water conservancy, this is not just a problem for agriculture. Time Travelers have suffered a great loss in water conservancy. Just a few months ago, Chen Youguang, the first time traveler who died abnormally, died in the summer storm.

After that incident, the water conservancy construction, which was originally stable and steady, suddenly increased the level. The time travelers who experienced the power of the primitive storm in the 17th century quickly mobilized a large number of manpower and equipment to start repairing water conservancy.

All the farmland trunks that had been repaired before were widened, and all the streams that had been cleared and rested before were widened and deepened. Mainstreams such as Xingang Creek were even transferred to small Haidilao to start digging sand and digging.

While a series of agricultural canals and stream water conservancy projects were being excavated, the Central Mountains reservoir project to completely solve Tainan's water conservancy problem was also put on the agenda. You should know that because there were too many resources needed to be used, the original large office planned to build the upstream reservoir in two years.
Chapter completed!