Zhu Sirong (right), an undergraduate at China Agricultural University, and her classmate check the growth of vegetables at a rural station in Xifangezhuang village in Beijing's Pinggu district on May 17. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

At the break of dawn one morning, postgraduate student Gao Jie was riding an electric tricycle with two classmates as they headed to an apricot farm.

After unloading tools such as shovels and sample bags, they chose three trees, dug up some soil nearby and put it into bags for analysis.

"Soil is like life. It also needs physical examination," said Gao, adding that previous analysis has shown that most of the apricot trees are over fertilized, harming their growth.

Gao and her classmates from the Beijing University of Agriculture are often dispatched to a rural station in Beizhai village, which is in the Pinggu district of suburban Beijing, to do research.

The station, known as "the tiny yard of science and technology", allows students like Gao to do field research on farm plots and gives farmers direct access to advanced agricultural techniques.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the village, with its unique microclimate and soil conditions, is ideal for growing red apricots.

However, due to long-term over-management, the area's apricot yields have been shrinking and the quality of the fruit has been declining despite numerous efforts to reverse both trends.

In 2019, experts from the university visited the village and found that residents lacked sufficient knowledge of fertilization and pest control, as well as experience of online sales.

"We then contacted a number of departments and set up the rural station. Postgraduate students take turns working there, and instructors regularly visit to help troubleshoot," said Jia Yuehui, a professor at the university.

Experts from the Beijing University of Agriculture check the health of apricot trees in Beizhai village in Pinggu on May 16. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Jia said the countryside is a special kind of classroom that gives the students extra experience.

"Some students were too shy to speak in public. Now that they talk to villagers every day, their ability and willingness to communicate have improved," she said, adding that others have also learned new skills, such as helping villagers claim compensation for hail damage or making QR codes for online sales.

The students, many of whom grew up in cities, also learn from farmers.

Kong Fanli, an experienced apricot farmer, told the students that weeds under the trees help absorb some of the humidity in summer and so should not be removed.

"Because of the weeds, the apricots experience skin peeling as a result of heat waves," Kong said.

A team of instructors shows up when necessary to help students solve problems.

Farmer Yu Jihong turned to the experts when a brown, gelatinous substance began oozing from the bottom of some of his trunks, which made it seem as if the trunks were bleeding.

Liu Jie, an associate professor sent to the village, said the glue-like substance was cell sap from inside the trees. He said the leakage was being caused by a bacterial infection, a result of over fertilization that was making the trees weaker.

Liu advised Yu to cut back on fertilizer and apply some lime sulfur after clearing the sap from the trunk's surface.

"Since hearing the expert's advice, my anxiety has gone," Yu said.

Liu Fudong, village Party chief, said that apricot growing is gradually becoming more scientific thanks to the station. With the help of the students, the village has set up an online shop, through which half of its apricots were sold last year.

There are now more than 1,000 such stations across China, providing a new model for scientific research, social services, training and agricultural development.