Despite the significant reduction in yield for most lychee varieties due to extreme weather this year, the new lychee variety "lanxiangyu", cultivated at the Tongkeng Shareholding Cooperatives in Shezu Village, Zhengguo Town, Zengcheng District, Guangzhou, has recently witnessed a bountiful harvest.
As July arrives and lychee season is winding down in most parts of Zengcheng, the lychees in Shezu Village, located in the northeastern part of Zengcheng at the northwestern foot of Luofu Mountain, are just entering their peak ripening period. Amidst the lush greenery of the surrounding mountains, the trees are laden with small, plump, and brightly colored lychees. Villagers are busy harvesting the fruit while simultaneously live-streaming the sale of their produce, creating a lively and bustling scene.
"Despite the heavy rainfall this year, the flowering and fruiting rates for 'lanxiangyu' lychees exceeded 70%, with an average yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu, and the quality is excellent", said Lie Decai from the Tongkeng Shareholding Cooperative. Before hitting the market, many customers from Dongguan and Shenzhen had already placed orders, and once available, the lychees were in high demand.
"Lanxiangyu" lychees were carefully cultivated by Professor Li Jianguo from South China Agricultural University and Liao Meijing, Director of the Agricultural Technology Promotion Center in Zengcheng District. This variety, derived from the unique lychee variety found in Shezu Village and Lanxi Village, boasts bright red skin, a high percentage of flesh to seed, and a tender, juicy texture with a delicate orchid fragrance.
The harvesting period for "lanxiangyu" lychees is relatively long, typically lasting from July 1st to mid-to-late July. According to Yangcheng Evening News, the cooperative's lychee base began cultivating "lanxiangyu" lychees in January 2022 using grafting techniques, expanding from an initial 50 mu to the current 80 mu.
The abundant harvest of "lanxiangyu" lychees has attracted not only buyers and tourists but also excited many agricultural science experts. Wang Siwei from the Plant Protection Research Institute of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GDAAS) praised "lanxiangyu" lychees as an excellent new variety, highlighting its bright color, sweet and juicy taste, and high flesh-to-seed ratio. In recent years, both South China Agricultural University and the GDAAS have developed many such new varieties. These new lychee varieties represent a future trend in the national lychee energy system. Given its outstanding characteristics and advantages and this year's extreme weather conditions, the quality of "lanxiangyu" lychees is particularly noteworthy. "In the future, the GDAAS will strive to enhance the quality and branding of 'lanxiangyu' lychees," Wang added.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News
