Yishui Apples

Yishui Apples

Yishui apples are a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Yishui apples have a long cultivation history. In November 2010, when fruit technicians from Cujiayu Town, Yishui County, went to villages to provide guidance on summer orchard management, they discovered over 4,000 ancient Chinese apple varieties in Wukou Village. Later, experts found 12 ancient Chinese apple varieties including Banzi Purple, Linqin, Crabapple, Dahua Hong, Xiaohua Hong, and Pingpo. According to local fruit farmers, although these varieties are over a hundred years old, they still bear fruit, and most are mid-to-early ripening types. Currently, the main apple varieties cultivated in Yishui County include Honggala, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Red Star, American No. 8, and Fuji. Shisili Town in Yishui County, Shandong Province, is a well-known apple-growing base, famous for producing Gala and Fuji varieties. The apples are officially available from August to September each year and are sold across the country, serving as the preferred supply for major supermarkets and fresh fruit wholesale markets.

　　Yishui apples receive expert guidance

　　Since 2007, the Yishui County Party Committee and County Government have identified the scaled development of the fruit industry as one of the key performance assessment tasks for the county. Promoting the "weeping willow-style" pruning technique for apples has been emphasized as an important measure to increase fruit yield and boost farmers' income. The plan was to promote this technique on 5,000 acres within three years starting from 2008. Through activities such as field visits and expert lectures, the new technique was actively promoted. The inventor of the "weeping willow-style" pruning technique, Wang Chenzhen from Yiyuan County, was invited eight times to conduct training sessions in Yishui County, with classes held directly in the fields. A total of 25 specialized training sessions were organized across the county, with over 2,000 participants. At the same time, each township actively promoted the new technique based on its own characteristics. To date, the county has developed 180 demonstration households and established 2,000 acres of demonstration orchards, with pruning work fully underway. The "weeping willow-style" pruning mainly involves transforming traditional tree shapes such as the central leader or spindle form. Over the years, transitional branches are gradually removed to increase the spacing between tree layers, while side branches are progressively pruned away to encourage and retain long branches. After delayed pruning, techniques such as bending, pulling, and positioning are used to eventually shape the tree into a "weeping willow-style" form. This pruning method takes full advantage of the characteristics of Fuji apples, where long branches, when delayed-pruned, easily form flower buds and have strong continuous fruiting ability on fruiting spurs, reducing branch waste and increasing fruiting sites to boost yield. At the same time, it utilizes gravity to create a tall, well-shaped fruit. By changing the direction of branch growth, ventilation and light penetration are improved, significantly increasing the proportion of fully red fruits.

　　Latest Varieties

　　Zhongqiu Fuji (tentative name) is an excellent variant discovered by Yishui County in a Fuji orchard. This variety matures in early September, with an average fruit weight of 254 grams and a maximum of 615 grams. The fruit is flat-round, with a fruit shape index of 0.87. The skin is uniformly deep red and brightly colored, while the flesh is cream-yellow, fine-textured, juicy, crisp, and sweet. When fully ripe, it emits a fragrant aroma and contains 14% soluble solids. This is a dwarf variety with strong fruiting ability, beginning to bear fruit in the second year after planting and yielding about 1,000 kg per mu in the third year. The leaves have abundant fuzz, making them resistant to pests and diseases, especially aphids and red spiders, which rarely occur—a unique advantage of this variety. As the variety matures during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, when most apples on the market are ordinary varieties of lower grade, this variety not only possesses the internal quality of Fuji but also features bright color and an attractive appearance, making it a premium gift fruit for these two holidays.

　　Geographic Range

　　Yishui apples are produced in Gaizhuang Town, Xiawei Town, Yishui Town, Yuandongtou Township, Cujiayu Town, Quanzhuang Township, Zhuge Town, Shagou Town, and Mazhan Town within Yishui County, under the jurisdiction of Linyi City, Shandong Province, covering a total area of approximately 13,533 hectares. Yishui County is located at the southern foot of Mount Yi in southeastern Shandong Province, in the northern part of the Linyi region. Its geographical coordinates are 118°13′00″ to 119°03′00″ east longitude and 35°36′00″ to 36°13′00″ north latitude. The highest point is Taibaoding Mountain on the southern side of Mount Yi in the northern part of the county, with an elevation of 916.1 meters. The lowest point is in the northeast of the county, east of Zhushuang Village, at an elevation of 101.1 meters. The coldest month is January, with an average temperature of -3°C, while July is the hottest, averaging 25.5°C. The extreme maximum temperature is 39.2°C, and the extreme minimum is -24.9°C. The annual average temperature is 12.3°C, with an average annual rainfall of 782.1 mm, a frost-free period of 205.2 days, and an annual effective accumulated temperature of 5,183.7°C. The average diurnal temperature range is 9.8°C in August and September, with a maximum of 14.2°C, a minimum of 3.5°C, and in October, the average is 10.5°C, with a maximum of 15.6°C and a minimum of 4°C. The altitude ranges between 101.1 and 916.1 meters.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Sensory Characteristics: The product exhibits the natural traits of pollution-free apples, with normal quality and no deterioration. The fruits are uniform in size, with an average weight of 198 grams and a maximum of 460 grams. They feature bright colors, dense flesh, high sugar content, juicy texture, good flavor, strong aroma, and good storage and transportability. 2. Internal Quality Indicators: Soluble solids ≥11%; hardness (N/cm²) ≥5.5; total acid ≤0.4%; total sugar ≤13%. 3. Safety Requirements: Yishui apples comply with the "Pollution-Free Food Apple" (NY5012-2002) standard.