Hami Honey Peach

Hami Honey Peach

　　【Hami Honey Peach】 The Hami Honey Peach boasts advantages such as late ripening, excellent quality, large size, good storability, and high yield, making it a famous fruit product from Laoshan. In 1980, it received the Qingdao Science and Technology Achievement Award. Subsequently, over two million trees were introduced and cultivated in cities including Chongqing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Dalian, and various counties across Shandong Province. In 1985, following evaluations conducted by the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture and the Qingdao Municipal Science and Technology Commission, it was listed as a renowned fruit product of the province.

　　The “Hami Honey Peach” is one of three premium late-ripening peach varieties in Shandong. It won the Third Prize for Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievements in Qingdao in 1980. The tree flowers in early April each year, the fruit begins to swell in mid-August, and large quantities hit the market in mid- to late September, with the supply period ending in mid- to early October, spanning a growth period of over five and a half months. Its ripening time falls between that of the Feicheng Yangtao and the Qingzhou Honey Peach. The fruit averages around 280 grams, is nearly round, and slightly flattened. The base color of the skin is pale yellow, with about 40% coloration when fully ripe. The flesh is milky white, tender, and of high quality, containing 19% soluble solids. It has a clingstone pit, and the area near the pit is red. This peach is highly adaptable, cold-resistant, tolerant to poor soil and drought, relatively disease-resistant, but not flood-tolerant.

　　Xishigou Community is known as the “Home of the Hami Honey Peach.” The “Hami Honey Peach” grown here has won awards at domestic and international agricultural exhibitions for several consecutive years and is the most concentrated cultivation area for this variety in the suburbs of Qingdao. In 2006, the community applied to register its trademark. Every year in mid-September, large trucks used for transporting peaches can be seen parked along the streets of Xishigou Community, with local fruit farmers busy trading with merchants. The Hami Honey Peach’s growth period of over five months results in a very sweet taste and excellent texture. The period from early to mid-September is crucial for determining the taste of the Hami Honey Peach, as the large diurnal temperature variation during this time allows the autumn peaches to accumulate sugar. From mid- to late September, over the course of about ten days, the Hami Honey Peach tastes the best—crisp flesh and sweet flavor. By the end of the month, the flesh begins to soften, and the taste declines somewhat. Additionally, the Hami Honey Peach has another advantage: it can be stored for a long time. After picking, it can remain fresh at room temperature for about a week, whereas regular peaches only last two or three days.

　　The harvesting period for the Hami Honey Peach lasts about a month. However, in recent years, due to continuous cultivation leading to a decline in soil quality, the aging of most peach trees (with older trees yielding less and new trees not yet mature), a supply gap has emerged. At the same time, unstable factors such as climate have reduced farmers’ enthusiasm for growing peach trees, leading to a decrease in cultivation area. To address these issues, the community has established a Hami Honey Peach Agricultural Cooperative. Experts in agriculture are invited multiple times each year to teach fruit farmers cultivation techniques, with the hope of improving management to tackle the supply gap.