Seedless early-maturing citrus

Seedless early-maturing citrus

　　The Danjiangkou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government once decided that the city would spend 5-6 years building 120,000 mu of new citrus bases, striving to expand the citrus planting area to over 300,000 mu with a total output of 200 million kilograms, making Danjiangkou a major citrus-producing city in Hubei Province and even across the country

The construction of the Danjiangkou Reservoir has created a large water body effect in the reservoir area, providing special microclimatic conditions for citrus production. After 40 years of development, Danjiangkou’s citrus industry has become an important citrus production base at China’s northernmost edge. The current planting area has exceeded 180,000 mu, with output surpassing 100 million kilograms. The citrus produced here features high sugar-acid ratio, good coloration, rich flavor, superior quality, and strong storability and transportability. It has been rated as a high-quality product at both the provincial and national levels multiple times. The early-maturing mandarin has been awarded the title of “One of Hubei’s Top Ten Fruits,” and the navel orange has been named a “China Famous Fruit.” The “Wudang” brand citrus has relatively stable sales markets in over 20 provinces and cities including Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Inner Mongolia, and was exported to Russia in 2002 and 2003. “To get rich, grow citrus trees” has become a common understanding among farmers in the reservoir area, and the citrus industry has become the leading sector for local farmers to shake off poverty and achieve prosperity.

The upcoming middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project will further enlarge the reservoir area, creating even greater potential and advantages for citrus development. Growing citrus not only helps green the reservoir area and conserve soil and water but also brings considerable economic benefits to local residents. In recent years, leveraging its status as the site of the Danjiangkou Dam, Danjiangkou City has actively promoted its branding as the “Water Capital of China” and the “Source of the South-to-North Water Diversion,” strengthening ties with provinces and cities along the northern water diversion route. Its visibility has risen steadily, earning a reputation both domestically and internationally, thus providing broad prospects for the development of its citrus industry. Seizing this rare opportunity, Danjiangkou City is committed to expanding and strengthening its citrus industry.

It is reported that the city will focus on 14 towns and townships along the reservoir area, including Liangshuihe, Xijiadian, Wudangshan, and Liuliping, to drive citrus development in producing areas such as Danzhao Road and Dingjiaying, ensuring the scale reaches 300,000 mu by 2010. Priority will be given to establishing a high-quality citrus seedling breeding system, including a 300-mu virus-free high-quality seedling breeding base to supply the citrus bases with quality seedlings. High-standard citrus demonstration gardens covering 1,000 mu will be built in areas such as Junxian Town and Xijiadian, while 120,000 mu of new citrus bases will be developed, with 20,000 mu added each year. The municipal government will continue to allocate 200,000 yuan annually from the fiscal budget to upgrade existing citrus varieties, renovating 50,000 mu of low-yield orchards to achieve a high-quality fruit rate of over 60%, while striving to improve yield, quality, and economic returns. At the same time, efforts will be made to promote post-harvest commercial processing of citrus, establishing 40 commercial processing production lines to achieve a post-harvest processing rate of over 50%. A citrus pest early warning and control system will also be implemented to ensure the safe development of the citrus industry. Citrus trading markets will be built in urban areas, Liuliping, Xijiadian, and Wudangshan, establishing an integrated production, supply, and sales chain. (Danjiangkou)