Guan Gong Plum

Guan Gong Plum

　　Guan Gong Plum is a hybrid offspring of the local wheat-yellow plum, developed over 15 years by local fruit tree scientists. It retains the high and stable yield characteristics of the wheat-yellow plum, while featuring large fruit size, early ripening, and superior quality. As a new extra-early, large-fruited plum variety, it fills a gap in China’s plum cultivars for large size and early maturity. Its features are as follows:

　　　　First, early fruiting. Grafted Guan Gong Plum seedlings will flower in the same year of planting, and trial fruiting can occur in the year of planting. Semi-mature seedlings achieve a 100% fruiting rate in the second year, demonstrating excellent early-yielding performance.

　　　　Second, early ripening. The plum flowers locally in March and ripens by mid-May. The variety produces large fruits, with an average single fruit weight of around 100 grams and a maximum of up to 130 grams. The taste is well-balanced between sweet and sour, with outstanding flavor.

　　　　Third, early high yield. Trial fruiting occurs in the year of planting, with per-tree yield reaching around 3 kilograms in the second year. Yield is established by the third year, with per-tree production potentially exceeding 300 jin (150 kg), and per-mu (0.067 hectares) yields reaching over 5,000 jin (2,500 kg).

　　　　Since the plums hit the market during the off-season for fresh fruit, market prices are high and demand is strong, with an average wholesale price of about 3 yuan per kilogram, and a peak price of up to 5 yuan. The economic benefits are considerable, making it a highly promising extra-early variety.

　　It has strong adaptability and tolerance to poor soils, and can be cultivated in all areas except waterlogged sites. It has strong self-pollination ability and can achieve consecutive high yields without the need for pollinator trees. Its cultivation techniques are the same as those for other varieties.