Dashui Plum

Dashui Plum

　　Produced in Dali Village, Tong’an Town, this is a unique fruit variety native to the area. Its characteristics include: exceptionally large size (8–10 fruits weigh about 1 kilogram), thick flesh with small pits, tender and crisp texture, juicy and sweet taste, low organic acid content, and versatility in processing into plum snacks and canned goods. It is considered an outstanding fruit variety.

　　Dashui Plum was first introduced and planted in Dali Village by Li Tonglian and Li Xiuzhi in the 1920s. Before liberation, due to low consumer spending power and relatively low market prices for plums, the production of Dashui Plum developed slowly. By the early years after liberation, only 35 farming households in the village were cultivating the fruit, covering an area of just over 20 mu with a total of more than 500 trees.

　　In the early 1960s, the cultivation of Dashui Plum accelerated, with the village’s planting area increasing to over 80 mu between 1961 and 1964. In the late 1960s, households were allowed to keep only a few trees, while the rest were taken over by collectives, leading many villagers to cut down trees and destroy the fruit. Coupled with extensive management practices, this resulted in a significant reduction in plum orchard area. During the 1970s “Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture” campaign, even more fruit trees were cut down to convert land for farming. By the 1980s, farmers had felled over 10 mu of plum trees to build houses. To date, only about 20 mu of plum trees remain in the village, totaling around 650 trees.

　　Dashui Plum is cultivated using a simple method of root division and direct transplanting. Trees begin to bear fruit 1–3 years after planting, and reach peak production after 10 years, yielding 150–200 kilograms per tree during the peak period.