Shiyan Loquat

Shiyan Loquat

Shiyan loquat is a geographical indication certification trademark.

Shiyan loquat is a product of geographical indication for agricultural products.

　　Shiyan loquat is a famous specialty of Shiyan County in Ya’an City, Sichuan Province. The fruit is large, richly sweet, with soft and juicy flesh and a high edible rate. It is known for early production, late ripening (harvested and marketed from April to July), and excellent storage and transport qualities, making it one of the finest loquats in China.

　　Shiyan County is located in the southwest of Sichuan Province, at the southernmost tip of Ya’an City. It borders Hanyuan County and Ganluo County to the east, Yuexi County and Mianning County to the south, Jiulong County, Kangding County to the west, and Luding County to the north. It is 365 kilometers from the provincial capital Chengdu and 210 kilometers from downtown Ya’an. Shiyan loquat is large, richly sweet, with soft and juicy flesh and a high edible rate. It is known for early production, late ripening (harvested and marketed from April to July), and excellent storage and transport qualities, making it one of the finest loquats in China.

　　In towns and townships such as Xinmian Town, Xieluo Township, Anshun Township, and Yingzheng Township in Shiyan County, Sichuan Province, there are still 16,349 rare wild ancient loquat trees. In the early 1960s, Professor Zhang Huizhi from what was then Central China Agricultural College, along with others, reviewed nearly a thousand specimens from seven research institutes (and universities). They conducted extensive and systematic resource surveys in areas with abundant wild loquat distribution—mainly the Yangtze River basin and its tributaries (especially the Dadu River basin), the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, as well as Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan Island—and carried out multiple follow-up investigations in key regions such as Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou. They proposed the view that “areas such as Shiyan, Hanyuan, and Ebian south of the Daxiangling Mountains may be the origin center of loquats.” In conjunction with in-depth and systematic research on the germplasm resources of the loquat genus by the research team led by Professor Lin Shunquan from South China Agricultural University, a paper was co-authored in 1999 with professionals from the United States and Japan, which clarified doubts about the origin of the loquat. This ultimately established that “loquats originated in China,” and largely identified the southeastern area of Gongga Mountain along the Dadu River (around Shiyan and Hanyuan) as the origin center of common loquats.

　　Shiyan Loquat

　　Geographic Scope

　　The registered protected area for the agricultural product geographical indication of Shiyan loquat covers 16 townships and 85 villages within Shiyan County, Ya’an City, Sichuan Province, including Huilong Township, Fengle Township, Yingzheng Township, Xianfeng Township, Xinmin Township, Meiluo Township, Xinmian Town, Wajiao Township, Zaiyang Township, Yonghe Township, Xieluo Township, Caluo Township, Anshun Township, Tianwan Township, Caoke Township, and Liziping Township. The geographical coordinates are between longitude 101°56′–102°34′ and latitude 28°51′–29°31′. The main loquat-producing area extends from Lashu Village in Fengle Township in the east to Menghuo Village in Liziping Township in the south, to Ezhu Village in Xieluo Township in the west, and to Heping Village in Caoke Township in the north, with an elevation above 851 meters. The protected area spans 3,500 hectares, with an annual yield of 80,000 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　(1) External Sensory Characteristics: Shiyan loquats mature late, are large in size, and are round or oval-shaped. The peel is orange-yellow, with ample bloom, little russeting, and a thin skin that is very easy to peel. The flesh is thick, orange-red, juicy, tender, richly sweet, and has a high edible rate. (2) Internal Quality Indicators: The soluble solids content of Shiyan loquat is ≥10%, with suitable sugar-acid ratio and rich in vitamins. (3) Safety Requirements: Compliant with national standard GB/T13867-1992, local standards DB45/T272-2005 (Loquat Cultivation Technical Regulations), and DB51/T369-2003 (Pollution-Free Agricultural Product Production Technical Regulations – Loquat).