Luodian Navel Oranges

Luodian Navel Oranges

Luodian navel oranges are a product certified with a Geographical Indication for Agricultural Products.

　　Luodian navel oranges are a specialty of Luodian County in Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. Luodian County is the most suitable citrus-growing base county in Guizhou, and Luodian navel oranges are well known across China.

　　The citrus industry in Luodian has a long planting history — during the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu era, the fruit was once offered as a tribute to the imperial court. In the early 1980s, our county began large-scale introduction and cultivation, mainly of the Newhall navel orange variety. This variety features attractive fruit shape, early maturation, high yield, excellent quality, and strong adaptability. In 1981, successful trial planting was carried out at the Shanglong Tea and Fruit Farm in our county. After expert evaluation, the performance of navel oranges in Luodian was found to be significantly better than in their place of origin. In 1986, the Ministry of Agriculture listed Luodian as a National Citrus Base County. Luodian became the largest citrus production base in Guizhou Province. Four varieties — mainly the Shanglong navel orange, as well as “Ponkan,” “Xincheng,” “Jincheng,” and “Xuegan” — won national-level agricultural product quality awards and gold cup prizes. In 1990, the oranges obtained “Green Food” certification and the right to use the “Green Food” label. In the same year, Luodian County was recognized as a “Famous Production Base for Quality Crops in the South Subtropical Zone” and a “Green Food Production Base.” In 1999, the county developed eight fruit production demonstration bases focusing on navel oranges, covering a total area of 27,000 mu. The citrus industry in Luodian officially entered a phase of industrialized and scaled development. On September 20, 2007, some orchards located below the 375-meter elevation line were submerged due to the Longtan Reservoir. After five years of recovery and reconstruction, by the end of 2012, the county’s planting area had reached 35,000 mu, with 7,000 mu in production, yielding 5,250 tons and generating an output value of 26.25 million yuan. The citrus industry in Luodian County has made positive contributions to agricultural restructuring, county economic development, and farmers’ poverty alleviation and prosperity.

　　Geographic Scope

　　Luodian navel oranges are produced in Luodian County. The geographical indication protection area for this agricultural product includes seven townships within Luodian County, specifically: Longping Town, Maojing Town, Moyang Town, Hongshuihe Town, Luokun Town, Fengting Town, and Fengting Township. The total protected area spans 230,583 hectares, with an annual yield of 30,000 tons. Luodian County borders Pingtang County of Qiannan Prefecture to the east, Tian'e County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the south, Ziyun County of Anshun and Wangmo County of Qianxinan Prefecture to the west, and Huiyang County of Qiannan Prefecture to the north. It stretches 63 kilometers from east to west and 72 kilometers from north to south, covering a total area of 3,013 square kilometers. Its geographical coordinates are 106°23′ to 107°03′ east longitude and 25°04′ to 25°45′ north latitude. The highest elevation is 1,400.6 meters, and the lowest is 242 meters. The most suitable areas for growing Luodian navel oranges are the seven townships of Longping Town, Fengting Town, Maojing Town, Moyang Town, Luokun Town, Hongshuihe Town, and Fengting Township.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　(1) External Sensory Characteristics: Luodian navel oranges are oval-shaped, with orange-red rinds, attractive appearance, and glossy finish. Each fruit weighs between 250g and 350g, with 8–10 kidney-shaped segments, seedless, tender flesh, easy to separate, sweet and fragrant, of premium variety, and rich in flavor. (2) Internal Quality Indicators: The soluble solids content (g/100g) of Luodian navel oranges ranges between 13–16, which is 1–5g higher than that of ordinary navel oranges; reducing sugar (g/100g) ranges between 9.0–12.0, about 1–2g higher than ordinary navel oranges; vitamin C (g/100g) is between 28–35, around 12–19g higher than ordinary navel oranges. (3) Safety Requirements: Production and management strictly comply with the national regulations for pollution-free agricultural products.