Xinhua News Agency, Haikou, June 16 Title: The "Sweet Taste" in a "Rich Fruit"
Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhou Huimin and Guo Cheng
Despite being separated by more than 17,000 kilometers, bird's nest fruits native to Ecuador and other countries in South America have now taken root on Hainan Island, bearing fruitful fruits that give villagers a "sweet taste".
Recently, at the bird's nest fruit base in Le'an Village, Sanjia Town, Dongfang City, Hainan Province, bird's nest fruits with thorns on the surface and golden color hung on the branches, and the villagers were busy picking them.
This is a bird's nest fruit base taken in Le'an Village, Sanjia Town, Dongfang City, Hainan Province (drone photo taken on June 9). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Cheng
Bird's nest fruit is similar to dragon fruit, but it is sweeter than dragon fruit and has higher nutritional value. Chen Chengjin, head of the base, said that Hainan has a tropical climate, long sunshine time, and the climatic conditions of the origin of bird's nest fruits are similar, which is very suitable for planting bird's nest fruits.
From January this year, nearly 100 acres of bird's nest fruits in the base began to ripen and market, and the picking period will continue until September.
Chen Chengjin said that bird's nest fruit is a characteristic new variety, the growth cycle is relatively long, the requirements for planting management technology are also high, from colonization to fruit picking takes 14 months. In 2019, the base began to introduce planting, and in 2020, the yield per mu was only 1500 catties. A year later, with the planting technology and management becoming more mature, the yield reached 3,000 catties per mu.
This is a bird's nest fruit photographed on June 12. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Cheng
"There are many fruits on the market in the summer, and the purchase price of good bird's nest fruits is 40 yuan to 50 yuan per kilogram." Chen Chengjin said that the price of bird's nest fruits in winter is higher, and the purchase price can reach 50 to 60 yuan a catty.
Chen Chengjin introduced that the total output of the base this year is expected to be 250,000 to 300,000 jin, and the total output value is expected to reach more than 10 million yuan. Bird's nest fruit is mainly sold to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and other places, and is currently in short supply.
Due to the good economic benefits, the small bird's nest fruit has become the "rich fruit" of the local villagers. More than 20 nearby villagers contracted the base in pieces, the base provided technical support, and the villagers were responsible for planting management.
In the base, villager Zhao Feng took a brush and carefully brushed off all the thorns on the bird's nest fruit, and then carefully cut the fruit with scissors and put it into the basket.
On June 9, Zhao Feng picked bird's nest fruits at the base. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Guo Cheng
Zhao Feng, 46, is a villager in Sour Plum Village, Sanjia Town. Since April last year, he has contracted 27 acres of land at the bird's nest fruit base and planted and managed with his wife.
Zhao Feng, who used to work at the dragon fruit base, said that the technical difficulty of planting bird's nest fruit is more difficult, the process is more, including cutting buds, pollination, picking flower tails, bending branches, etc., and the picking method is more complicated, but he has learned the technology and made money. Now the couple's monthly income is a total of more than 10,000 yuan, and their lives are getting better and better.
Hainan Huaye Hot Crop Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd., which belongs to the base, is optimistic about the market prospects of bird's nest fruits, so it has expanded year by year, and the current bird's nest fruit planting area has expanded to 600 mu, involving Haikou, Wenchang and Lingshui and other places.
Mi Wei, executive deputy general manager of Hainan Huaye Hot Crop Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd., told reporters that the company's bird's nest fruit base adopts the model of "base + farmer", which helps to drive local villagers to get rich and help rural revitalization. At present, the company is still looking for places suitable for the growth of bird's nest fruits in Hainan to further improve the yield and quality of bird's nest fruits.
As night fell, tens of thousands of fill lights in the bird's nest fruit base gradually lit up, and the lights in the countryside were bright.