Suburban fruit picking boosts farmers’ income

By Chen Si.

Yichang’s suburban fruit-picking industry is creating new sources of income for local farmers.

The output of specialty small fruits in Yichang reached approximately 100,000 tons in the first half of the year, according to the Yichang Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Fruit picking, on-site direct sales, and suburban leisure tourism have become key drivers of industry growth.

Ripe plums hang from branches.

A wide range of local specialty fruits are now ripening, including plums, grapes and cherry tomatoes.

Orchards operated by the Fanhua Bieye Planting Cooperative have entered harvest season in Fenxiang Town, Yiling District, where farmers are sorting and packing ripe plums.

Spanning nearly 40 mu (2.67 hectares) across three plots, the cooperative grows more than 60 plum varieties, including Youtouqing Plum, Fenghuang Plum, and Mai Plum.

Its plum sales season runs from late May through mid-to-late August. The fruit is sold through online communities, local supermarkets, and bulk buyers.

“We introduce new varieties every year for trial planting and phase out underperforming ones afterward. This year we introduced Cherry Plum, Xvri Xingkong Plum, and Qiangcui Large Plum,” said Huang Jianhua, head of the cooperative.

“New varieties usually undergo two to three years of trials. We decide whether to expand cultivation only after confirming they are well suited to Yichang’s climate,” said Huang.

The cooperative expects a total plum yield of more than 15 tons this year, of which 2 to 2.5 tons have already been sold.

Packing boxes filled with green, red, and yellow plums.

Greenhouse grapes at Yuquan Ecological Park in Dangyang are in peak picking season. Covering 130 mu of vineyards, early-ripening varieties, including Xiahei and Lanmeixiang, are available for picking until late August.

Mid-to-late-season grapes such as Kyoho and Shine Muscat will hit the market later, extending the picking season all the way through October.

Apart from grapes, the newly introduced honey cherry tomatoes have proven extremely popular this year.

“They are roughly the size of cherries and have a distinctive flavor,” noted Chen Tianzhu, manager of Yuquan Ecological Park. The new tomato variety diversifies the park’s product lineup and creates an additional source of income.

Frequent visitor Liu Shuang said: “I come here every year as soon as the grapes ripen. They are pollution-free, sweet, and delicious.”

The park sees steady visitor traffic throughout the summer vacation. It welcomes over 300 fruit-picking visitors on an average day, and up to 400 to 600 on cooler days. Daily revenue can reach 15,000 yuan (US$2,214) during peak periods.

Zhou Chongyu, Xiang Hanlin, Wang Jiao also contributed to this story