Summer fruit bounty: Hengsha Island's berry and loquat harvest in full swing
2025-06-03 14:28
When the warm breeze of early summer brushes the treetops, the colorful fruit season arrives. At present, mulberries, blueberries, and loquats on Chongming's Hengsha Island are ready for harvest. The orchards are bustling with activity and filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
Walking into the modern orchard in the northern part of Hengsha Island, one can see large areas of mulberry trees laden with dark purple, shiny fruits that easily fall into the palm when touched. The person in charge of the orchard said that, in order to fill the fruit gap in Hengsha Township and enrich the fruit-picking routes on the island, in 2024, the Hengsha Agriculture and Forestry Company organized an inspection team to visit Zhejiang to learn about mulberry planting techniques, introduced high-quality varieties, and simultaneously developed a mulberry orchard. This year is the first year for the mulberry trees to bear fruit, and currently, only a few varieties are available in limited quantities. At present, the orchard has 14 mu of mulberries, mainly including three varieties: seedless Da10, long-fruit mulberry, and golden mulberry. Among them, the single fruit of seedless Da10 can reach 3-4 grams, with a yield of 2,000 kilograms per mu. Mulberries have a short maturation cycle and are not easy to preserve, so the best flavor period is fleeting. To address this, Hengsha Township plans to explore the deep processing of mulberries on the basis of developing picking and sales, extend the industrial chain, and increase the added value of products.
On the other side, the 3.5 mu of blueberries in Fengle Village, Hengsha Island, have also entered their peak fruiting period, with 1,200 pots of blueberries having lush branches and abundant fruits. It is reported that the expected yield of blueberries in Fengle Village this year can reach 1,250 kilograms.
In addition, the loquats in the Nanjing Loquat Orchard on Hengsha Island are also about to ripen. The golden and plump fruits hang on the branches, emitting a strong fruity fragrance. The loquats planted in the orchard are mainly of the Torch and Baisha varieties, which are expected to mature and hit the market next week.
In recent years, Hengsha Township has focused on rural revitalization and vigorously developed fruit planting, presenting a prosperous scene in the fruit industry. Next, Hengsha Township will continue to scale up and refine fruit planting, promote the improvement and efficiency of the fruit industry, help farmers increase their income, and inject vitality into rural revitalization.