Where are the latest main lemon-producing areas distributed?
Lemon is also known as ningguo, foreign lemon, yimuguo, yimuzi, etc. It is a small tree of the genus Citrus in the family Rutaceae, rich in citric acid, and is therefore known as a “citric acid warehouse”. The fruit is juicy with crisp flesh and a rich fragrance. Because it tastes extremely sour, it can only be used as a premium seasoning to make beverages, dishes, cosmetics and medicines. Now let us take a look at where lemons are produced!
Where are lemons produced?
Lemon originated in India, it is said in southwestern China and northern Myanmar. It was cultivated relatively late in China, and the cultivated quantity is not large. It is distributed in the provinces (autonomous regions) south of the Yangtze River. Taiwan, China is a major lemon-producing area in China, and Sichuan has the most cultivation. Anyue County, Ziyang City, Sichuan Province is the hometown of Chinese lemons and the only county in the country for commercial lemon production bases. Other producing areas are mainly in Fujian, Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and other places. Because the economic benefits of cultivating lemons are relatively high, they have now been introduced to some provinces and cities south of the Yellow River.
The production environment of lemons
Lemon likes warmth, tolerates shade, is not cold-resistant, and is also afraid of heat. It is suitable for cultivation in subtropical areas with warm winters and cool summers. The suitable annual average temperature is 17-19°C, the annual effective accumulated temperature (≥10°C) is above 5500°C, the average temperature in January is 6-8°C, the extreme minimum temperature is above -3°C, the annual rainfall is above 1000 mm, and the annual sunshine hours are above 1000 hours. It is suitable for planting on warm gentle slopes with deep soil layers and good drainage. The most suitable soil pH is between 5.5 and 7.0. Lemon plants grow relatively fast, with plants reaching 3-6 m in height. They require a large amount of fertilizer and produce multiple flushes, flowers and fruits in a year. Yield often varies greatly depending on how well they are managed.
The plant culture of lemons
In the 15th century, European adventurers, in pursuit of spices and gold, sailed across the oceans one after another to compete for colonies. During the voyage, sailors were often attacked by a plague-like scurvy, losing tens of thousands of lives.
In 1593, more than 10000 sailors died of scurvy in England, while four-fifths of the sailors from Spain, Portugal and other countries died of scurvy. Around the time of these events, another kind of miracle happened. Some French explorers spent the winter in Canada. Among them, 110 people contracted scurvy. The local Indians told them to drink water soaked with pine leaves. In despair, the sick drank this water and were unexpectedly saved.
From 1772 to 1775, when British Captain Cook led his ships on their second voyage, during an expedition across the Pacific Ocean lasting 3 years, only 1 of 118 crew members died. It turned out that Captain Cook ordered the crew to eat pickles regularly, which spared the crew from the disaster of scurvy.
Research on the treatment of scurvy began between 1745 and 1755. British doctor Lind tried fresh vegetables, fruits and medicines, among other things, to conduct medical experiments on sailors suffering from scurvy. Once, while treating sailors with scurvy on the British ship “Chuanhai Wu”, he selected some sailors and divided them into 6 groups, using different methods of treatment, such as different foods, medicines and physiotherapy methods. The result was unexpected: the sick who took medicine showed no improvement at all. On the contrary, the group who ate lemons, as if they had taken a “miracle pill”, were immediately freed from the disease and quickly recovered their health.
Around 1795, the British navy adopted this method and stipulated that during their time at sea, sailors had to drink a fixed amount of lemon leaf water each day. Two years later, scurvy had disappeared from the British navy. As a result, the British often used the interesting elegant nickname “lemon men” to refer to their sailors and seamen.