Loquat Orchard Introduces Agricultural Technology: Large-Scale Grower Tastes the Sweetness of a Bumper Harvest

"This year's loquat yield is much higher than in previous years, and compared with last year, it's like heaven and earth." These past two days, Li Yingfen and her assistant Xu Shifu have been immersed in the joy of a loquat bumper harvest. Having grown loquats for about ten years, this is the first time they have felt so deeply the magic of agricultural technology turning stone into gold.

The Lijing Loquat Orchard that Li Yingfen runs is located in Gaopo Village, Longshui Town, Dazu District, Chongqing, covering 200 mu along the Dayou Road, with 6,000 loquat trees. It is the first large-scale loquat orchard in the area and is quite well known. However, because the technology had not been upgraded for years and management was extensive and rough, although the varieties and taste were good, the yield each season was limited, and it did not bring much economic benefit each year.

Xu Shifu puts protective bags on young loquat fruits.

"In those years, the loquat orchard just plodded along, and we could not earn much money." Assuming this was simply how the market was, Li Yingfen did not put much energy into the loquat orchard for a long time. She handed the orchard over to Xu Shifu to manage entirely. Xu Shifu followed past experience and maintained the orchard as it was.

However, a rare snow disaster in Dazu District last year gave Li Yingfen a rude awakening. Affected by low temperatures, the orchard suffered catastrophic damage, with the lowest yield in its history, and the loquat quality was also poor. Li Yingfen lost a lot of money for the first time. On the contrary, she heard that several loquat orchards in Gaosheng Town and other places in Dazu District had bumper harvests and even sold at good prices. Li Yingfen was stunned.

"I went to take a look. The counterparts who escaped the snow disaster used greenhouses, and their technology and management were more advanced than ours." A natural disaster made Li Yingfen realize: she had thought everyone's loquat-growing technology was about the same, but it turned out the gap had already become so large. She decided to make a change.

Li Yingfen brought Xu Shifu with her to Gaosheng Town to learn from loquat-growing expert Xiao Guilun, and also invited technical staff from the Dazu District Agriculture Committee to the loquat orchard for hands-on guidance, correcting one by one the "problem points" in the eyes of the technical staff. From dwarfing the loquat trees, pruning, fertilizing, flower thinning, and fruit thinning to pest control and bagging, they comprehensively updated to the latest loquat cultivation techniques. As an experiment, Li Yingfen first built 20 mu of loquat greenhouses. After completing this whole set of work, the atmosphere in the loquat orchard took on a completely new look.

"Building loquat greenhouses is a difficult investment problem, but fortunately the Dazu District Agriculture Committee issued us a special subsidy, truly timely help." Li Yingfen praised the government's agricultural policy as good.

Everyone put in effort, all was ready, and only time was left to give the answer. Since the beginning of spring this year, Li Yingfen appeared to be quietly waiting for the loquats to bloom and bear fruit, but in her heart she was more anxious than anyone. Sure enough, the loquat orchard relying on new technology was transformed. The fruit set per loquat tree increased substantially and the fruits grew larger. Xu Shifu picked the first ripe loquat in the greenhouse, and its taste was excellent. Li Yingfen happily took photos of the fruit-laden trees and posted them online. Soon, some regular customers from downtown Chongqing called and arranged to come as a group in a few days to pick in the orchard, asking her to give them a discounted price.

"I estimate that this year we can produce 80,000 jin of loquats, and sales should not be a big problem." Li Yingfen said that if nothing unexpected happens, the orchard will surely make a profit this year, not only recovering the earlier investment, but also having money for the next step of investment. She plans to strike while the iron is hot and build another 30 mu of loquat greenhouses this year, and also build 1,200 m of production access roads and picking access roads.

"I have summed it up: in crop farming, only by combining investment, technology, and management can you produce relatively large benefits. Otherwise, no matter how large the planting scale is, there will not truly be economies of scale." Having gone through the trough, large-scale grower Li Yingfen now has her own solid experience in loquat cultivation.