Grower in Pingyi, Shandong cultivates potted grapes, earning 80,000 yuan per mu

Each small grapevine is less than 1/3 the height of an adult, and each plant bears five or six fruit clusters. These grapes growing in flower pots are potted grapes cultivated by Dong Xianhui, a grape grower in Nanwugou Village, Wutai Town, Pingyi County, Linyi.

Dong Xianhui, who has many years of grape-growing experience, told reporters that these potted grapes were put into pots in March this year. Unlike other fruits, growing grapes in flower pots is quite difficult. It took him 3 years of experiments before the potted grapes could successfully ripen. "In 2013, I experimented with growing roots in pots; in 2014, I experimented with fruit bearing; only this year did I truly experiment with moving them from the field indoors."

Speaking of why he thought of cultivating potted grapes, Dong Xianhui said that more and more people are growing grapes now, and the planting area is also increasing year by year, making competition fierce. If potted grapes can open up new sales channels, it will certainly be a good thing for grape growers. "I saw on TV that people elsewhere were growing them, so I wanted to give it a try too."

It is understood that this year Dong Xianhui trial-planted a total of 200 pots, of which more than 100 pots grew relatively well. They were quickly reserved by grape buyers, nearby business owners and some friends, at a price of 80 yuan per pot. "They were very interested after seeing them. Nowadays people care about freshness when eating fruit. Grapes are not easy to store. After buying them home, you have to put them in the refrigerator, and when you take them out to eat, the taste is not as good. Potted grapes ensure that every grape you eat is fresh," Dong Xianhui said.

Dong Xianhui is still very confident about the prospects of potted grapes. He came up with a slogan for himself: "Potted grapes are good-looking and delicious; 80,000 per mu is not a dream." Dong Xianhui said that if potted grapes have a sales channel, the returns will be much higher than now. "About 1000 pots can be grown per mu. Calculated at 80 yuan per pot, earning 80,000 yuan per mu is no dream at all, while under normal circumstances, earning 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per mu of grapes is already remarkable."