Pingyu County, Henan: Sweet-and-Sour Little Mulberries Taste of "Prosperity"

Right now is the season when mulberries ripen. The reporter came to the ecological garden in Liuzhuang Village, Qinghe Subdistrict, Pingyu County, and saw that every mulberry tree had yielded a bumper harvest. Villager Liu Hongguang was picking the deep purple-black mulberries, and his first attempt at growing mulberries brought him a great harvest.

Walking into the orchard, the fruiting mulberry trees were lush and vigorous, with dense, flourishing branches. Looking out, the trees were laden with fruit, and strings of mulberries, red turning purple and purple turning black among the green leaves, bent the branches down low. According to villager Liu Hongguang, in his ecological garden he grows nearly ten kinds of fruit trees. Last year he went elsewhere to investigate and came up with the idea of growing mulberries.

The mulberry is the fruit of the mulberry tree, a perennial woody plant of the genus Morus in the family Moraceae. It is oval, 1-3 cm long, and its surface is not smooth. When unripe it is green, gradually turning white and red as it grows, and when ripe it is purplish red or purplish black. It tastes sweet and sour and is highly nutritious.

According to Liu Hongguang, since the beginning of this year, suitable temperatures, abundant rainfall and sufficient sunlight have been especially favorable for mulberry growth. The current market prospects are very promising, with a market price of 35 yuan per jin, which comes to about ten thousand yuan per mu. This fruit can go on the market on May 10.

Talking about his next plans, Liu Hongguang was full of confidence. He said: "This year, by growing these more than 100 trees, the yield has been good and the returns are quite considerable. Next year I want to plant some more."