The Golden Fruit Priced at Eight Yuan per Jin Leads Orange Farmers on the Road to Prosperity

As the ancients said, "Oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while those grown in the north are trifoliate oranges." Yichang City, Hubei Province, known as the "Hometown of Citrus in China", has numerous excellent citrus varieties and a wide planting area.

In this orange - scented land, there is a new - type orange farmer named He Yong, who is brave, resourceful, and energetic. He is the person in charge of the Yidu Lvlaoda Base. He took over the cooperative, transformed the planting park, added facilities and equipment, improved citrus varieties, and established brand empowerment. He adopted a standardized, large - scale, and industrialized model to drive the income increase of surrounding growers and promote the development of the local industry.
After more than a decade of construction and development, He Yong's "Lvlaoda" citrus base has long grown into a benchmark for a standard green prevention and control demonstration base and has become a leading local brand. It has participated in United Nations - funded projects, hosted a national - level citrus demonstration site meeting, and been certified as a green food. The price of the high - quality citrus in the base is as high as eight yuan per jin, becoming the "golden fruit" that enables local growers to get rich.

The cultivation of high - quality citrus is inseparable from advanced production technologies. When it comes to how to improve the high - quality rate of citrus in the base, He Yong told us that in addition to fine pruning techniques, green prevention and control techniques, and facility - based management techniques, scientific fertilization is also an important part.

Huazhong Agricultural University, the Institute of Fruit, Vegetable and Tea of the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Yichang Cultivated Land Quality and Fertilizer Management Station, and the Yidu Fruit and Tea Service and Promotion Center, in conjunction with Hubei Yishizhuang Company, established a 330 - mu "Demonstration Garden for Reducing Fertilizer Application and Light - Simplified Cultivation Technology of Satsuma Mandarin" in the "Lvlaoda" base. Combining techniques such as grass cultivation and green prevention and control, and applying a scientific fertilization model, fertilization is carried out twice a year: in November, apply 1.5 kg of Yishizhuang 35% (15 - 7 - 13) special fertilizer for citrus per plant, and 5 kg of Yishizhuang organic fertilizer per plant; in June, apply fruit - strengthening fertilizer, 1 kg of Yishizhuang 42% (18 - 8 - 16) special fertilizer for citrus per plant. Through the application of the scientific fertilization model over the years, there is a huge difference between the demonstration area and the conventional fertilization area, and the demonstration area shows good results. 

The application of organic fertilizers supporting special fertilizers for citrus achieves the goal of reducing fertilizers and increasing efficiency. It not only improves the soil environment of the base and enhances the tree vigor but also plays a key role in improving the quality.

Next, He Yong plans to transform the "Lvlaoda" citrus base into a three - in - one base of "green planting, high - quality planting, and integration of agriculture and tourism". This is the future trend of the integrated development of industries and will also be an opportunity to drive more fruit farmers to get rich together.