China Developing Cold-Resistant Durians for Higher-Latitude Cultivation

The 2024 China–ASEAN Durian Industry Seminar was recently held in Sanya, the southernmost city of China’s tropical island province of Hainan. In the last several years, Hainan has emerged as China’s key durian-producing region, and the province now has over 2,000 hectares of durian plantations, primarily in Sanya, Baoting and Ledong. The cultivation area is steadily expanding from south to north, with both yield and fruit quality showing consistent improvement.

In Sanya, the cultivation area has already surpassed 600 hectares, with 40% of this area expected to bear fruit in 2024 to produce over 200 metric tons of durians. Similarly, the cultivation area in Baoting has also exceeded 600 hectares, with 14% expected to bear fruit in 2024. Meanwhile, the area in Ledong has reached 800 hectares, involving 18 companies and individual growers. A “durian town” with a planned cultivation area of approximately 300 hectares is also in the works.

Du Baizhong, president of the Hainan Durian Association and general manager of Hainan Youqi Agricultural Company (海南省优旗农业股份有限公司), stated that his company has planted over 530 hectares of durians in Sanya, in addition to more than 230 and 120 hectares in Ledong and Baoting, respectively. In 2023, durian orchards in Sanya began bearing fruit for the first time. The 2024 output is now expected to surpass the previously anticipated 200 metric tons, with the output in 2025 projected to exceed 2,000 metric tons. As production increases, the company is actively expanding its sales channels.

Professor Meng Lei from Hainan University revealed that as domestic durians in Hainan gradually achieve large-scale fruiting, universities, research institutions and companies involved in durian cultivation are all actively working on developing new varieties. In addition to breeding varieties with superior fruit quality and higher yields, the researchers are also focused on developing cold-resistant varieties. The durian research team at the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences has already screened a batch of cold-resistant varieties, which have been trialed in Guangxi and Sichuan provinces. The overall goal is to expand durian cultivation to regions with higher latitudes. In addition, some growers in Hainan have imported durian seedlings from Malaysia, including varieties such as Musang King and Black Thorn.

Image: Jing Zang

This article was based on a Chinese article. Read the original article.