HAIKOU /China/, Nov. 15. /TASS/. The Institute of tropical agriculture in the city of Sanya on the southern coast of Hainan Island has adapted 162 species of fruit trees brought in from around the world to the local climate. This was reported by Nanguo Metropolis Daily.
"We already have 162 species of fruit trees growing in the tropics at the same latitude in our collection," the newspaper quoted Lin Yintao, an expert at the institute, as saying.
She said the samples were brought to Sanya from Southeast Asia, Latin America, Oceania and Africa. The species include banana trees, mango and dragon fruit trees, grape vines, as well as a variety of exotic fruits not commonly found in milder climates.
"By 2024, the area of plantations set aside for trees growing such exotic fruits for Sanya will exceed 2,000 hectares," the city's agriculture department commented.
According to the department, the local government will not only increase the cultivation area of tropical fruits from other countries, which are highly demanded in the Chinese market, but also promote the quality of these fruits, in particular through more stringent standardization and introduction of the latest technology that will create new popular agricultural brands in Hainan.
Sanya plays a key role in China's breeding, seed-growing and international agricultural best practices programs. Local projects attract the attention of several hundred research organizations, leading universities and enterprises every year. Thousands of specialists from different regions of China, as well as from other countries, participate in them. Closely related to these important developments was the fate of China's leading breeder, the "father of hybrid rice," Yuan Longping (1930-2021), who regularly visited the island in winter for more than 50 years.