Over 30 tropical fruits introduced to Hainan

The Hainan Academy of Land Reclamation Sciences has introduced over 30 new varieties of tropical fruits and 20 tree species to promote Hainan's structural adjustment of agricultural reclamation and crop production.

Fruits such as durian, mangosteen, sugar apple and salak grown in Southeast Asia and South America were not commonly seen in Hainan. To change the situation, the academy did repeated experiments and screened out varieties fit for growth in different types of regions on the island on the basis of research into different fruits and preliminary evaluation of their required environment.

The academy plans to promote planting in suitable regions within five to eight years to realize a planting area of about 20,000 mu (1,333 hectares) of small-scale varieties, 80,000 mu of medium scale varieties and 150,000 mu of large-scale fruits. The area of brand-name and high-quality fruit tree planting will reach 500,000 mu within Hainan province and will upgrade the traditional fruit production industry.

The tropical fruit introduction and promotion project has been reviewed by experts on a preliminary basis. Further modification and improvement will be made in view of experts' comments and practical concerns.