Blueberries are hanging all over the branches in the fruit garden of Nawuche Village, Changle Township, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Wu Jinyu, a manager of the garden, is busy watering, fertilizing, and pruning the fruit trees.
“The first batch of blueberries are ripe and can be harvested, and the second batch is about to ripen. The entire picking period lasts over a month,” said Wu Jinyu.
Changle Township has a relatively high terrain, with suitable temperature, humidity, and soil conditions for blueberry growth. The blueberry garden was built in 2017, with a planting area of 60 mu (4 hectares). This year, more than 10 mu (about 0.67 hectares) of blueberry seedlings of 12 new varieties introduced from Zhejiang and Shandong provinces have been cultivated.
After entering the peak harvest period, the blueberries have a yield of about 750 kilograms per mu (about 0.067 hectares), with an annual output of over 20,000 kilograms and an output value of over 500,000 yuan. The blueberry garden can provide jobs for more than 1,000 people with over 150,000 yuan of labor fees paid.
“Although the blueberries have a relatively high price, they are still popular. Thousands of tourists come here to pick them every year. This year, we will open the garden on International Children’s Day, and tourists are welcome to experience the fun of picking,” said Wu Jinyu.
