Photo courtesy of Photonews.hzau.edu.cn
Li Ningxian, a fruit grower in China’s Jiangxi province, discovered in 2004 that some of his Nanfeng oranges matured about six weeks earlier than usual. Although he attempted to propagate these early-maturing branches, the variety proved unstable with sugar content.
Ningxian sought help from YI Hualin, a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University College of Horticulture & Forestry Sciences, who specializes in citrus breeding with the help of local government. The two have been working together since 2019.
Hualin’s intervention involved hands-on guidance in soil improvement, irrigation, pruning and pest control. By the end of 2022, the Guiyuehong variety was officially recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. This new variety matures 40 to 50 days earlier than traditional Nanfeng oranges and can alleviate harvest pressure and potentially boost farmers’ incomes.
The Nanfeng orange, produced specifically in Jiangxi, is celebrated for its smooth, golden skin, thin peel, juicy texture and unique aroma. It has a 1,700-year history. However, since 2015, it has faced market decline due to inconsistent quality and competition from high-quality hybrids. The industry is keen to revitalize the Nanfeng orange by addressing issues like poor fruit quality, occasional seeds and weak aroma.
To tackle these challenges, simply verifying the Guiyuehong breed is not enough. Led by Cao Li’s team from Southwest University and Hualin’s team, a new project that uses both traditional and modern breeding techniques to develop improved Nanfeng oranges with desirable traits was established. The techniques include gene editing.
The improvement of the Guiyuehong is central to this initiative. Hualin’s team has set up a 300-acre demonstration orchard in Nanfeng to test and refine the variety.
The project team plans to crossbreed existing hybrids with high-quality varieties to produce new generations that maintain the best traits of Nanfeng oranges while incorporating advantages from other varieties. This process will require ongoing research.
China’s citrus industry faces issues such as variety degradation, market homogenization and a lack of high-end products, according to Hualin. Scientists, including Hualin’s team, continue to address these challenges, contributing to the development and promotion of new citrus varieties across the country.
In the past five years, Hualin led his team to inspect the growing of the Guiyuehong breed every early September. During this year’s visit, Hualin also assessed the impact of prolonged high temperatures on citrus cultivation and discussed orchard management and integrated economic development with the local people.
Source: Huazhong Agricultural University
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