Songjiang's strawberries ripe for harvesting

The locally grown "Black Pearl" strawberries, often described as the "Rolls-Royce" of strawberries, are approaching maturity, just as the early-ripening strawberry varieties from Songjiang are beginning their picking season. This adds more variety for citizens to choose from.

The lovely scent of strawberries greets visitors to Yexie Town's Shanghai Songfeng Vegetable and Fruit Cooperative. Farmers are busy harvesting and basketing ripe strawberries across the 1-hectare greenhouse. Rows of flourishing strawberry varieties, including "Akihime" and "Hongxia," are bearing fruit.

The most mature strawberries today are of the "Akihime" variety, which is prized for its bright color, high sweetness, early market arrival, appropriate shape and delectable flavor.

Strawberries this year are more beautiful and have a greater flavor than last year's since they received more sunlight during their cultivation.

For the purpose of ensuring both quantity and quality, Songfeng strawberry growers mainly utilize traditional soil cultivation, use bees for pollination and provide their strawberries with a specifically prepared nutrient solution.

The "Black Pearl" strawberry, dubbed the "Rolls-Royce" of strawberries, has a higher sweetness level, a glutinous texture, a pleasant scent that lingers and a dark red color when mature, in contrast to other popular market kinds.

"In Songjiang, we are the first cooperative to attempt planting this particular variety. We haven't planted a lot of land because it's still in the testing stage," cooperative member Lu Haoliang remarked. "The 'Black Pearl' strawberries are now maturing."

Songfeng provides both loose and gift-boxed strawberry packing. Visitors to the greenhouse have the option of placing larger orders for delivery or self-picking.