Everything is just peachy at Fengxian District festival
A yellow peach festival is being staged in Fengxian District over the weekend featuring competitions, tree picking and webcasts.
It aims to promote the development of the countryside, the agriculture industry and ecological tourism.
Thirty peach orchards and cooperatives from Qingcun Town, known for yellow peaches, competed on Saturday. The appearance, quality, taste and fragrance of their peaches were evaluated by experts and the public.
The competition is a highlight of the festival, which is in its 11th year.
The Shanghai Jinxiang peach planting cooperative was crowned the winner.
Yellow peaches in Fengxian are famed for being succulent and sweet. The fruit is nutritious with rich antioxidants, dietary fiber, and trace elements such as calcium. They are made into a variety of foods and beverages like cakes, egg tarts, beer and juice in the town.
A 2,000-mu (133 hectare) renovation project of an old orchard is underway, and cultivation land for new yellow peach varieties is being created.
Although Typhoon Hagupit affected fruit yields, blowing fruit off trees, breaking trunks and inundating trees, emergency measures have been taken to ensure quality, said Yang Chufeng, director of the Shanghai Forestry Station affiliated to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.
"Pumps are used to drain off water, and broken branches, fallen leaves and fruit are cleared in a timely manner," he said. "Damaged fruit trees have been righted, and roots seriously affected by the typhoon trimmed.
"In addition, exposed roots have been covered with grass as protection, and fertilizers spread to enhance nutrition," said Yang. "Protective agents to curb plant diseases and insect pests are also used."
Shanghai has 83 orchards in the city's countryside accredited for excellence in safety and quality based on criteria such as environment, planting processes, and test results.
A wide variety of fruit such as yellow peach, pear, grape, tangerine, blueberry, and kiwi fruit are grown.
The city's fruit tree area amounts to 202,900 mu, and the yield is estimated to reach about 280,000 tons this year, according to the bureau.