Wolfberries sweeten hard work
Print Edition
In first days of June, goji berries, also known as wolfberries, are already hanging in bright red bunches amid green leaves, nearly a month earlier than usual, in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
At a 200-hectare plantation in Hongsipu District of Wuzhong, 22-year-old Zhao Meihua is one of more than 100 people busy picking the berries. Under the burning sun, each of them wears a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat.
“Picking goji berries is not easy work. Besides the high temperature, we should also be careful as our arms and hands can get scratched by the thorns,” she said.
Zhao has been picking gojis for 12 years, but still has many fresh scratches on her hands.
“I work 50 days during harvest season every year, earning up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,500),” Zhao said. “The harvest started earlier this year, so we can work more days, pick more and earn more.”
Thanks to more days with high temperatures in April and the use of organic fertilizers, this year goji berries ripened about 20 days earlier than in the previous years, said Cao Youlong, from the national goji berry technology research center, adding advanced planting technology also contributed to the early harvest.
“Goji trees are harvested every 10 days during the season. It’s good that we could have two more picking cycles this harvest, which means a 10-percent increase in production,” he said.
“We have about 200 full-time workers in the plantation, but we still need another 600 to 700 people from nearby villages during this time of the year,” said Hao Wanliang, owner of the plantation.
A new 287-hectare plantation was set up in April, with Hao and two villagers as joint shareholders. Hao is in charge of planting techniques and marketing channels while the villagers provide labor and management.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
