From September 18th to 21st, Liu Liyun, the researcher of Coconut Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Scienses(CRICATAS) visited Maoming, Leizhou, and Xuwen in Guangdong Province to conduct researches on the sources of arecanut seedlings, regional habitats, planting areas, and growth conditions with his team. The research team initially held discussions with the vice dean of GuangDong MaoMing Agriculture & Forestry Techical College, exchanging information about the current situation and development trends of arecanut cultivation in the Maoming area.
Figure 1.The members of both research teams discussing about arecanut
Subsequently, for a better knowing about the growth conditions, the research team visited arecanut plantations in the Maoming area . Currently, the arecanut planting area in Maoming has spaned approximately 10,000 mu (about 6.67 hectares), with seed sources from local arecanut varieties in Ling Shui, Wuzhishan, and Ledong counties in Hainan Province. Its productive area covers about 150 mu (about 100,000 square meters), with an average yield of 800-1000 kg nut per mu. The investigation revealed that arecanut cultivation has a long history in Dianbai District, Maoming City , with existing over 40 years old arecanut trees still producing normal seeds, and existing the arecanut populations of different ages.
Figure 2: Visiting and researching at the Shanhang arecanut germplasm professional specialized cooperative in Dianbai District
Figure 3. The research team provided technical guidance of arecanut to local farmers
Finally, the research team conducted the visit and surveys in Leizhou and Xuwen. It also found that many villages in different areas named after "arecanut" in chinese, such as Binglang Guodong Village and Binglang Xicun. According to the description of elderly villagers, arecanut cultivation was practiced in the past, it did not be developed as a local cash crop and was occasionally planted as roadside and field-edge trees, due to factors such as price and climate. However, in recent years, ,arecanut cultivation has also started sporadically in Leizhou and Xuwen, but is not good in production, with the continuous development of the arecanut economy.
Figure 4. Villages named with arecanut
Figure 5. Sporadic arecanut tree plantations (left: over 30 years old arecanut trees ; right: plantation along field edges)
Through this survey, a more comprehensive understanding of arecanut cultivation in Guangdong Province was obtained, and the potential for promoting the cultivation of Hainan arecanut varieties in Maoming and Leizhou was discovered. Taking the climatic conditions into consideration, the research team would continue to conduct follow-up surveys, collect and analyze relative data, and provide scientific basis and recommendations for the development of the arecanut industry in Guangdong. Additionally, Hainan arecanut are facing the problems of the increasing yellowing disease and decreasing fresh fruit production in western Guangdong province, which is geographically close to Hainan and has similar climatic conditions. Therefore, it could be considered as a backup region for the preservation and large-scale cultivation of arecanut germplasm resources.
