Watermelons up in the air embrace a harvest in Guangxi
Farmers harvest watermelon at Nongken Zhuguang Farm of Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Lin Qibo/For chinadaily.com.cn]
Watermelons that are creatively grown vertically on trellises in greenhouses embrace are being harvested at Nongken Zhuguang Farm of Beihai, southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
With the help of workers, watermelon vines can sprawl along the vertical trellis system so as to reduce land occupation and keep them away from plant pests.
Hanging high in the air, "Cuiling", the watermelon variety tastes super sweet and looks pretty as it gets abundant sunlight. Each watermelon weight can reach over 2.5 kilograms. They used to be only one kilogram at maximum when growing on the ground.
This year Cuiling's growing area has reached 115 mu (7.6 hectares) with a production of 1750 kilograms per mu. And the watermelon can be purchased with a quite good price ranging from 2.8 to 4 yuan ($0.39 to 0.56) per kilogram from the growers, according to the farm.
Apart from "Cuiling", the hami melon, the sheep horn honeydew melon, cucumber, and other melons and fruits also thrive on this farm and are well-received after they go on sale.
The local government has standardized agricultural production on a large scale to fully tap the potential of its natural resources, increase farmers' income and upgrade their agricultural industries.