In well-arranged rows of standardized greenhouses at a smart agriculture park in Shuiguo Township, Shizhong District of Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province, ornamental chrysanthemums are entering their peak harvesting season, ready to be picked, packed and shipped to overseas markets.
Traditional cultivation methods often resulted in inconsistent quality and poor adaptability to market demand. With smart agriculture playing a greater role, the Shuimu Fengnian Smart Agriculture Park in Shuiguo Township has adopted a highly efficient production mode of two-crop rotation system each year, which has not only diversified the product range but also enhanced the flowers' adaptability to different markets.
During this year's harvesting season, a total of 130,000 freshly cut chrysanthemums were exported to the Republic of Korea, 200,000 were sold to major Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai, and another 110,000 were supplied to the local market, creating a coordinated pattern of domestic and overseas sales.
The park is now preparing to plant one million chrysanthemums for the next crop. While expanding production and introducing new varieties, it also provides nearby farmers with a full range of services, including seedlings, technical support, cold-chain logistics and diversified sales channels. These efforts have helped create jobs and increase incomes for local farmers, and further boost the local economy.
Advanced cultivation technologies have enabled the ornamental chrysanthemums in the park to form a prominent market advantage in terms of growth cycles and product quality, steadily boosting the economic returns of the specialty flower industry.
By taking into account the different needs in flowers between domestic and overseas markets, the park precisely matches varieties and harvesting standards to specific markets and relies on refined management to achieve stable yields and higher incomes.
Powered by technological advances and mode innovation, Shuiguo Township has blazed a new path toward green, efficient and export-oriented modern agriculture. The little chrysanthemums have contributed to higher agricultural efficiency and incomes for farmers, offering a replicable model for the transformation and upgrading of specialty agriculture in Shizhong District. (Edited by Li Xueqing with Xinhua Silk Road, lixueqing@xinhua.org)
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