BEIJING, Aug. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With the continuous advancement of modern agriculture technology, apple industry in Weihai City of east China's Shandong Province has undergone a tremendous change, according to a recent report by Weihai Daily, after the local media's visit to the Xinyuan Modern Apple Planting Demonstration Base in the city to experience the charm of modern orchards infused with cutting-edge technology.

In the base, it's witnessed that an orchard brimming with technological features including integrated water and fertilizer irrigation facilities, online environment monitoring systems, visual management systems, and big data management centers.

There, staff can monitor soil temperature and humidity as well as pest and disease conditions in real-time through computers or smartphones, greatly improving the comprehensive agricultural production capacity.

The base's 80 mu (around 5.33 hectares) of apple orchards are planted with 20 apple varieties and these apples are about to enter the peak production period, said Qu Jiashuai, the person in charge of the base adding that all apple yields per mu can reach 4,000 to 5,000 kilograms, which is twice the yield of traditional orchards.

In addition, with the help of self-propelled picking platforms, the picking efficiency has been significantly improved, with one person able to pick 500 kilograms of apples a day.

Last year, local authorities established an apple production technology and innovation center at the orchid. The center serves not only as a highland of technology but also as a cradle for talent cultivation.

The city has carried out a series of discussions related to the apple industry and held various internships and training activities to cultivate talents and conduct experimental research, injecting new vitality into the high-quality development of the industry.

Up to now, the apple cultivation area in the city has reached 700,000 mu (nearly 46,666.67 hectares), with an output of 1.1 million tonnes. Among them, the apple cultivation area with the modern technology accounts for 330,000 mu (nearly 20,000 hectares), according to the report. 

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