How Did Hainan's Hundred-Yuan-per-Catty Fairy Peach Lychee Become a New Star in the Lychee World?
At the Haikou Volcano Lychee Festival launch ceremony, the new variety "Xiantao Lychee" made its debut. Developed by Hainan after five years of cultivation, with a single fruit weighing up to 60 grams, it was launched on May 5th at Beijing SKP and Pang Dong Lai supermarkets at 128 yuan/jin, quickly becoming a new consumer favorite. Shen Liangwen, chairman of Hainan Xiantao Lychee Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., introduced that the first batch of 200,000 jin of fresh fruit has been fully pre-ordered, with a repurchase rate exceeding 60%.
Xiantao Lychee uniformly uses volcanic rock soil improver, with each tree limited to 30 jin of production, and harvesting only allowed when maturity reaches 95%. This fine management ensures fruit consistency and lays the foundation for brand premium. Currently, Xiantao Lychee has obtained green food certification and is applying for EU organic certification, targeting the international high-end market.
In 2008, Professor Hu Guibing's team from South China Agricultural University crossbred "Zi Niang Xi" as the mother and "Seedless Lychee" as the father. After crossing 69 offspring, plant ZW036 stood out. Researchers discovered that the fruits from this tree were larger than Lychee King, with fuller flesh far surpassing ordinary varieties, and a shape remarkably similar to peaches. After ten consecutive years of regional trials, the ZW036 strain stabilized and was ultimately named "Xiantao Lychee". In 2020, Hainan Provincial Agricultural Academy of Sciences collaborated with South China Agricultural University to establish a 3,000-mu introduction base in Sanmenpo Town, Haikou. Researchers used high-grafting technology to graft Xiantao Lychee onto mature "Concubine Smile" and "White Sugar" trees, achieving fruiting in just two years. This technological breakthrough enabled Xiantao Lychee to successfully take root in Hainan's volcanic rock terrain, driving trials in Chengmai,