The first wave of lychees in Zhuhai's Doumen District has ripened. Among the lychee varieties that are ready for picking are the Concubine's Smile (Feizixiao), Glutinous Rice Dumpling (Nuomici), and Kwai May (Guiwei).

In early June, three lychee varieties will be ready for harvest: Concubine's Smile (Feizixiao), Kwai May (Guiwei), and Sweet Sugar (Mitangcheng). The Glutinous Rice Dumpling (Nuomici) and Imperial Golden Ball (Yujinqiu) lychees will be ripe enough for harvest in mid-June.

Lychees hang on the branch [Photo by Chen Jiazhe / WeChat account: zhizhuxia0756]

Of note, the Imperial Golden Ball (Yujinqiu) lychee is a species unique to Doumen, and is one of the three most precious lychee varieties planted in Doumen.

Zhuhai-based Gree Electric Appliances has independently developed and tested special mobile lychee preservation equipment, which finished assembly and testing on June 3. This equipment, being 5.5 meters (6 yd) in length, 2.2 meters (2.4 yd) in width, and 2.95 meters (9.68 ft) in height, has a storage volume of 20 cubic meters, which equals to 5 metric tons of lychees.

The expected rate of intact lychees in the equipment after 20 days of harvesting is set to reach 99.8 percent due to its full-range permeable air supply design, which cuts the water loss rate of lychees to 0.51 percent. Its integrated anti-vibration structure design has also made installation, transportation, and construction more efficient and convenient. In addition, this equipment has sterilization and precise temperature control functions.

Lychees are packed in baskets in Gree's special mobile lychee preservation equipment [Photo by Cheng Lin / WeChat account: zhuhaifabu]

A Gree Electric Appliances staff member noted that the equipment can be widely applied in orchids, distribution centers, and cooperatives as it can effectively reduce the water loss and respiration rate in lychees.

Visitors who are interested in lychee picking in Doumen district should set their sights on Longtoushan Orchid, which has over 160 mu (26 acres) of lychee trees, or on the Huangyang Imperial Golden Ball (Yujinqiu) Lychee Cooperative, which has 70 mu (11 acres) of lychee trees.