Winter potatoes enter harvest season in SW China’s Yunnan

Aerial photo shows potato fields in Yunxian county, Lincang city, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo/Yuan Lingfeng)

Winter potatoes have recently entered the harvest season in Yunxian county, Lincang city, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

The planting area of winter potatoes in the county reached 38,900 mu (2,593 hectares), with the total output expected to exceed 31,000 tonnes.

“The average yield of high-quality potatoes per mu in our village reached 3.8 tonnes and the selling price per tonne exceeded 2,600 yuan ($375.48). Villagers’ total annual income from planting potatoes surpassed 11 million yuan,” said Duan Xuelan, head of the Shuimo village, Aihua town of Yunxian county.

According to Duan, the village promotes potato contract farming, and dealers purchase the growers’ potatoes in their fields during harvest season.

Shuimo village is the epitome of the development of Yunxian county’s potato industry. Over the past years, the county has encouraged farmers to grow winter potatoes by promoting planting technologies such as standardized planting, and the integration of water, fertilizer and pesticides, helping them increase their income.