Zhuzhou in C China's Hunan prospers by cultivating tea-oil industry

Zhuzhou city, central China's Hunan Province has blazed a trail to prosperity by cultivating tea-oil camellia (camellia oleifera).

Statistics show that Zhuzhou is home to 2.2 million mu (146,667 hectares) of tea-oil trees, with a total output value of nearly ten billion yuan ($1.38 billion).

Farmers pick camellia oleifera fruits in Youxian county, Zhuzhou city, Hunan Province. (Media convergence center of Youxian county)

Leiguqiao village in the city saw a bumper harvest of camellia oleifera fruits not long ago, with the villagers busy picking, packing and loading them on trucks.

"There is over 13,000 mu of tea-oil trees, whose production is expected to reach 5 million kilograms this year. Normally, 15 kilograms of the camellia oleifera fruits can produce one kilogram of oil. This means over 300,000 kilograms of oil can be produced this year," Deng Richeng, executive of a tea-oil tree plantation, said excitedly.

The city once suffered from the low production of camellia oleifera fruits. Since the beginning of this year, the city has dispatched 45 forestry experts and technicians to help growers. "We adjusted the planting density, improved pruning and fertilization, and applied techniques to protect the flowers and fruits. As a result, the oil tea yield per mu reached 400 kilograms this year, up from over 200 kilograms last year," said a technician named Wang Guangming.