Recently, citrus grower Liu Hejun has been busy pruning and fertilizing citrus trees in Buyunping Village, Longjiabao Township, Mayang Miao Autonomous County. Lv Junhui, the team leader of the resident work team from the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission of Huaihua City, visited to gather villagers' feedback on citrus variety improvement and the areas being improved. Liu Hejun stated, "Last year I conducted variety improvement in 10 mu (about 0.667 hectares) of citrus trees, and this year I plan to improve another 50 mu (about 3.33 hectares)."

Liu Hejun is active in citrus variety improvement not only because of the related subsidies but also due to the actual earnings from the improvements. Last year, his 1,054-mu (about 70-hectera) sweet orange orchard achieved a remarkable single-season yield, bringing in more than one million CNY. "Sweet oranges sold well this season. They were basically sold out by early January this year. The price was up 30% compared to the previous year," said Tang Xiangwen, deputy director of the Mayang Characteristic Industry Office.

The citrus industry, dominated by sweet orange, is one of the pillar industries in Mayang. Currently, the county's planting area has reached 385,000 mu (about 25,666 hectares), of which 285,000 mu (19,000 hectares) are planted with sweet oranges, with an annual output of 528,000 tonnes. In recent years, the development of Mayang's sweet orange industry has encountered a bottleneck due to factors such as the aging of varieties, low quality, and extensive cultivation practices. These challenges have led to a decline in the enthusiasm of fruit farmers for planting.

"Improved varieties and good farming practices can turn fruits into 'gold,' bringing fortune to farmers," said Tang Xiangwen. He noted that the local authority addressed the weaknesses of the sweet orange industry by continuously strengthening variety improvement. New varieties such as Jinhong, Jinxiu, and Jinhe have been successively cultivated and widely promoted. Additionally, citrus planting social service teams have been established to carry out standardized planting and actively promote the use of organic fertilizers to continuously improve the quality of sweet oranges.

Focusing on key aspects such as soil improvement, precision fertilization, pruning, weed control, pest and disease prevention, and marketing channels, the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Commission of Mayang Miao Autonomous County has urged relevant functional departments to introduce supervision methods for technical indicators. These measures are designed to target specific issues and provide customized solutions for the development of the citrus industry.

Relying on the Huaihua International Land Port, Mayang has actively expanded its international market. In 2022, 500 tonnes of sweet oranges were exported, followed by 15,000 tonnes in 2023 and 33,000 tonnes in 2024. These fruits are sold to more than ten countries, including Laos and Russia.

"With high-quality fruits and good marketing channels, we are confident that the export volume of citrus fruit will exceed 100,000 tonnes this year, accounting for about one-fifth of the county's annual citrus yield," said Lei Huaying, president of the Mayang Citrus Association and chairman of Mayang Lan Fenghuang Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.