Chinese researchers breed fruit hybrid of lychee and longan

A research team in China's southern Guangdong province has developed a new fruit variety that overcomes genetic boundaries between two plant genera. The fruit, named 'Cuimi,' is a cross between lychee and longan, two tropical fruits that are botanically related but belong to different genera. The first substantial harvest is expected next month, after which market launch will be tested.

How the cross succeeded

The Shixia longan variety, a widely grown and prized cultivar in Guangdong, served as the maternal parent. A lychee variety was used as the paternal component. Botanists consider the combination of both fruits in a single plant remarkable, because lychee and longan, despite their close kinship within the soapberry family, had until now been considered reproductively separate.

According to the scientists involved, the result is meant to bring two key advantages: a higher yield per plant and better cold resistance than both original fruits. Cold resistance in particular is considered economically relevant, since lychee and longan cultivation has so far been strongly confined to tropical and subtropical climate zones, with frost periods regularly causing crop failures.

Guangdong as a fruit stronghold

Guangdong is one of China's most important growing regions for lychee and longan. The province also exports both fruits to Southeast Asia and, to a lesser extent, to Europe, where lychees are mainly found as an import item in Asian supermarkets and larger retail chains. A more cold-resistant hybrid could extend the growing season and reduce dependence on weather-related harvest fluctuations.

For local farmers in Guangdong, the new variety could thus become a tool for stabilizing yields without having to give up the established reputation of the two original fruits. Whether 'Cuimi' tastes closer to sweet lychee or milder longan will only become clear with the upcoming September harvest.

From research to the supermarket shelf

The coming weeks are decisive for the research team. After the first substantial harvest, they plan to test how the market responds to the new fruit, both among consumers and in wholesale. Such field tests often determine whether a newly bred variety spreads beyond regional markets or remains a niche phenomenon.

If successful, 'Cuimi' could also become an interesting export product in the medium term, especially in markets that already import lychee and longan. However, it usually takes several years before such a variety reaches European supermarkets in significant quantities, years in which growing areas would need to be expanded and supply chains built.

For Austria and Europe, the development remains for now a minor note with potential. Fresh fruit from the Far East is subject to strict EU plant health import regulations, and new varieties require additional approval steps before they may be imported. However, should 'Cuimi' prove more storable and transport-resistant than classic lychees, which due to their short shelf life have so far remained a niche item in European trade, that could in the long run also become interesting for European importers and fruit traders. Until then, it remains a matter of watching a breeding success that shows how intensively China is investing in agricultural research, a field that is also gaining increasing importance for domestic agriculture in terms of variety diversity and climate adaptation.

Source: China – South China Morning Post | Original Article