Replenishing boron-depleted soil
Agriculturally, south China is divided into a northern tea and rice region and a southern double-cropping rice region. The area is mountainous, and climate and soil quality vary from province to province.
Guangxi province benefits from plentiful sunlight, a mild climate and adequate rainfall, making it an important agricultural center. Thanks to its ideal location, Guangxi’s strong agricultural industry produces more than 1,200 varieties of grain, sugar crops, vegetables, and fruits. Sugarcane production makes up nearly two-thirds of China’s total output. Guangxi is also the largest ethanol producing region, while its yield of jasmine tea comprises more than half of the national output.
In Guangdong province on the South China Sea, less than one-fifth of the land is cultivated but growers maximize yields with repeated planting and heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers to increase production. Food grain crops, primarily rice, occupy most of the cultivated land, but Guangdong also produces much of China’s total output of sugarcane. Many important industrial crops thrive in the province’s tropical climate, including rubber, oil palm, hemp and coffee, as well as more traditional crops such as sweet potatoes, peanuts, and tea.
Situated on the southeastern coast of China, Zhejiang enjoys abundant natural resources, mild temperatures and plenty of rain. With a long history of intensive farming dating back 7000 years, Zhejiang is one of the country’s high-output agricultural regions. Grain and oil-bearing crops, vegetables and melons, edible fungi, medicinal herbs, tea, and fruit are the most commonly grown crops.