Delicate lilies thrive in tropical city of Sanya

Beautiful lilies bloom in abundance in Sanya. [Photo/Hainan Daily]

A field of delicate lilies covering 1 mu (0.07-hectare), which were planted by Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), are these days thriving in what appears to be most unlikely of environments.

They were planted at NAU's Batou Nanfan Experimental Base in Yazhou district of Sanya and are now blooming, marking the successful trial planting of this temperate crop in the tropical island province.

Due to its unique fragrance and elegant shape, the fragrant lily has become a well-loved ornamental flower. Generally, they thrive in temperatures ranging from 12-28 C. When temperatures exceed 30 C, lilies struggle to grow and may not even bloom.

 
Given that Sanya is located in a tropical region, many researchers previously believed that Hainan was just not suitable for growing the prized flower.

"We conducted visits and research in nearly 20 major lily-producing regions across the country and after analyzing temperature records in Hainan in recent years, we found that from mid-November to the end of March each year, temperatures in Hainan generally range from 15-30 C, with very little rainfall. In theory, lilies can be grown in Hainan during this period," explained Teng Nianjun, a professor at the College of Horticulture at NAU.

 
Researchers planted six varieties of lilies suitable for ornamental purposes and four edible lily varieties in Sanya. Winter-planted lilies in Hainan are sown in November, with 10,000 plants per mu. Calculated at 10 yuan ($1) per plant, the output value is about 100,000 yuan per mu.

"We hope to turn the climate advantage of Hainan into an advantage for industrial development," said Jiang Ailiang, executive vice president of the Sanya Institute of NAU.

Jiang added that outstanding new varieties with market potential suitable for Hainan's unique climate conditions would be selected for winter lily planting to support the development of efficient tropical agriculture in Hainan.