The forestry sector in Guangshan County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, recently organized a field exchange event focused on industrial development within the sector.

Participants observed new highlights from the first half of this year, including the promotion of intelligent integrated water and fertilizer technology for oil tea, under-forest planting, large-scale peach tree afforestation, and a forest pest control materials reserve depot, which has further bolstered the county's confidence in developing its forestry industry.

In recent years, leveraging its 323,700 mu (approximately 21,580 hectares) of oil tea plantations and extensive forest land resources, Guangshan County has vigorously promoted multi-layered models such as "oil tea + N" and integrated under-forest planting and breeding.

To date, the county's oil tea planting area has reached 323,700 mu, involving approximately 50,000 people in the industry and attracting over 2 million tourist visits annually.

Technological empowerment is enhancing the quality and efficiency of the oil tea industry.

At the Sima Guang Oil Tea Garden, a central government-funded demonstration and reward project for integrated water and fertilizer systems is accelerating.

The project design covers 4,170 mu, including 3,669.97 mu for drip irrigation and 500.03 mu for sprinkler irrigation, with a total estimated investment of 3.325 million yuan.

Currently, the sprinkler irrigation plots are operational, and the drip irrigation system's main components are being installed.

Simultaneously, a central government-funded forestry and grassland technology promotion demonstration project—focusing on the extension and demonstration of intelligent integrated water and fertilizer efficient cultivation technology for oil tea—has established a 251-mu demonstration base in Huaidian Township, based on research outcomes from the North China Forestry Experiment Center of the Chinese Academy of Forestry.

This system has established a fully intelligent closed-loop process: "water pumping from ponds—storage in reservoirs—fertilizer mixing at pumping stations—pressurized delivery—remote control via mobile phone."

Under-forest cultivation is generating economic value, with multi-layered operations aiding farmers' income growth.

Townships such as Pobeihe, Huaidian, and Liangting are cultivating cash crops like chrysanthemums and medicinal herbs under young oil tea forests.

Through a partnership established with China Resources Sanjiu, an annual order of 500 tons of wild chrysanthemums has been secured.

This spring, an 80-mu wild chrysanthemum seedling base was newly established, and under-forest wild chrysanthemum cultivation has been expanded across 5,000 mu in townships including Huaidian and Wenshu.

Barren hills are being greened, with a "peach economy" taking root.

Seizing the opportunity presented by a soil and water conservation and ecological restoration project in the northeastern Hubei Dabie Mountain area, the county completed 6,500 mu of afforestation this spring and established 40 new fruit tree planting sites in villages.

Huaidian Township introduced the Siyuan Agriculture and Forestry Specialized Cooperative, which transferred over 300 mu of land this spring to develop peach tree cultivation, introducing and breeding several high-quality varieties including yellow peaches, flat peaches, honey peaches, and winter peaches.

Watermelons were also planted under the peach orchards, yielding a successful harvest.

Strengthening defense lines, forest pest control capabilities are continuously improving.

The Guangshan County Forest Pest Control Materials Reserve Depot has been completed, covering an area of 701 square meters with a total investment of 1 million yuan.

It is one of two planned reserve depots under the Xinyang Dabie Mountain Area Pine Wood Nematode Disease Prevention and Control Capacity Enhancement Project, primarily serving five southern counties of Xinyang and functioning as a centralized storage and distribution hub for forestry pest control materials.

From the intelligent management of oil tea to multi-layered under-forest operations, and from transforming barren hills into peach orchards to ensuring material supplies for forest defense, Guangshan County is steadily forging a path for its forestry industry that prioritizes ecology and green development.