Basic Introduction to Dual River Winter Strawberries
Dual River Winter Strawberries, a specialty of Shuangliu County, Sichuan Province.
The Dual River Winter Strawberries are known for their bright red color, fragrant juiciness, and sweet-sour taste. They contain multiple amino acids, minerals, and vitamins essential to the human body; aspartic acid makes up more than 70%, alanine accounts for about 9%, asparagine and glutamic acid each make up around 5%, with small quantities of other various amino acids. The quality grade reaches level 2 or above.
Locally, strawberries produced before the Spring Festival are generally referred to as winter strawberries, while those produced after the festival are called spring strawberries. The Dual River Winter Strawberries have gained a reputation in the northern market for their high sugar content, advanced maturity period, and extended picking season, becoming a well-known agricultural product brand.
Product Characteristics
1. Sensory Characteristics:
Fresh, clean, free from dust, soil, or extraneous moisture; uniformly shaped and straight, without deformities, exhibiting the characteristics of the Fumika and Japanese 96 varieties; bright and attractive in appearance with good coloring, with at least 70% of the surface colored; the flesh has a good color, is fragrant and juicy, with a balanced sweetness and acidity; sepals are intact and not discolored; fruit size: extra-large fruits ≥ 40g each, first-grade fruits 30-39g each, second-grade fruits 18-29g each.
2. Physicochemical Indicators:
Soluble solids (≥9.0%), total acidity (≤0.9%), solid-acid ratio (≥9.0).
Historical and Folklore
In 1981, farmer Xie Shangkai from Yanjing Village, Honghua Township, Huayang County successfully introduced wild strawberries, marking the beginning of the strawberry industry in Shuangliu District.
In 1983, led by the Agricultural Technology Station of the Chengdu Municipal Agriculture, Forestry, and Animal Husbandry Bureau, technicians such as Gan Damu introduced two high-quality strawberry varieties, “Chunxiang” and “Lihong,” in towns like Jinqiao, Huangjia, and Dongsheng, planting over 100 acres that year.
By 1989, the scale of cultivation had reached 1,000 acres in Shuangliu County, with an annual income per acre reaching 3,500 to 5,000 yuan.
In 1989, under the guidance of experts from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture, Shuangliu County introduced the early-maturing “Fumika” strawberry variety from Japan, along with Japanese cultivation techniques.
Through unique climate, soil conditions, farming systems, and cultivation practices, the people of Shuangliu continuously explored and improved these techniques, developing the “Improved Promoting Cultivation Technology.” This enabled the strawberries to be available in the market from the Spring Festival to New Year's Day, then from New Year's Day to mid-November, and ultimately to early October, leading to the birth of the “Dual River Winter Strawberries” variety.
In 2002, to expand sales channels, over 1,300 fruit farmers in Hejiang Subdistrict established the Winter Strawberry Cooperative, responsible for purchasing and selling the strawberries produced by cooperative members.
In 2003, the Shuangliu Strawberry Standardization Project was included in the Sichuan Provincial Standard Demonstration Project, and in 2004 it became a national demonstration project, passing the inspection and acceptance of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine in December 2005.
Since 2006, Shuangliu County has held the Winter Strawberry Festival annually.
Starting in 2008, Shuangliu's strawberry cultivation entered the “organic era,” receiving a certificate for “Organic Conversion Product” from the Ministry of Agriculture in September of that year.
In 2005, the per capita net income of farmers in the strawberry growing areas of Shuangliu County reached 6,050 yuan.
In 2009, the brand value of Shuangliu Strawberries was 475 million yuan.
In 2010, the area planted with winter strawberries in Shuangliu County remained stable at over 50,000 mu, with a total output of 71 million kilograms, a total output value of over 350 million yuan, and a per capita net income of farmers in the growing areas reaching 9,570 yuan.
By 2011, after 30 years of careful cultivation, the Dual River Winter Strawberries had formed a 50,000-mu plantation area, producing 71 million kilograms annually, with an annual output value of approximately 400 million yuan, forming the “Dual River Winter Strawberry Industry Chain.”
By the end of 2013, the annual area planted with winter strawberries in Shuangliu County remained stable at over 50,000 mu, with a total output of 71 million kilograms and a total output value of over 350 million yuan. The brand value of Shuangliu Strawberries rose to 1.264 billion yuan.
In 2022, the strawberry planting area in Shuangliu District was about 1,800 mu, mainly distributed along the Chengxinpu Modern Agricultural Demonstration Belt and the Jian'nan Avenue, with main varieties including Hongyan, Zhangji, Christmas Red, Zui Xia, Yuexin, and Yueli, among others.
Awards and Honors
In 2002, the Dual River Winter Strawberries were awarded the First Prize of the Excellent Project of the Golden Bridge Sichuan Project by the Sichuan Provincial People's Government, and Shuangliu District was named one of the first batches of high-quality strawberry bases in Sichuan Province by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture.
At the Sichuan-China Western Agricultural Exposition, the Dual River Winter Strawberries received the “Certificate of Famous and High-Quality Agricultural Products” issued by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture and the “Certificate of Pollution-Free Agricultural Products” issued by the quality safety center of the agricultural department.
In 2010, the Dual River Winter Strawberries ranked among the top 100 agricultural products nationwide with a brand value of 690 million yuan.
On December 28, 2005, the original General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for “Dual River Winter Strawberries.”