August 27, 2026 | China Daily |
China’s new longan-lychee hybrid variety, Cui Mi, is moving toward wider commercial production and distribution. Developed through specialized breeding techniques, Cui Mi resembles longan but has a distinctive cracked rind, larger and sweeter fruit, thicker flesh, and a delayed ripening period that extends the traditional harvest season. Yields are expected to exceed 15 tonnes per hectare.
Commercial promotion is being carried out through an “enterprise + cooperative + farmers” model, providing growers with seedlings and technical support. Cui Mi is already cultivated in Conghua and is performing well in trial sites across different environments. In Qingyuan, Guangdong, it has demonstrated tolerance to low winter temperatures, while high-altitude trials in Yunnan have produced fruit with strong aroma, crispness, and tenderness.
The hybrid was developed after years of research beginning in 2007 to overcome reproductive barriers between longan and lychee. Researchers selected 69 true hybrids from more than 100 progenies, with the elite late-ripening strain SZ52 later named Cui Mi and officially certified in 2023.
Researchers hope new varieties such as Cui Mi could eventually extend the availability of freshly harvested longan and lychee from about two months to nine months annually.
