As summer fruits ripen across Tongzhou district, Nantong, local growers are looking beyond traditional varieties and sales channels to give their agricultural industry a fresh boost.

A red grape variety cultivated at a family farm in Jinsha sub-district, Tongzhou district. [Photo/WeChat account: wxtzfb]

Grapes are one of the district's signature agricultural products, with about 3,700 mu (247 hectares) under cultivation and annual output valued at more than 175 million yuan ($24.3 million). Facing growing competition in the once-popular Shine Muscat market, growers are increasingly turning to red grape varieties.

At a family farm in Jinsha sub-district, owner Wang Zhuqing has reduced the share of Shine Muscat in the farm's 60-mu vineyard from more than 70 percent three years ago to just 10 percent this year. The remaining fields have been planted with a range of early-, mid- and late-ripening red grape varieties. The shift has paid off, with red grapes bringing nearly 10,000 yuan in net income per mu than Shine Muscat.

A similar sweet payoff is underway at a dragon fruit orchard in Xingdong sub-district. The 10-mu orchard has entered peak production, with the locally grown "Mibao" variety yielding fruit weighing around 350-400 grams apiece. To bring their harvest to a wider audience, the farm is also exploring live-stream sales.

By diversifying varieties and embracing new ways of selling, Tongzhou's fruit growers are finding new momentum in a changing market.