A groundbreaking new variety of tree-form pepper has been successfully cultivated in Shaodong, a part of Shaoyang city in Hunan province. This innovation is set to revolutionize pepper cultivation and significantly enhance farmers' livelihoods by providing a replicable model for transitioning traditional agriculture toward more efficient and sustainable practices.

The journey to this innovation began 25 years ago when Li Pei, a researcher at the Vegetable Research Institute of the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, joined a team dedicated to developing the tree-form pepper. "Initially, few believed that peppers could grow like trees," Li said, adding that his team faced challenges in selecting the right variety due to regional preferences for spiciness and fruit shape.

After years of research, they developed a robust and flavorful variety suitable not only for Hunan but also for cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in Guangdong province. "The main innovation is using height to maximize space and yield," Li explained. "We produce peppers vertically and densely, which makes the most of vertical space, maintains high yields, and reduces labor, surpassing traditional yield limits."

At the technology-driven farming demonstration base of the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, located in Qingshan village in Shaodong, 55-year-old local farmer Zhang Feihua, who also serves as the director of the base, has become a local sensation thanks to the unique peppers thriving in his greenhouse.

Under Li's guidance, Zhang started trial-planting the variety in April. In just two months, the plants grew from 80 centimeters to over two meters tall. Supported by ropes, the plants were laden with green fruit and continued to grow robustly.

Unlike traditional peppers, which require bending and stooping to harvest, these can be picked while standing or using ladders. The greenhouse environment also shields the plants from drought and heavy rain.

By August, Zhang's greenhouse was already profitable. The cost per mu (0.067 hectare) was only 3,000 yuan, equivalent to outdoor peppers, but each tree-form pepper plant can yield 15 kilograms annually — over four times more than ordinary peppers. The first harvest yielded a net income of over 10,000 yuan ($1,403) from just one mu of land, with high demand and rising prices offering potential for lucrative off-season sales. "I hope to see these peppers thriving on urban balconies in the future, contributing to a 'balcony economy' with plans for a comprehensive supply chain," Zhang said.

News of Zhang's success quickly spread, attracting farmers like Zhou Dong and his wife from Ningxiang in Hunan, who came to see the innovation for themselves and decided to try growing them.

Meanwhile, Li's team is actively promoting the tree-form pepper in seven cities, including Hunan's Loudi and Changsha, through online tutorials and on-site training.

Despite the slow promotion of tree-form peppers due to their yearlong maturation period and the need for greenhouse cultivation, Li plans to expand this exceptional variety to spice-loving regions such as Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

Contact the writers at dengrui@chinadaily.com.cn