Originally from Southeast Asia, it has been cultivated in China for more than 3000 years. Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan Province, Fujian, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and other provinces are all planted. Grapefruit likes warm and humid climate and is not tolerant of drought. The optimum temperature for the growth period is 23-29℃, and it can tolerate the low temperature of -7℃.

High-quality aromatic oil can also be extracted from the skin, flowers and leaves of grapefruit, and high-quality pectin can be extracted from the skin. The pulp can be processed into juice, wine, citric acid, jam and canned food. After the comprehensive utilization of fruits, the economic benefit is expected to increase by four times, and the comprehensive utilization of grapefruit still has great potential. The pulp contains high vitamin C, which can promote digestion and relieve hangover.

Botanical history

Grapefruit and orange were found in the written records of China in the 3rd-4th century BC. At that time, citrus and grapefruit were planted along the Yangtze River, both of which were chosen as tributes. However, it is controversial whether grapefruit recorded in ancient books in China belongs to the same plant as grapefruit now called. According to some Japanese ancient books and the fact that Japanese folks called it pomelo, Saburo Tanaka concluded that it was orange that was called pomelo in ancient China, instead of being used to calling it pomelo later. Yu in Japanese is homophonic with grapefruit in Chinese, and Yuzu is grapefruit in Chinese.

In fact, China grapefruit is grapefruit, and Japan Yuzu is an orange called by the Japanese, which is different. Just because they are homophonic, it is unscientific and putting the cart before the horse to insist that the grapefruit referred to by China people is the orange called by the Japanese. Sino-Japanese cultural exchange began in Qin and Han Dynasties and flourished in Han and Tang Dynasties. However, grapefruit has been recorded in ancient books before Qin and Han Dynasties in China (see the works of Han Feizi and Lu Chunqiu in the 3rd century BC). That is to say, grapefruit is ahead of oranges.