Right now, it is the season when okra is harvested in large quantities. The Shanghai Xiaosheng Vegetable Professional Cooperative located in Gangyan Town is also experiencing its peak harvest season. Inside the planting base, workers are busy picking, sorting, processing, packing and boxing, presenting a scene of bustling activity.

Upon entering the planting base, one can see the okra growing in a very pleasing manner, with pale yellow flowers and fruit resembling chili peppers filling the branches. Dozens of workers move through the fields, skillfully and accurately picking okra that are of the right size and have a good appearance.

The okra picked on the same day is strictly sorted by hand, meticulously processed, and carefully packed before being quickly sent to a cold storage to preserve freshness, ensuring that each piece maintains the best taste and quality. Subsequently, they are uniformly distributed to markets across the country.

Xu Yu, the person in charge of the cooperative, introduced that okra is sown in March each year, with the first batch of fruits maturing in June. The peak production period begins in August, and the harvesting period can last from June to October.

The cooperative grows fruit okra, which has a better taste than regular okra, being more tender and refreshing. At present, the cooperative has planted more than 500 mu of fruit okra, with a recent daily output of about 15 tons, priced at about 8 yuan per kilogram, and the product is in high demand. "The reason it is called fruit okra is because this type of okra is entirely green, has good plumpness, and has more fuzz, making it suitable for eating raw."

Xu has been deeply involved in okra cultivation for nine years, and with perseverance, he has summarized a set of scientific and practical planting experience. He continuously optimizes the fertilizer formula and carefully prepares the land after each season's harvest.

By using the method of water irrigation and soaking, he improves the soil structure, which has led to a year-by-year increase in the quality of the okra produced by the cooperative. Now, the cooperative has become the largest okra planting base in the Shanghai area. The okra produced here not only covers major wholesale markets and online and offline platforms in Shanghai but is also sold to surrounding cities and even central and western cities.

In the future, the cooperative will continue to improve the yield and quality of okra, aiming to make Chongming okra widespread throughout the country and a delicious dish on the tables of more families.