Guangdong
Guangdong is an important winter potato-growing province in southern China, benefiting from its subtropical to tropical climate, long frost-free period and relatively mild winters. Potato production is concentrated particularly in southern and coastal areas, including Shanwei and Huizhou, where winter potatoes fit well into the region’s rice-based cropping systems. Research on southern China identifies Guangdong as one of the major winter-potato production areas, with winter crops accounting for about 85% of the province’s potato growing area in the period studied.
Potatoes are generally planted after the late-rice harvest, mainly from late October to mid-November, and harvested from February to March. This allows farmers to use paddy fields during the cooler winter season and integrate potatoes into intensive multiple cropping systems. The rice–rice–potato rotation is particularly well established in Guangdong, making potato an important component of the province’s high intensity agricultural production. Government production guidance for southern China reports typical yields of about 1,600–2,000 kg per mu (24–30 t/ha) under suitable management.
Guangdong’s potato production is primarily oriented toward the fresh market, although the province also has potential for expanding commercial and mechanized production. The main production challenges are associated with the relatively warm and humid environment, including late blight, excessive rainfall and occasional cold or frost events during the winter crop. National guidance recommends early and medium early maturing varieties with good quality, improved fertilizer management and appropriate late blight control. Guangdong has also established a dedicated provincial technical standard for winter potato production, reflecting the development of specialized cultivation practices in the region.
Potato cultivation in Guangdong developed as part of the broader expansion of winter cropping and diversified agriculture in southern China. Historically, Guangdong’s mild winter climate allowed farmers to grow additional crops after rice, although traditional winter agriculture was dominated by crops such as sweet potato, vegetables and oilseeds. Historical provincial records from the 1950s show that Guangdong actively promoted expansion of winter cropping and emphasized the use of land between rice seasons.
The modern development of winter potato production accelerated as researchers and agricultural authorities recognized the crop’s suitability for Guangdong’s rice-based multiple cropping systems. By the 21st century, potato–rice rotations had become an established production system in parts of the province, particularly in southern Guangdong. A provincial technical standard for winter potato production (DB44/T 1241-2013) was issued in 2013 and implemented in 2014, providing formal guidance specifically for Guangdong’s winter potato production areas. More recently, local governments have continued promoting winter potato as an additional grain crop; for example, Yingde in northern Guangdong planted 200 mu of potatoes in winter 2025, as part of efforts to develop winter grain production.
