Research on the breeding of the superior Camellia oleifera variety “Shenlin No. 1” in the northern margin area

The development of the oil tea （Camellia oleifera） industry in Xinyang， Henan， was restricted by a lack of superior C. oleifera varieties and poor adaptability of existing ones. As a northern marginal area for oil tea cultivation， Xinyang is rich in wild oil tea resources. However， it suffers from lagging local variety breeding and insufficient adaptability of introduced varieties. With methods like typical sampling survey， regional comparison experiments， and multi-index testing， the superior oil tea variety “Shenlin No.1” was systematically developed. Its morphological traits， yield performance and oil quality were comprehensively assessed. “Shenlin No.1” exhibited excellent traits， with a fresh fruit yield of 1.24 kg/m² per unit crown area， a kernel oil content of 54.41%， and an oleic acid content of 78.4%. It has also adapted well to acidic soil and hilly areas. Being high-yielding， high-quality， and stress-resistant， “Shenlin No.1” can fill the local variety gap in marginal areas. It is of great practical value for optimizing the regional variety structure， improving the economic benefits of the oil tea industry， and promoting rural revitalization.