Britannica Sources used in this answer

Which crops are most important to Shandong agriculture?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

old and new buildings in Jinan — Shandong Old and new buildings in Jinan, Shandong province, China.

Shandong’s agriculture is highly productive, supported by significant investments in irrigation, flood control, and mechanization. The province's agricultural output is divided between food crops and cash crops.1

The leading food crops, which occupy the majority of the province's cultivated acreage, include:
* Wheat
* Corn (maize)
* Soybeans
* Kaoliang (a variety of grain sorghum)
* Spiked millet
* Sweet potatoes

In addition to these staples, Shandong produces several important cash crops that contribute significantly to the province's agricultural earnings:
* Peanuts (groundnuts): The leading cash crop, primarily grown in the peninsular uplands and the south-central sector. Shandong is a major manufacturer of peanut oil.1
* Cotton: Concentrated in the western and northern sections of the province on intensively irrigated lands near the mouth of the Huang He (Yellow River).1
* Other crops: These include tobacco, grown near Yishui and Weifang; hemp, produced in the southwest; and various fruits, which are cultivated across a wide area.1