Black grapes on Hai Duong land

The black summer grape garden of Mr. Vu Huu Viet in Dan Giap village, Thanh Giang commune (Thanh Mien) is yielding quite high productivity and economic efficiency.

Although effective and suitable for Hai Duong soil, due to many factors, black grape is not recommended for extensive development.

Effective

Visiting the ripe grape garden, entering the harvest season of Mr. Vu Huu Viet's family in Dan Giap village, Thanh Giang commune (Thanh Mien), few people expected that grape trees would be suitable for the land of Hai Duong. According to Mr. Viet, seeing some people growing black grapes with quite good economic efficiency, he went to find out the reality. He went to Bac Giang University of Agriculture and Forestry, where seedlings were sold, to learn about the technical process and fertilization methods. In 2021, he decided to plant 3 sao of black grapes. Thanks to the engineer of Bac Giang University of Agriculture and Forestry for technical advice on how to grow the grape garden well. In the first year, the grapes bore fruit and are now yielding a stable harvest.

Taking care of black grapes requires high techniques to have flowers and fruit at the right time, giving high yield. From flowering to harvest is only 90-100 days, so growers must know the time to apply techniques for long flower clusters, many fruits and no seeds. To be able to harvest grapes in late May, early June, around January 20, growers must cut and prune branches to bloom. If they want to harvest grapes in December, they must prune in August.

"This year, the weather is favorable, so the grapes yield 3-4 quintals/sao, with a selling price of 100,000 VND/kg, each sao brings in a profit of 25 million VND. Compared to many other crops, black grapes bring in a relatively high income," said Mr. Viet.

Mr. Vu Viet Ta in Dong Doi village, Thong Kenh commune (Gia Loc) has also been growing black grapes for 2 years now. According to Mr. Ta, in the process of caring for grapes, the most important thing is to regulate irrigation water properly. If watering is too little, the flowers will not last long, leading to less fruit, reducing productivity, and if watering is too much, the grapes will get yellow leaf disease. Black grapes must be grown in a house with a roof.

"Grapevines require meticulous care. Growers must master the techniques so that black grapes can produce fruit and have high yields. Currently, I sell grapes for 120,000 VND/kg, much higher than other fruits grown locally," Mr. Ta shared.

Visitors visit and experience Mr. Nguyen Manh Doan's vineyard in Cay village, Doan Thuong commune (Gia Loc)

Replication is not recommended.

Black grapes have been brought to Hai Duong for about 3 years now, planted in Hai Duong City, Gia Loc, Thanh Mien, Kinh Mon... Although effective, according to Ms. Luong Thi Kiem, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong, the province does not encourage people to develop this plant. The reason is due to the high investment cost, requiring high techniques, if people do not have a firm grasp of the techniques, the plants can easily be damaged. Although it is a new crop in the province, in reality, black grapes are "outdated" in other provinces and cities, on the market there are many new grape varieties with higher productivity and quality.

To grow black grapes, people also have to learn from experience, even hire technical support, which is quite expensive. Mr. Nguyen Manh Doan in Cay village, Doan Thuong commune (Gia Loc) also had to ask experts from Bac Giang University of Agriculture and Forestry for guidance on new techniques to ensure the season and economic efficiency. "Because it is a new plant, only suitable for hot weather, at first I had to hire technicians, and at the same time work and accumulate experience. I also had to regularly exchange with some people who have grown grapes in other provinces to learn more," said Mr. Doan.

Mr. Vu Viet Ta also had to hire a technical consultant on how to plant and care for the grapes so that they would bear fruit in season. Mr. Ta said that not far from his vineyard, there was also a vineyard with 400 trees that had been planted for 2 years. However, this vineyard had not yet borne fruit, the grower had stopped taking care of it and was preparing to destroy it to plant other trees.

Mr. Vu Huu Viet is also researching how to grow Ngoc grapes to both enrich the crop and meet consumer needs.

Growers should learn carefully about the grape varieties that can be grown in Hai Duong and are suitable for consumer trends. Authorities should provide official information and guidance for growers to grasp, avoiding large but ineffective investments.

THANH HA