About the largest custard apple growing area in Chi Linh
PVAugust 24, 2024 15:46
The vast custard apple gardens on the hillsides not only cover the bare land but also bring a stable economic source to the people of Chi Linh.
After more than 20 years of taking root in the hilly land of Chi Linh, custard apple trees have been giving the local people here sweet fruits. The vast custard apple gardens on the hillsides not only cover the bare land but also bring a stable source of economic benefits to the local people. Chi Linh custard apples are gradually forming a brand and becoming an OCOP product.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, most households with hill gardens in Chi Linh grew lychees. However, in terms of price and design, Chi Linh lychees could hardly compare with Thanh Ha or Bac Giang lychees. Around 2003, many people brought custard apple trees - a type of tree that is quite suitable for the soil and climate of the mountainous region - to try planting.
When they first planted custard apples, most farmers only took simple care of the trees, such as weeding and spraying pesticides so that the trees would flower and bear fruit naturally. Because of that, the custard apples did not look good and the yield was not high, so the custard apple trees could not really help the people here escape poverty.
Mr. Bui Van Nhuong's house in Phu Loi residential area is one of the pioneers in growing custard apples in Ben Tam ward. Like many other households, in the beginning, he had no experience in caring for the custard apples, so the yield was not as expected. Not giving up, Mr. Nhuong researched and learned from books and newspapers and traveled to custard apple growing areas in provinces such as Son La and Lang Son to learn and explore...
Then Mr. Nhuong also understood that if he wanted the custard apple to bear fruit as he wanted, he had to be more diligent, which meant picking the custard apple flowers, bringing them home to collect pollen, and then pollinating the remaining flowers, and then using pesticides effectively to help the custard apples develop. The spring and summer custard apples can be left to develop naturally when they bear fruit, but the winter custard apples must be covered with plastic bags to protect them.
Through each crop, Mr. Nhuong and his fellow villagers have drawn on and passed on their experiences to each other so that the custard apples can achieve the desired appearance and quality. Later, when the VietGAP tree planting process was introduced, Mr. Nhuong and his fellow households registered to grow according to the correct process to build the brand of clean, quality Chi Linh custard apples for consumers.
These last days of August, Mr. Nhuong's custard apple garden is in the pollination stage for the winter custard apple crop. The whole garden is over 1.5 hectares wide with hundreds of custard apple trees. Although it is the end of the spring-summer season, the custard apple trees, which are only taller than a person, are all bearing fruit. The size of the fruit depends on the pollination time, so the harvest time is also evenly distributed.
Under the tree, the fruit picker
pollinator
Last spring-summer crop, Mr. Nhuong's family harvested more than 10 tons of fruit. After deducting all costs for labor and pesticides, the family earned a profit of about 160 million VND.
Hoang Tien Ward currently has the largest custard apple growing area in Chi Linh City with about 200 hectares. Most households grow the long custard apple variety. Due to the application of good techniques, the custard apple yield here is high, from 10-12 tons/ha/crop.
Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Hoang Tien Ward, said: "Currently, Hoang Tien Ward has about 30 hectares of custard apples growing according to VietGAP standards. The locality is very interested in improving the quality and value of custard apples. In 2024, Hoang Tien Ward will register an additional 20 hectares to follow VietGAP standards and 20 hectares of production according to the project of one product per commune and ward. The Farmers' Association of the ward will continue to train and provide technical support to help people further improve the quality of custard apples in Hoang Tien Ward."
Currently, Chi Linh City has nearly 900 hectares of custard apples, concentrated in Ben Tam, Hoang Tien, Hoang Tan wards and Bac An commune. In which, Ben Tam ward ranks second after Hoang Tien with more than 150 hectares of custard apples. The whole city currently has more than 200 hectares of custard apples grown according to VietGAP standards, creating a safe and sustainable custard apple production area. The price of VietGAP custard apples is 15-20% higher than that of custard apples not produced according to this process.
Suitable for the mountainous soil type, combined with the planting and care techniques of the farmers here, custard apple trees have grown and developed strongly, with productivity and quality far superior to custard apples grown in other areas of the province. Therefore, Chi Linh is the locality with the largest custard apple growing area in the province. The custard apple growing area of Hai Duong is ranked 3rd in the North after Lang Son and Quang Ninh.
The main season custard apple is harvested from July and August, with the price at the beginning of the season being around 40,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, and at the end of the season it is 20,000 - 30,000 VND/kg depending on the type. With this price, farmers have made a profit. But for those who grow custard apples in Chi Linh, the winter crop is really effective because the price of off-season custard apples is often very high, from 80,000 - 100,000 VND/kg, sometimes the price is 100,000 - 120,000 VND/kg. Taking care of the winter crop also requires farmers to be more diligent.
Currently, in all custard apple orchards in Chi Linh, custard apple growers are pruning branches and pollinating flowers. At this time, growers must know whether their custard apple trees are strong or weak, and whether they still have strength after the main crop to bear more or less fruit. Many trees can bear 50 - 70 fruits, but some trees only bear 15 - 20 fruits.
To produce custard apples with a high fruit set rate and beautiful appearance, the secret of the growers is the pollination process. This process must be done entirely by hand, most families have to hire people. To get pollen, farmers have to go to each tree to find and pick it, then bring it back to dry so that the pollen falls off the pistil. When pollinating these flowers, they have to use tools made by the farmers themselves, and go to each flower to pollinate.
“To have big, round custard apples with beautiful appearance, the pollinator must apply pollen evenly on the pistil. Each time, only apply 7-10 fruits/tree so that the tree has enough strength to nourish the fruit. When the fruit sets, you must continue to check each fruit. If any fruit does not meet the requirements such as being deformed or dark in color, you must pick it and discard it to focus nutrients on the fruits that meet the standards,” Mr. Bui Van Nhuong shared.
According to the experience of custard apple growers here, for custard apples to produce fruit in different seasons, the branches of the tree must be old and the canopy must be relatively sparse so that sunlight can penetrate and cause buds to sprout in the tree trunk. Taking advantage of the strong regeneration properties of custard apple trees, people can cut old buds so that the tree can grow new buds with flowers, then pollinate the flowers to form late-season custard apples.
The most important thing when intensively cultivating custard apples in a spread-out season is that the late season will fall in winter, with little rainfall, so it is necessary to proactively develop an irrigation system. In addition, there will be less sunlight, so it is necessary to closely monitor and thin out the thick-leafed trees to create conditions for sunlight to shine on the fruit. This will help prevent aphids from damaging the fruit and help the fruit to have a sweeter taste and a more beautiful appearance.
Growing custard apples in the winter is also susceptible to insect attacks, so when the custard apples reach a certain size, the growers must wrap each fruit to protect it. A month before harvest, the growers must use pesticides to prevent pests from damaging the custard apples. Custard apples are plants that require careful care, so people take care of the custard apple garden every day... Because of this meticulousness, winter custard apples are very popular with consumers, even though the price is twice as high as that of the main crop.
Winter custard apples have better quality and appearance than main-season custard apples, so the selling price is also higher, and the economic efficiency for people is also greater. Currently, over 80% of the custard apple area is grown by people in the winter crop.
To enhance the "Chi Linh Na" brand, the city's specialized departments have focused on directing production in line with the market, increasing training for farmers to apply scientific and technical advances in the production process to improve quality, increase competitiveness and promote the strengths of this fruit tree.
In recent years, Chi Linh City has promoted and introduced local agricultural products, including custard apple.
In which Ben Tam custard apple has become a 3-star OCOP product of Chi Linh.
"Na Chi Linh" is gradually becoming a famous brand.Chi Linh custard apple is both a brand and a sustainable livelihood for the people here.
However, the consumption of custard apples still faces some difficulties because people do not have optimal techniques to preserve custard apples after harvest, which affects the quality of custard apples during the packaging and transportation process to the place of consumption. On the other hand, there are no large enterprises to guarantee the product, the export market for this product is mainly through unofficial channels... These are the reasons that somewhat limit the expansion of the export market for custard apples.
Therefore, in order for custard apple trees to fully promote their economic efficiency, in addition to the active participation of local people and authorities, there needs to be the participation of purchasing and consuming businesses to ensure stable product output.
“In the coming time, along with developing key fruit trees, Chi Linh City will continue to expand the custard apple growing area, improve quality, design and promote trade to bring the “Chi Linh Custard Apple” brand closer to consumers,” said Mr. Nguyen Nhu Nguyen, Chairman of the Chi Linh City Farmers’ Association.
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