Dong Ho watermelon "ripe sweet" joy

As scheduled, around the end of May and the beginning of June, watermelon farmers in the Thac Ba lake area are busy harvesting. This is the land area below level 58 that people use to grow watermelon. In 2025, although the water level of Thac Ba lake has decreased, the watermelon growing area of ​​Yen Binh district is still maintained at about 100 hectares. This year, the weather is favorable, the watermelon trees are full of sweet and ripe fruits, bringing a bumper crop to farmers.

>>

>>

The family of Ms. Ly Thi Mo, Ngoi Khuong village, Yen Thanh commune, has been growing watermelons on their dry fields for 3 years now. Ms. Mo planted the melons in February, and after only nearly 3 months, the plants began to yield. This year, the weather was good, there was no rain during the flowering period, so the plants bore fruit evenly. Each fruit weighs an average of 1 - 3 kg, and some fruits weighed up to 4 - 5 kg. The estimated yield of Ms. Mo's family for the whole crop is about 1.5 tons. With a stable selling price of 5,000 - 8,000 VND/kg, this crop her family earned about tens of millions of VND.

Ms. Mo excitedly shared: "Since my family converted the ineffective rice field to grow watermelon, I have seen much better results. The watermelon is easy to grow and care for, and can be harvested in just under 3 months. This year, the weather is favorable, so the appearance is beautiful, sweet and there are few pests and diseases. This crop, my family will have a higher yield than the previous crop."

Like Ms. Mo's family, Mr. Ban Van Quyet's family in May Dung village, Yen Thanh commune, has a good watermelon crop this year. As one of the earliest watermelon growers in the commune, Mr. Quyet currently has over 1.5 hectares of watermelon. With 4 workers in the family, he does not have to hire workers, so the investment cost for each watermelon crop is only about 17 million VND, including seeds, plastic bags to cover the soil and fertilizer.

Therefore, with good productivity and selling price, Mr. Quyet expects to earn over 200 million VND this crop. This is a significant profit compared to many traditional crops such as rice, beans, and peanuts on the same area.

Mr. Quyet shared: "Since switching from other crops to watermelon, I have seen clear economic efficiency, many times higher and less care."

This year, the total watermelon growing area of ​​Yen Thanh commune is about 27 hectares, all of which are land areas below level 58 that are utilized by people in the commune and neighboring communes. The expected yield is about 30 tons/ha, bringing in billions of dong in revenue for Yen Thanh people.

From January to June of the solar calendar every year, when the water of Thac Ba Lake recedes, people in the communes in the East of Thac Ba Lake take advantage of the land area below level 58 to grow crops such as peanuts, corn, beans, etc. Over the past 10 years, people have boldly changed the structure, planting watermelon, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe on semi-flooded land, bringing quite high economic efficiency.

With the practical effectiveness of developing the watermelon and cantaloupe model on Thac Ba Lake Island, Yen Binh District has recently focused on directing localities to actively propagate and mobilize people to convert ineffective short-term crop areas to grow melons. The District also directed localities to coordinate with specialized agencies to train and guide farmers on techniques for growing and caring for melons.

At the same time, Yen Binh also actively supports local cooperatives to link production and consumption of melon products with businesses to expand the market, create stable output so that farmers can feel secure in production and improve the quality and value of clean melon products from Thac Ba Lake. Therefore, in 2025, although the water level of Thac Ba Lake has decreased slightly, the melon growing area in the whole district will still be maintained at about 100 hectares, concentrated in the communes of Phuc Ninh, My Gia, Xuan Lai, Vu Linh and Yen Thanh.

Thanks to favorable weather and proactive pest control, this year Yen Binh people have a good watermelon crop, beautiful fruit, thin skin, red flesh, sweet and fragrant taste. With an estimated watermelon yield of about 30 tons/ha, stable selling price of 5,000 - 8,000 VND/kg on average, this year people in the East Lake Thac Ba area are excited to earn tens of billions of VND.

To continue improving the quality and yield of Thac Ba Lake watermelon, next August, the Provincial Center for Application, Technique, Science and Technology Information will test the Red Sun seedless watermelon variety in different crops in Yen Binh district. This is an easy-to-grow variety, less susceptible to pests and diseases, with large, even fruit, tough, firm skin, easy to transport long distances and long-term storage, firm flesh, rich sweetness, and beautiful red flesh color.

This melon variety was put into trial cultivation by Hoang Long Cooperative, My Gia Commune in 2024. As a result, the melon plant grew and developed well, producing large, sweet and fragrant fruits, with a selling price of 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg, 3 times more effective than the old melon variety. It is believed that when the Red Sun watermelon variety is successfully tested and widely spread in the district, it will maximize the efficiency of land use, increase productivity and product quality, especially increase income for people.

Minh Huyen

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/351571/Dua-hau-Dong-ho-chin-ngot-niem-vui.aspx