Keep reputation or follow market demand?

Currently, mangosteen chicken salad is a hot dish on social networking sites as well as in restaurants, eateries, and pubs. People everywhere are looking to buy green mangosteen at high prices to make salad. Following market demand, some gardeners harvest green bamboo shoots, but many farmers are determined to keep their brand and believe that selling unripe fruit will affect the growth, development, and productivity of the following season.

Many gardeners only harvest ripe bamboo shoots to preserve the garden and the Binh Duong mangosteen brand . In the photo: Mr. Lam's family's 70-year-old bamboo shoot garden

Pick green or sell ripe?

“Catching the trend” of mangosteen chicken salad, which is popular with people everywhere, recently some gardeners in Binh Duong have harvested green bamboo shoots and sold them at high prices. According to gardeners, harvesting green bamboo shoots has a higher economic value than ripe bamboo shoots. However, many farmers are concerned because mangosteen trees are hundreds of years old and difficult to grow, and whether harvesting raw bamboo shoots will affect the productivity and growth of the tree.

Recently, farmers in Thanh Tuyen and Thanh An communes, Dau Tieng district, have been buzzing about Mr. NTT's bamboo shoot garden, which has made a big profit by selling green bamboo shoots at high prices to traders right from the beginning of the season. The price of green bamboo shoots at the beginning of the season, including the skin, is 150,000 VND/kg. According to gardeners, selling green bamboo shoots does not cause any loss, 10 fruits can be harvested, the fruit is heavy and requires little effort and time to care for because from flowering to harvesting green fruit only takes 2 to 2.5 months, while waiting for bamboo shoots to ripen takes about 3 to 3.5 months, not to mention having to account for unripe and rotten fruit.

The whole province currently has 1,100 hectares of mangosteen, of which the most is in Thuan An city (630 hectares), concentrated in localities (Binh Nham, Hung Dinh, An Thanh, An Son, Lai Thieu....), Dau Tieng district has 155 hectares concentrated in Thanh Tuyen, Thanh An. The remaining areas are scattered in districts, towns and cities such as Ben Cat town, Phu Giao district...

Mr. Lieu Van Tai Phu, in Bung hamlet, Thanh Tuyen commune, Dau Tieng district, has 1.4 hectares of mangosteen trees planted since 1985. He shared: “Farmers aim for any good market, but harvesting green bamboo shoots is like a quick buck. I have experimented with picking green bamboo shoots, selling them at high prices, with high economic efficiency, but it greatly affects the garden. Green bamboo shoots have very long stems, so it is very difficult to break them, forcing a very strong force to pull the fruit, which will cause leaves to fall, branches to split, and sap to flow from the tree, affecting the photosynthesis process as well as the health and productivity of the next season.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Hanh Nhan, Hamlet 1, An Tay Commune, Ben Cat Town, said that harvesting green bamboo shoots does not greatly affect the growth and development of the tree. “I have 20 bamboo shoots that are over 30 years old. At the beginning of the bamboo shoot season, I often pick green bamboo shoots to make salad for parties as well as sell to orders. Picking green bamboo shoots depends on the technique of picking the fruit combined with fertilizer, ash care, and the weather this year has late rain, so my garden has a good harvest and a big harvest.” According to Mr. Nhan, the technique of picking green bamboo shoots is very important, it is necessary to choose old fruits, branches with many fruits, and prune them to help the fruit ripen. When picking, use your hand to break close to the stem, absolutely do not break the branches, break slowly, do not jerk the fruit so as not to affect the leaves and branches of the tree.”

According to records at gardens in An Tay commune, Ben Cat town, some households pick green bamboo shoots to sell to gardeners and traders in Thuan An city, Ho Chi Minh city. Surveying bamboo shoot gardens in Phu Giao and Dau Tieng districts, reporters found that households selling green bamboo shoots are in gardens with declining plants, poor care or changing owners, picking some plants for testing.

Harvesting must ensure technical factors

In the gardens in Thuan An City, people are very hesitant to pick green bamboo shoots, determined to preserve the brand of the bamboo shoot garden that is nearly 100 years old. The bamboo shoot garden of more than half an acre with about 75 bamboo shoots of Mr. Vuong Hoang Lam in An Thanh Ward is 70 years old but is still healthy and full of vitality. Mr. Lam confided: "To preserve the family's traditional garden, I absolutely do not pick and sell green bamboo shoots. Only households that rent gardens for economic benefits sell green bamboo shoots." Mr. Lam said that harvesting green bamboo shoots is like "slaughtering chickens to get eggs", if following market demand, the tree will be exhausted very quickly, because when picking green bamboo shoots, the tip of that branch will no longer produce shoots, but if picking ripe bamboo shoots, the next season will produce 2 or 3 more shoots.

This year, mangosteens have a good harvest, and some gardeners combine harvesting green bamboo shoots to make specialty dishes. In the photo: Mangosteens newly picked for sale by Mr. Doi's family

Mr. Nguyen Van Doi's family in Hung Tho quarter, Hung Dinh ward, has reserved a half-acre garden with about 10 huts for visitors to visit, eat, rest and experience picking bamboo shoots and fruits. In addition, his family still maintains two separate gardens of more than 1 hectare with about 300 bamboo shoots specializing in picking ripe bamboo shoots to preserve the long-famous Lai Thieu mangosteen brand. Mr. Doi said: "Every day, my family picks about 5 - 10 kg of green bamboo shoots to process and serve visitors, however, when picking green bamboo shoots, we must be very careful and have the right technique."

According to many people, if ripe mangosteen is known as the "queen" of fruits with a mildly sour and sweet taste, then green mangosteen made into mangosteen chicken salad is known as the "king" of salads. If ripe mangosteen is one part delicious, green mangosteen mixed with chicken salad is 10 times more delicious. The crispy and sweet bamboo shoots mixed with chewy chicken meat, the strong spices make the salad more typical of the South.

Currently, grade 1 green mangosteen with skin bought at the garden costs from 40,000 to 60,000 VND/kg. Some gardeners make finished products and sell the bamboo shoots with skin for 400,000 to 550,000 VND/kg depending on the type. To have 1 kg of finished bamboo shoots with skin, the gardener must harvest from 5 to 5.5 kg of peeled green bamboo shoots. Making green mangosteen is very laborious, the gardener must peel it under running water and prepare a basin of water mixed with salt, lemon, and ice to make the bamboo shoots whiter and crispier. Green mangosteens are sold by order, not mass-produced.

Talking to reporters, Ms. Pham Do Bich Quyen, Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, said: “Harvesting green bamboo shoots does not greatly affect the growth and development of the tree because the harvested fruit is already mature. Ripe mangosteens will have a separate layer between the fruit stem and the branch. When picked, the separate layer will separate without affecting the remaining branch. When harvesting green mangosteens, if the branch or fruit stem is not broken properly, it will damage the bamboo shoots, thereby affecting the process of producing new fruit for the next crop of the tree. In addition, harvesting green, unripe bamboo shoots can cause the harvest time of the next crop to be different. Whether it affects the quality of the next crop or not is not yet determined, more research and evaluation is needed. Currently, most of the bamboo shoot gardens in Binh Duong harvest ripe fruit mainly to maintain the brand name.”

Currently, people choose the appropriate harvesting method for their garden purposes to ensure economic security. However, whether green or ripe, the harvest must be in accordance with the biological characteristics of the tree to have a suitable harvesting process and specifications. After green harvesting, the tree must be fertilized immediately. Green harvesting without ensuring technical factors will cause mechanical injuries that make it difficult for new shoots to develop, and the tree will become sick. A mangosteen tree only produces 2 to 3 new shoots a year, so if the above factors are not met, it will not be mature enough to differentiate flower buds, and will not produce flowers, affecting the yield of the next crop.

(Ms. Pham Do Bich Quyen, Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection)

KIM HA - TIEN HANH

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