Gardener Hua Van Dan (right) next to a 40-year-old sapodilla garden that generates an income of over 400 million VND/ha/year.
In the key sapodilla growing area in Ninh Thoi commune, during the period of 1992 - 2000, this locality had over 750 hectares of sapodilla specialized in growing. After a long time, gardeners cut down sapodilla trees to replace them with other crops such as green-skinned grapefruit, oranges, jackfruit, etc. By 2020, the sapodilla area had gradually been restored and cared for by gardeners; currently the total sapodilla area of the whole commune is over 150 hectares; for sapodilla gardens over 40 years old, it has decreased sharply, to only a few dozen hectares.
According to Ms. Le Thi Huyen Trang, an official of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ninh Thoi Commune, Cau Ke District: the current sapodilla area in the locality has been mainly renovated and newly planted in the last 5 years. In 2023 alone, 20 hectares of sapodilla were newly planted, with varieties such as sapodilla long jam (also known as goose egg sapodilla) and sapodilla string (traditional sapodilla variety).
With the price of Sapo purchased by traders at the garden at the lowest is 6,500 - 7,000 VND/kg and the highest is over 12,000 VND/kg; the price of Sapo long jam is 3,000 - 4,000 VND/kg higher than Sapo vine, but the productivity is only 35 - 40% compared to Sapo vine.
Gardener Hua Van Dan, Rach Dui hamlet, Ninh Thoi commune said: his family has nearly 0.8ha of garden specializing in growing sapodilla vines, due to pests and old trees, there are currently about 45 sapodilla trees/0.2ha that are over 45 years old. Annually, the yield is about 12 tons of fruit (60 tons/ha), with sapodilla prices from 7,000 - 8,000 VND/kg, the family earns nearly 100 million VND/0.2ha. With sapodilla prices always stable and above 5,000 VND/kg, the gardener makes a profit. Therefore, in 2000, the family expanded to plant nearly 50 more sapodilla trees and the trees are bearing fruit.
Talking about experience in treating Sapo, according to gardener Hua Van Dan, the investment cost for Sapo from flowering to fruit harvest is about 03 months; the fruiting time is from the 8th lunar month to January of the following year. During the fruiting process, the tree must be treated with chemicals, on average spraying chemicals once every 20 days (costing about 500,000 VND/time/45 Sapo trees) and lasting about 10 times. In particular, Sapo trees have a short root system that always grows deep into the ground, so for sandy soil, this soil will not be suitable for Sapo trees to grow.
The trend of growing Sapota trees in Cau Ke is being pursued by many gardeners; from there, the profession of grafting saplings to supply Sapota growers has spread widely, not only providing saplings in Cau Ke district but also to districts of Ben Tre and Hau Giang provinces.
Gardener Nguyen Hoang Anh, Dong Dien hamlet, Ninh Thoi commune said: his family had a sapodilla garden of more than 0.5ha, but cut it down and switched to growing citrus trees since 2015 when sapodilla lost its value. By 2020, the family had restored the sapodilla garden with the sapodilla variety to specialize in supplying seedlings. Currently, the price of sapodilla seedlings fluctuates between 12,000 - 15,000 VND/tree and supplies the market with 5,000 - 7,000 sapodilla seedlings. Currently, the sapodilla variety is being chosen by gardeners to grow due to its beautiful appearance, large fruit, sweetness and bright red flesh...
Article and photos: HUU HUE
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