Buying super expensive fruit seeds from Korea, old farmer in the West makes a lot of money

Leaving his car business in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Ba Duy, 57 years old, returned to his hometown to grow peony grapes, despite his family's objections. Currently, his vineyard produces 2 tons of fruit, selling for 400,000 VND/kg.

In recent days, many tourists have flocked to the peony grape garden of more than 3,000 square meters owned by Mr. Nguyen Ba Duy, Long Hoa ward, Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city. He is considered the first person to plant peony grapes in Can Tho city.

Mr. Duy said that he used to be in the car business in Ho Chi Minh City. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted his work and car sales were sluggish.

As a person with a passion for farming, Mr. Duy thought that farming would never starve him, so he decided to go to Can Tho to renovate the abandoned land to plant trees. At that time, he saw that the star apple garden near his house was for sale, so he bought it.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Duy

Like many others, he initially planned to grow durian and Thai jackfruit. However, after thinking it over, he realized he needed to find a new crop. In the end, he decided to cut down the milk fruit tree and buy 100 peony grapevines to plant at the end of 2021.

“I have been passionate about growing grapes for a long time. In particular, I saw that peony grapes have high economic value, so I decided to invest in growing them. At that time, my family objected because this is a new variety of plant, very difficult to grow,” shared the pioneer man who grew peony grapes in Can Tho.

He only learned how to grow peony grapes online, so at first, most of his seedlings died. Many people said he was “crazy” to grow peony grapes in Can Tho.

Not discouraged, Mr. Duy decided to go to Korea, to a peony grape farm. After many days of eating and sleeping with peony grapes in Korea, Mr. Duy accumulated a lot of experience.

"Many people believe that only Ninh Thuan land can grow grapes. However, the soil in the West also grows grapes very well. However, in the West, it rains a lot, so it is susceptible to diseases, so if you want grapes to grow well, you have to invest in a greenhouse," said Mr. Duy.

After nearly 2 years of planting, the peony grapes in Mr. Duy's garden bear fruit.

Ripe bunches of peony grapes in Mr. Duy's garden.

Returning from Korea, Mr. Duy invested in a greenhouse system and convection fans to prepare for planting grapes. "In addition, I bought 3,000 cubic meters of sand to pump into the garden, rented a mechanical vehicle to mix the sand and soil together, then dried the soil before planting," Mr. Duy said.

It took about 2 years, from preparing the land, greenhouse and planting the trees, until now the peony grapes have ripened in Mr. Duy's garden. When he tasted the peony grapes he grew, which tasted of mango and milk, his happiness seemed to explode.

Mr. Duy said that peony grapes are highly resistant to disease, however, growers must understand the characteristics and techniques of how to make the tree bear fruit. He said that in Korea, there is winter, so the peony grape concentrates its nutrients at the base, the leaves on the top are bare, making it easier to make the tree bear fruit.

In the West, there are "two rainy and sunny seasons", so intervention is needed to help the peony grapevines bear fruit. "However, growing peony grapes in the West can produce fruit twice a year, while in Korea it only produces one season," said Mr. Duy.

He revealed: "The process of making and pruning fruit is very difficult. You have to observe the flowers that have just bloomed and then use biological products imported from abroad to treat them to remove the seeds. After that, continue to treat them to stretch the flower clusters, avoid pathogens, fruit rot and increase the size of the fruit... After fruiting, you have to prune 3 times to make the grape bunches of even quality and beautiful."

According to Mr. Duy, peony grapes have high nutritional value, when frozen they can be preserved for 6 months without the fruit falling off the stem. The first batch of peony grapes, Mr. Duy's garden achieved a yield of about 2 tons. Each bunch of grapes weighs from 500 - 700g, selling for 400,000 VND/kg.

Seeing the potential of grapevines in Can Tho, Mr. Duy said he would boldly expand the area of vineyards, propagate large quantities to sell to the market, transfer techniques, and guarantee output for people who want to switch to growing this grape variety.

Growing grapes is difficult, growing peony grapes in the West to produce fruit is many times more difficult. Therefore, Mr. Duy said that he has to be patient with the plants. Every day, he is present in the vineyard, making trellises, mounding, pruning...

Mr. Duy takes care of the vineyard very meticulously.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, Deputy Head of the Agricultural Extension Station of Binh Thuy District, commented that Mr. Duy's peony grape growing model is completely new, with investment in a modern system.

Mr. Duy is also the pioneer in bringing the expensive Korean grape variety to the West. The garden has just opened for the holidays to welcome visitors and has received very positive feedback.

According to vietnamnet.vn

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