Cherry plum season

Com plum, also known as tam hoa plum, is grown widely in Son La city, with over 1,000 hectares, yielding nearly 10,000 tons/year. When the plum is still green, it has a slightly sour taste, when ripe, it gradually turns deep red, sweet and is likened to "cherry" by the people. These days, plum gardens in Chieng Co, Chieng Den, and Chieng Ngan communes are being urgently harvested by farmers.

Farmers in Chieng Co commune, City, harvest plums.

These days, the family of Mr. Tong Van Ngoan, Hom village, Chieng Co commune, is mobilizing his family members to harvest Tam Hoa plums. Thanks to learning from the experience of plum growers in Phieng Khoai commune, Yen Chau district and applying it to planting and caring for his family's plum garden, this year, Ngoan's family's plums have produced large, sweet fruits, and at peak times, they sell for 20,000-50,000 VND/kg, grade 1.

Mr. Ngoan shared: With more than 1 hectare Growing Tam Hoa plum, the family harvested 10 tons of fruit, earning about 200 million VND. In addition to selling directly to traders, the family also sells online through social networks: Facebook, Zalo... all transactions are done online very quickly and effectively.

The cherry plum is dark purple when ripe.

The "cherry" plum season is 2 months earlier than the "late" plum season, with harvest time from March to early May every year. At this time, on the road to Chieng Co commune, there are many gathering and purchasing points for plums. The family of Ms. Lo Thi Ly, Hom village, is the largest and longest-standing plum purchasing facility in Chieng Co commune, with many workers busy sorting plums, carefully packaging them to deliver them to customers in time.

Ms. Ly shared: This year, thanks to the effective use of social networks and media, Son La "cherry" plums have attracted the attention of consumers nationwide, so plum consumption is more favorable. Currently, my family buys at prices ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 VND/kg depending on the type of fruit. At the beginning of the season, when the plums are still green, I transport and supply plums to Ho Chi Minh City. Now that the plums are ripe, my family mainly supplies to traders who are key players in Hanoi and Hai Phong. On average, we buy 2-3 tons of plums/day; my family has sold more than 100 tons of plums at wholesale markets.

Ms. Lo Thi Ly, Hom village, Chieng Co commune, purchases and sorts plums before packaging them and sending them to wholesale markets for sale.

Ms. Tong Thi Bo, Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Chieng Co Commune, informed: The whole commune has more than 780 hectares of plums of all kinds, of which about 330 hectares are rice plums. This year, although the drought has made the plums smaller than in previous years, the output is higher than in previous years and has been purchased by many traders from neighboring provinces. Many households have applied science and technology to production, such as pruning, creating canopy and organic care. Thanks to that, the quality of plums has improved, the selling price is also higher, bringing significant income to the people.

Plums are purchased at prices ranging from 5,000-20,000 VND/kg depending on the type.

In Chieng Den commune, there are over 800 hectares of plums, of which over 500 hectares are rice plums, with an output of about 5,000 tons. Currently, in the commune, there are more than 20 plum purchasing points from households in association with traders inside and outside the province, ensuring plum consumption for the people.

Plum branches laden with fruit are very beautiful.

Specializing in purchasing local agricultural products, Mr. Lo Van Chuong, from Den village, said: Every day, my family purchases 1-2 tons of Tam Hoa plums and transports them to wholesale markets in the provinces: Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc... which are our partners who have been consuming them for many years. In addition, I introduce Son La plum and apricot products on social networking sites in the South and the North, so they sell faster than previous seasons.

Plum when ripe is dark purple, sweet, like cherry

At this time, during the April 30 and May 1 holidays, many plum gardens are still open to welcome visitors to visit, take photos and experience plum picking directly in the garden. Bui Thi Kieu, from Dien Bien, currently a student at Tay Bac University, shared: This is the first time I have experienced picking rice plums, I feel very excited, looking at the clusters of plums heavy, ripe red is very attractive. I have filmed and taken many beautiful photos with the plums, to introduce to relatives and friends to visit Son La and experience immersing themselves in nature.

Tourists experience plum picking in Hom village, Chieng Co commune

"Cherry plum" of Son La city is gradually conquering tourists from all over, affirming itself as one of the typical products of Son La, bringing income to farmers. Coming to Son La city in the plum season, visitors should not miss the opportunity to immerse themselves in the fresh air, enjoy the taste of fresh, safe fruit and experience the unique culture of Son La ethnic groups.

Phan Trang

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