Chieng Co tangerine season

The harvest season of tangerines in Chieng Co commune, Son La city has been nearly a month. Now is the ideal time to enjoy them because the tangerines are ripe and delicious.

Tangerine is a citrus fruit grown in many localities, but tangerines in Chieng Co have a delicious, distinctive flavor that is different from other places.

The tangerine gardens are full of fruit.

According to the elders of the village, in the past, tangerines were grown in households’ gardens, had a fragrant smell, and were delicious. After many years of exploitation, many tangerine gardens have become old, with small fruits, dry and sour, low productivity, and at times only sold for a few thousand VND/kg.

To preserve native tangerine varieties and improve the productivity and value of Chieng Co tangerines, in 2021, the City Agricultural Service Center implemented a model of renovating and intensively cultivating Chieng Co tangerines on a scale of 2 hectares for households in Ngoai village.

Organic tangerine model in Ngoai village, Chieng Co commune.

Participating in the model, households use polymer beads with high water absorption capacity to fertilize tangerine trees; use new generation plant growth regulators; use micronutrients to limit young fruit drop; apply pruning and canopy shaping techniques; apply fertilizers and use pesticides according to the "4 rights" principle...

Chieng Co commune officials guide farmers in taking care of tangerine gardens.

After 2 years of implementing the model, the City People's Committee coordinated with the Gia Lam Fruit and Vegetable Experimental Research Center to evaluate the results and showed that: The model has improved the productivity and quality of tangerines; the ratio of sweet fruit, juicy segments, sugar content, vitamin C, and Brix of tangerines is higher than that of tangerine gardens outside the model, especially there is no longer the phenomenon of dry segments and segments, and bland fruit like every year.

The tangerine garden of Mr. Tong Van Thanh's family in Ngoai village is planted on a gently sloping slope, every tree is full of ripe yellow fruit, the garden owner has to install bamboo stakes to support the branches. Mr. Thanh shared: In 2021, the City Agricultural Service Center selected him to participate in the Chieng Co tangerine renovation and intensive cultivation model, his family was instructed on planting techniques, pruning, care, fertilization, pest control, using moisture-retaining materials on sloping land... thanks to which, the quality of the tangerines has improved. The tangerine garden is expected to yield about 4 tons this year, with an average price of 20 - 30 thousand VND/kg, bringing in an income of nearly 100 million VND.

Mr. Lu Van Bang's family, Muong Yen village, harvests tangerines.

In 2022, Mr. Lu Van Bang's household in Muong Yen village applied pruning and shaping techniques, using organic fertilizers instead of inorganic fertilizers for tangerine trees. With nearly 2,000 m² of tangerine trees, it is expected that this crop will yield about 3.5 tons of fruit. Currently, traders come to buy at the garden at a price of 20,000 - 30,000 VND/kg.

Tangerine garden in Muong Yen village, Chieng Co commune.

Born and raised in Son La, now living and working in Hanoi , Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh shared: When I was young, during the tangerine season, my mother often bought the fruit for the whole family to eat and dried the tangerine peel to make more attractive dishes, such as using it to braise fish, make sausages, make tea... Coming back to my hometown this time, I got to enjoy Chieng Co tangerines and felt that the tangerines now still retain their characteristic aroma, but taste much better, the fruit is big, juicy and rich in flavor.

Chieng Co tangerines are packed in 5 kg and 15 kg/box.

Chieng Co tangerine is characterized by a flat round shape. When ripe, the tangerine peel is yellow and often has frost spots. The fruit is not too big, and each tangerine weighs 5-6 fruits/kg. The segments are juicy and when ripe, they have a sweet taste and a very light sour taste. Tangerines are sold a lot at Rang Tech market, 7/11 market, 308 market, and To Hieu ward market.

People of Muong Yen village, Chieng Co commune harvest tangerines.

Ms. Tong Thi Bo, Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Chieng Co Commune, informed: The whole commune has more than 15 hectares of tangerines, nearly 100 households have tangerine gardens mainly concentrated in the villages: Ngoai, Muong, Hun and Ot Noi. Of which, Ngoai village alone has nearly 10 hectares. Chieng Co does not expand the area but focuses on promoting the application of scientific and technological advances to increase the productivity and quality of tangerines and build the Chieng Co tangerine brand.

The ancient tangerine trees are laden with fruit.

Chieng Co tangerines are usually harvested from late November until Tet. However, the best season for tangerines is from late November to December every year.

Mr. Nguyen The Phuong, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee said: The model of renovating and intensively cultivating Chieng Co tangerines has been successfully implemented. In the coming time, the City will continue to direct the Agricultural Service Center to coordinate with the commune, propagate and mobilize farmers, replicate the organic tangerine care model and take steps to build a brand for the product.

Chieng Co tangerines are being grown by households using scientific and technical advances in organic and VietGAP methods to increase the value and build a brand for this local specialty fruit.

Minh Thu - Huy Thanh

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