Nghia Phuong in the na-chiem pollination season

BAC NINH - As soon as the last custard apples of the main season have been harvested, custard apple growers in Nghia Phuong commune - the largest custard apple growing area in Bac Ninh province - are busy pollinating custard apples. This is an off-season custard apple crop but the selling price is higher. For the people here, pollinating custard apples is not simply a farming technique but has become a "secret" to increasing the value of crops, creating a brand for this land.

Flower pollination tips

Early in the morning, when the sunlight was still shyly hiding behind the Gom mountain range, Mr. Tran Van Hung, Lien Giang village, hurriedly brought a bottle of pollen up the hill. On the hillside of nearly 2 hectares with more than 1,000 custard apple trees, he meticulously put small pollen tubes into each pistil. On the tree branches, between the young fruits that had formed, there were countless clusters of newly blooming flowers, signaling a promising custard apple crop. “Thanks to early pruning, the garden already had young fruits. But I still continued to pollinate to create a new batch of fruits, prolonging the harvest time, not rushing into one stage,” Mr. Hung shared.

Mr. Hung said that his family started growing custard apples in 1994, on the area that used to grow cassava. In the first years, custard apple trees naturally produced fruit, ripening in just 20 days. Growers could not harvest in time, many fruits fell off, the quality decreased, and they could not be sold at a good price. In 2012, the Commune Farmers' Association organized for some households to go to Quang Ninh province to learn artificial pollination techniques. This was an important turning point for custard apple growers. However, the method of collecting pollen at that time was not effective because they used fingernails or cotton swabs to collect pollen from one flower to transfer to another, which took a lot of effort and time.

Mr. Hung researched and improved the pollination method, accordingly he picked small flowers, separated the petals, kept the pistil, wrapped it in newspaper, and put it in the refrigerator. The next day, he sifted it gently to get the pollen, then put it in a small bottle. When pollinating, he put the pollen into a plastic tube to make direct contact with the pistil. Thanks to this innovation, the work was faster, saved energy, had a high fruit set rate and consistent fruit quality.

Currently, on average, his family earns about 300 million VND per year from custard apple trees. “Pollination techniques not only help produce many beautiful fruits, but more importantly, they extend the harvest season. This is the way to help Nghia Phuong custard apples sell at higher and more stable prices,” said Mr. Hung.

Mrs. Luu Thi Mai, Lien Giang village pollinates custard apple.

Not only Mr. Hung, many other households in Lien Giang village have also mastered this technique. Mrs. Luu Thi Mai, who has 1,000 custard apple trees at the foot of Gom mountain, confided: “At first, I was confused, not knowing which flowers had been pollinated and which had not. After learning from experience, each time I finished, I plucked a petal to mark. Thanks to that, the work was faster, without missing anything.”

According to Ms. Mai, pruning the branches properly determines the yield of custard apples. There are two prunings a year: After Tet, people cut the branches to stimulate the tree to sprout and flower; in June - July of the lunar calendar, coinciding with the main harvest season, they prune again to prepare for the winter-spring crop. The combination of pruning and pollination helps growers take the initiative in time, yield and quality.

In other villages such as Lien Khuyen, Suoi Van, Chua, Nghe... people are also used to dividing pollination into many periods, lasting a whole month instead of concentrating on a few days. Mrs. Bui Thi Huong, Lien Khuyen village said: "My family has more than 1,100 custard apple trees. The first period of pollination has been completed, and the second and third periods are being prepared. Thanks to that, the custard apple harvest lasts from October to December of the lunar calendar, and sells for much higher prices than the main season."

According to people's calculations, if the main crop sells for an average of 30,000 - 35,000 VND/kg, the winter-spring crop can reach 40,000 - 45,000 VND/kg, sometimes even up to 60,000 VND/kg.

Towards sustainable production

Custard apple trees were introduced to Nghia Phuong in the 1990s, but only in the 2000s did they develop strongly. From trial planting in home gardens, seeing the effectiveness, people expanded to the hills, then down to the high fields that were used to grow rice and other crops ineffectively. Up to now, the custard apple area of ​​the whole commune has reached more than 1,000 hectares, making Nghia Phuong the largest custard apple specialized area in Bac Ninh . The average annual output reaches more than 8,000 tons, with a total estimated value of about 350 - 400 billion VND. Many households earn hundreds of millions of VND each year.

Custard apples in Nghia Phuong commune are grown on hillsides.

In order to exploit the potential and advantages of the locality, the People's Committee of the commune has supported the establishment of a custard apple production cooperative, issued regulations on geographical indication management, affixed traceability stamps, applied QR codes, and printed beautiful packaging designs. In recent years, the commune has also actively promoted Nghia Phuong custard apple products at agricultural fairs in and outside the province, put products on e-commerce platforms, and gradually expanded the consumption market. "We determined that producing custard apples in the direction of VietGAP, safety, and clear traceability is the inevitable way to increase value and expand the market," said a leader of the People's Committee of Nghia Phuong commune.

Currently, many households have boldly invested in drip irrigation systems, linking consumption with supermarkets and purchasing enterprises. The production mindset of Nghia Phuong farmers is shifting from small-scale, fragmented to commodity-oriented, professional, and sustainable. Every pollination season, on the hillsides of Nghia Phuong commune, the image of farmers working hard in their custard apple gardens has become a vivid proof of the persistent labor, creative spirit and aspiration to get rich from their homeland. From the diligent hands and innovation in farming techniques, Nghia Phuong custard apple products are increasingly asserting their position and becoming a tree that enriches the land here.

Article and photos: Do Thanh Nam

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/nghia-phuong-vao-mua-thu-phan-na-chiem-postid427200.bbg