Sweet and fragrant lychee season in Da Rsal

Lychee garden full of fruit in Da Rsal commune, Dam Rong district

• LYCHEE GROWERS HIT BIG

In early May, lychee growers in Da Rsal commune are preparing to welcome traders to cut lychees in their gardens. Looking at the large, round bunches of fruit covered in a sweet pink-red color, Mr. Phan Van Tuan - Head of the Hop Tien Cooperative Group could not hide his joy because the efforts to conquer this crop have yielded sweet fruits.

“Compared to last year, this year, lychee growers have had a big hit, everyone is excited. Traders come to the gardens to buy, and there have been many invitations to cooperate in supplying lychees for export. This is also the result of many years of effort to stick with this crop,” Mr. Tuan shared.

The first lychee tree was planted in Lam Dong by Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dai.

In 2001, the U Hong litchi variety was introduced by Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dai - a native of Bac Giang , for experimental planting on the Lam Vien plateau. Of the 10 seedlings that Mr. Dai brought in, 3 survived and grew well. Thanks to the favorable climate and suitable soil, the litchi tree bore fruit after 5 years of care. According to Mr. Dai, the U Hong litchi has a heart shape, deep fruit stalks, and is bright pink-red when ripe.

After realizing that lychee trees could grow in the highlands, Mr. Dai started to propagate and expand the planting area. Currently, his family has more than 1.8 hectares of lychee, expected to harvest about more than 10 tons of fresh fruit.

Thanks to many years of experience, the lychee garden produces large, evenly sized fruits with beautiful pink color. According to Mr. Dai, many traders from all over come to buy at the garden at a price of 35,000 - 40,000 VND/kg.

Pink litchi has small seeds, thin skin, thick flesh, and rich sweet taste.

Mr. Dai has been attached to Da R'Sal for 23 years, which is also the time when the pink lychee tree took root and bore fruit on this land. With small seeds, thin skin, thick flesh, rich sweetness, slightly sour and cool aroma, pink lychee grown in Da R'Sal is highly appreciated for its quality and is favored by the market. In particular, the lychee ripens about 1 month earlier than in the northern provinces, so traders from all over come to buy it at a relatively high price.

According to the people, this year the weather is favorable, the trees grow well, there are few pests and diseases, so the rate of flowering and fruiting is high. Currently, each hectare of lychee yields 7-8 tons of fresh fruit. With the current price, lychee growers have a significant additional source of income. Realizing the potential of lychee trees, Mr. Dai has also propagated and supplied them to many households in the commune.

Pink litchi grown in Lam Dong is increasingly of high quality.

• IMPROVE QUALITY, AIM FOR EXPORT

According to Mr. Phung Van Thieu - Vice Chairman of Da Rsal Commune People's Committee, in recent years, agricultural production has been developing in the direction of diversifying crop structure. In particular, U Hong litchi is also considered a potential crop, suitable for climate and soil conditions. In 2023, the commune established the Hop Tien litchi cooperative and the U Hong litchi products of the cooperative were certified by the District People's Committee as achieving 3-star OCOP.

Mr. Phan Van Tuan - Head of the Cooperative Group is also one of the pioneers in growing lychee. Currently, his family has more than 1 hectare of lychee with nearly 160 trees, the expected yield this year is about 7 tons/ha.

To help the Da R'sal litchi brand reach further, Mr. Tuan has campaigned to establish a Cooperative Group, linking litchi growers to support each other from seedlings, care techniques to finding output.

He said that with 17 participating households, the total area of ​​U Hong litchi cultivation of Hop Tien Cooperative Group has reached 13.5 hectares, with an estimated output of about 98 tons per year. The U Hong litchi products of the Cooperative Group have achieved 3-star OCOP certification and are oriented to improve quality for export to the Japanese and Korean markets.

Many locals and visitors were surprised by the laden lychee garden grown in the highlands.

The cooperative has received support and advice from professional agencies and applied modern cultivation methods, protecting the environment and ensuring product quality. And the cooperative is applying cultivation according to VietGAP standards and has been granted the certification code VNCHN-VietGAP-TT-0090 with an area of ​​2 hectares for products.

In addition, the Cooperative not only provides high-quality lychee varieties to farmers but also provides technical support, consulting, training, experience sharing, and solving problems arising during the cultivation process. At the same time, it also coordinates with relevant agencies to promote product images, protect farmers' rights, and ensure reasonable prices.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dai is the one who brought lychee trees to test and develop them on Da Rsal land.

However, according to Mr. Tuan, lychee is a fairly new crop, its comparative value is not as high as the main crops currently in the area, so people have not focused on developing it strongly but are still planting and testing it. Therefore, in addition to expanding the area, Hop Tien Cooperative will continue to improve productivity and ensure consistent quality to serve as a basis for developing output linkages with supermarkets and stores in the province.

In addition, the Cooperative also recommends that members do not harvest green or unripe fruits, and comply with the pesticide isolation period to ensure fruit quality and food safety.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202505/ngot-thom-mua-vai-u-hong-oda-rsal-76c322f/