Farmers bring science to the custard apple hill

In mid-May, we went to the custard apple area of ​​Phu Thuong commune (Vo Nhai). When the morning dew was still lingering on the branches and leaves, Mr. Kieu Thuong Chat and his wife, from Phuong Hoang hamlet, were already present in the middle of the custard apple hill, holding a bottle of pollen in their hands and a basket of tools on their backs, diligently performing additional pollination for each custard apple flower that was in full bloom.

Mr. Kieu Thuong Chat (in Phuong Hoang hamlet, Phu Thuong commune, Vo Nhai) additionally pollinates each custard apple flower.

This work takes place every day, regularly, throughout the flowering season of the custard apple tree, a tree that has been with Mr. Chat for more than ten years. While doing it, he said: “It seems simple, but if you don’t do it properly, the flowers will be damaged and the whole crop of fruit will be lost. You always have to pay attention, choose newly bloomed flowers, with petals that have just opened evenly. After pollination, you press a mark to identify it, then continue to look for another cluster of flowers.”

More than 15 years ago, Mr. Chat was a famous photographer in the area. The camera was his close friend, recording many happy and sad moments in life. But then times changed, smartphones became popular, and the service photography profession no longer had a place.

Standing at the "crossroads of life", he decided to choose a seemingly unrelated path: going up the mountain to grow custard apples. The barren rocky hill where he planted the first custard apples, no one believed could bear fruit, because the soil was barren, the sun was harsh, and the rain washed away the color.

“At that time, I just thought, I have land and free time, so I should try planting a few trees. Unexpectedly, the land really suits me. The trees grew well, the first fruit, although not beautiful in appearance, was sweet, fragrant, and sold for a good price. So I decided to do it seriously.”

Custard apple is a drought-resistant tree with few pests and diseases, but to produce high yields and beautiful fruit, growers must truly understand the tree, know how to care for it, and know how to “master” each stage of growth. Mr. Chat began to research and learn from everywhere, from books, training courses, to successful models in other provinces.

The “artistic” nature of a photographer in the past has transformed into meticulousness, patience and creativity in each stage of cultivation. Although he was not the first person to grow custard apples in this land, he is considered a pioneer in intensive cultivation, increasing the number of crops, and applying science and technology in custard apple cultivation.

Mr. Kieu Thuong Chat's custard apple garden is the first intensive farming model, effectively applying science and technology in Phu Thuong commune.

One of the secrets to the success of his custard apple orchard is the additional pollination technique. Unlike the natural way of letting the tree bear fruit, this method helps increase the fruit set rate, creating custard apples that are uniform, round, beautiful in appearance and rich in sweetness. He said: “I pick the custard apple flowers the afternoon before, leave them overnight for the pollen to ripen and then drop them out for pollination. This method was learned from Taiwanese farmers, and is much more effective than the previous method of making fresh pollen. The fruit is big, round, and very pleasing to the eye.”

Artificial pollination is not simple, the worker must know exactly when the flower blooms, use the right tools to push the pollen into the pistil. Normally, it takes the couple nearly a month to pollinate all the trees on the hill.

Not only stopping at pollination, Mr. Chat also synchronously applies many other technical advances to cultivation: From selecting varieties, pruning branches to create canopy, applying organic fertilizers, using biological products, to covering each fruit with bags to prevent pests and diseases.

In particular, at the end of 2021, with the support of the State budget, the couple invested capital to drill wells and install an automatic irrigation system on the custard apple hill. Thanks to that, the custard apple garden developed evenly, significantly reducing labor costs, especially during the dry season.

Not stopping at the main custard apple, realizing the potential of the off-season market, he started implementing the second custard apple model, a new direction, requiring many techniques and timely intervention in the tree's growth cycle.

From here, his model was selected to participate in the Project "Application of science and technology to build a model of intensive cultivation of custard apples in different seasons" in the period 2021-2024 implemented by the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center.

He shared: “To have a second crop of custard apples, you have to prune to create a canopy so that light can pass through and stimulate the buds. When the buds are old, you cut them off, leaving only 2-3 buds, then strip the leaves. New buds grow from those buds, then become buds and then fruit.”

Although the yield of custard apples in the second crop is only about 50-70% compared to the main crop, the selling price is one and a half times higher. There are times when traders come to the garden to "line up" to buy. Thanks to the unique appearance and quality of the delicious fruit, he has a stable customer base.

Not only growing traditional custard apples, he also boldly introduced new custard apple varieties such as Thai Queen custard apples, Taiwanese pineapple custard apples, and durian custard apples... into intercropping. These custard apple varieties not only produce large, delicious fruits, but also have off-season harvests - avoiding the situation of "good harvest, low price".

Mr. Kieu Thuong Chat's custard apple garden is numbered and has a camera installed for management.

From his model, Mr. Chat mobilized two other households to join. They worked together, exchanged experiences, and made progress together. From 3 households with 1.5 hectares at the beginning, up to now, the area of ​​​​natchau spread out in Phuong Hoang hamlet has grown to more than 20 hectares. An intensive natchau area, applying science and technology has been formed, opening a new direction for local farmers.

“When I change my mindset and learn how to farm systematically and scientifically, the plants will “listen” more. Farming now cannot be “left up to the weather” anymore, especially when climate change is happening as strongly as it is now. At the end of last year, there was a prolonged drought. Despite proactive irrigation, some of his nem garden plants died, and the flowers also bloomed later than usual.

Not only does he flexibly respond to the sun and rain, he also proactively monitors weather forecasts, adjusts the schedule of spraying biological products, pruning and stripping leaves to ensure the correct crop cycle. The knowledge that seemed strange to farmers has now become a vital "baggage" in the journey of adapting to climate change.

Currently, Mr. Chat's garden has nearly 400 custard apple trees that are being harvested, along with 200 newly planted trees. Each year, he supplies the market with nearly 10 tons of custard apples. After deducting expenses, he earns about 300 million VND in profit.

He shared: “I always keep in mind that custard apples are not only made to sell until the end of the season, but also to make people remember them forever after eating them once.” Therefore, he reminds himself to take good care of them, from the moment the flowers first appear until they are picked, and not to be careless at any stage.

Looking at Mr. Chat and his wife quietly carrying tools up the rocky hillside, diligently tending to each custard apple flower day by day, I understand more and more the hardships of farming. They devote all their love and passion to their work in every meticulous movement.

That is the philosophy of decent farming, a typical example of a professional farmer: taking prestige as the top priority, taking consumer satisfaction as the motivation to make each crop a more perfect one. For Mr. Chat, custard apple is not only an agricultural product, but also a goodwill invitation sent to those who have ever set foot on the sunny and windy Vo Nhai hills.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202505/nguoi-nong-dan-dua-khoa-hoclen-doi-na-3cb2328/