Propagating woody grapes in Dalat

A man in his fifties, named Che Luong, owner of an ecological garden next to the canopy of a natural pine forest at Prenn Pass, Da Lat, over many years has been self-studying and successfully researching and breeding woody grape vines originating from South America, providing for the needs of growing in ornamental habitats and mass commercial plantings of customers inside and outside Lam Dong province.

Garden owner Che Luong next to the woody vine at the top of the line

Mr. Che Luong's wood grape ecological garden is located in the green valley of Prenn Pass in Da Lat, quite easy to find and visit for local, domestic and international visitors. At the intersection of Prenn Pass and Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourist Area, look at the opposite side of the welcoming gate with the words "Alley 63, Ward 3, Da Lat City. All people unite to build a civilized city" and stop. Then through this gate, drive by car through a few slow turns around the green pine hillside in less than ten minutes to enter the large window marked "woody vineyard". All visitors are free to enter, without any fees. In early July 2024, the reporter came here to learn that in the total ecological garden area of 21,000 m ² , 7,000 m ² of fixed cultivation was allocated about 400 top-of-the-line woody grape vines, 30 - 40 years old. Every year, during the woody grape crop from September of the previous year to May of the following year, Mr. Che Luong not only harvests commercial fruit, but also chooses to harvest ripe fruit to get seeds to plant new trees for greening in his ecological garden, and at the same time care for mature trees to supply according to orders from producers in the above regions and regions of the country.

Taking reporters to the area of more than a year old woody grape seedlings in the ecological garden, Mr. Che Luong said that he had experimented over many years to complete the on-site propagation process, achieving the highest rate of strong growth, high productivity, suitable for soil and climate conditions from hot plains to cooler mountainous areas. Mr. Che Luong shared: "Originating from the tropical climate of South America, the woody grape vines were distributed, planted, and cared for in our ecological garden at an altitude of 1,500 m above sea level more than 20 years ago. The initial number of seedlings brought back to grow well was zoned and nurtured to summarize the breeding process, intensive care and care according to the standards of first-generation plants...".

Accordingly, wood grapes collect ripe fruit from the tree and soak it in a pot of clean filtered water for one day. Then take it out, remove the shell and rice, take the kernel and dry it in the sun naturally for 3 consecutive days. Finally, germinate the dry seeds under a layer of pathogen-free sand, keep them regularly moist, and after 30 days they germinate into seedlings and transfer them to be planted and cared for in small plastic bags. As a result, after more than 1 year of growth, the tree grew to a height of 20 cm or more with many pairs of leaves that were continuously pulled out of the potting soil in a plastic bag and planted in a large pot containing a coconut fiber substrate mixed with manure and biological products. After 1 year of extra care, the tree will reach a height of 50 cm or more and switch to specialized farming or direct intercropping on garden land. After more than 2 years of completing the process, garden owner Che Luong created a new generation of woody grapes endemic to Da Lat's flower town.

"Mature woody grape seedlings have a height and canopy of 40 cm or more, planted in a hole dug 60 cm deep, the hole surface is square, each side is 60 cm, fertilized with coconut fiber substrate and manure, planted 2 m apart from trees and 2 m apart in specialized rows, 4 m intercropped. Can be intercropped with fruit trees, planted as windbreak for tea and coffee trees...", Mr. Che Luong added. Specifically, take care of mature woody grape seedlings for 5 years after entering the fruit harvest, from the 6th year onwards to the main harvest, each year achieving an average yield of 75 - 80 kg/tree, the selling price at the garden at the beginning of July 2024 is about 300,000 VND/kg fresh. Besides, it also processes delicious grape jam, grape jelly, and grape wine products that are different from other commercial grape varieties. The lifespan of woody vines can be up to a hundred years.

Over the past 7 years, Mr. Che Luong has bred grapes with wooden stems and sold 100 or more trees each year. At my ecological garden in Alley 63, Ward 3, Da Lat, additional annual woody grape seedlings are planted with multi-functions to increase environmental green cover, harvest and sell fresh fruit products and processed products, create agricultural tourism products, contributing to increasing the length of stay of tourists when coming to the flower city of Da Lat.

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/lanh-te/202407/nhan-giong-nho-than-go-o-da-lat-25e12bc/