Replicating the watermelon growing model in Huong Phung

Implementing the policy of growing multiple crops and animals in agricultural economic development, in recent years, farmers in Huong Phung commune, Huong Hoa district have actively researched and studied to intercrop short-term crops with high economic value. Among them, watermelon is chosen by local people to put into production. This is a crop suitable for local soil and climate conditions, bringing in a good source of income and is currently being widely replicated in the commune.

Mr. Dien's family's watermelon field has brought in quite a lot of income this year - Photo: NT

Mr. Hoang Khoang's family in Ma Lai Pun village was one of the pioneers in piloting watermelon cultivation on Huong Phung land in 2010. At first, his family only used land along the fields and streams to grow watermelons. Although the first crops were not very productive, they showed that watermelons were suitable for natural conditions, free from pests and diseases, and had better quality than those from other regions, making them popular with customers.

From that result, his family has gradually expanded the area over the years, not only utilizing land but also converting some low-efficiency vegetable areas to grow watermelon and maintaining the model until now with a total area of ​​over 1 hectare, yielding over 20 tons/year.

Mr. Khoang said: “My family mainly grows catimor coffee, but we found that watermelon is quite suitable and brings higher economic efficiency than other short-term crops, so we invested in maintaining this model. Thanks to that, we have both taken advantage of abandoned land and converted some ineffective crops, increasing income per unit area.”

As for Mr. Nguyen Van Dien's family in Ma Lai Pun village, after learning from the leading models in the locality, they also decided to plan their land to grow watermelon. During the process of replanting coffee trees, he intercropped with watermelon to increase income. With the advantage of the later model, he was meticulous from the land preparation and fertilization stages, so the watermelon grew very well, with productivity increasing year by year.

Currently, his family's total melon growing area is about 1 hectare, after deducting expenses, the profit is more than 100 million VND/crop. "Although the model has not been implemented for long, watermelon has brought quite stable economic efficiency to my family. Therefore, we decided to choose this crop for long-term development. In the coming time, I will expand the area and research to grow alternating crops, achieving 2 crops/year, thereby taking advantage of land as well as idle labor," said Mr. Dien.

Through the models, it is shown that watermelon is suitable for the weather and soil quality in Huong Phung. In particular, watermelon growers are connected and support each other in their experience in choosing varieties, soil preparation techniques as well as fertilization. Through the internet and social networking sites, they proactively connect and learn from models in other localities with similar conditions, choosing suitable varieties to order and bring back to grow locally.

According to long-time watermelon growers in Huong Phung, compared to other crops, watermelon is easy to grow, the soil preparation technique is simple, requires little fertilizer and care, and the economic efficiency is higher. The land in Huong Phung is quite fertile, so watermelon grows well, is not affected by pests, the fruit is quite large, even and has a characteristic sweet taste, different from watermelon in other regions, and is favored by customers.

Thanks to the experience gained and learning from previous models, Huong Phung watermelons have achieved a fairly high yield, averaging over 20 tons/ha. The output is basically stable, mainly purchased by traders at the garden, or imported from local markets, with a stable selling price of 7 - 8 thousand VND/kg, without product backlog.

Vice Chairman of Huong Phung Commune People's Committee Ha Ngoc Duong said: "Initially, watermelon in Huong Phung was only grown as a pilot by a few households, intercropping with perennial crops. Gradually, seeing that watermelon was suitable for local conditions, people expanded the model. They gradually increased the watermelon acreage by converting other short-term crops, such as potatoes, cassava, corn, peanuts, etc.

Currently, the whole commune has over 20 households regularly growing watermelon, with a total area of ​​over 6 hectares. The local government continues to encourage people to convert ineffective areas to grow suitable crops. However, it also recommends that people should not develop watermelon cultivation en masse but must have careful calculations because weather conditions and agricultural product prices still pose many potential risks.

Ngoc Trang

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nhan-rong-mo-hinh-trong-dua-hau-o-huong-phung-193944.htm