Phu Long farmers are excited when custard apples have good prices.

These days, in Phu Long commune (Nho Quan), it is not difficult to see traders coming to the garden to buy custard apples from the people, while the people are busy with the harvest. Although it is still the beginning of the season, custard apples have a good price this year, so the people are very happy.

While focusing on harvesting his family's custard apple acreage, Mr. Bui Duc Loi in Hamlet 4, Phu Long said: My family grows 1.5 hectares of custard apples converted from areas previously planted with ineffective corn, potatoes, and cassava. Especially when participating in the Phu Long Cooperative for off-season custard apple production and safe fruit consumption, I was instructed by the cooperative staff on how to care for, prune, and harvest.

To produce custard apples that ensure food safety, the family's custard apples are all grown according to the VietGAP process, eliminating toxic chemicals, prioritizing the use of organic fertilizers and composted manure (treated with microorganisms according to technical procedures). However, this year, due to the prolonged hot weather affecting the growth and development of custard apple trees, the fruit is not as big as every year, but in return, this year the price is good, so we are very happy. With the selling price ranging from 35-45 thousand VND/kg, this price is 8-10 thousand VND/kg higher than in 2022. On average, the family harvests 2 quintals on the lowest day, and nearly 1 ton of fruit on the highest day.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quy's family in Hamlet 4, Phu Long, grows more than 1 hectare of custard apples. These days, the family is mobilizing workers to harvest custard apples in time to weigh and sell to traders. In recent days, his family can harvest more than 100 kg of custard apples per day, with prices fluctuating around 35-45 thousand VND/kg. Sharing with us, Mr. Quy said: At the same time last year, the price of custard apples was only 20-30 thousand VND/kg. In 2023, from the beginning of the season until now, the price of custard apples has reached 35-45 thousand VND/kg. If this price is maintained and does not decrease too much when entering the main season, we custard apple growers will win big this year.

As a customer who has continuously imported goods from Phu Long in recent years, Ms. Do Thi Bich Phuong, owner of Ninh Binh Agricultural Stall, said: Because custard apples here are grown according to VietGAP standards, the quality is much more delicious than other places, so they are trusted by customers. This year, the demand is high, so we continuously import to serve customers.

Currently, the whole Phu Long commune has nearly 200 hectares of custard apple trees converted from the previous corn, potato and cassava growing areas of the people with low economic efficiency. Over time, it has been shown that custard apple trees are very suitable for the land here, have high nutritional value, and are much more delicious than other places. To help link up to create favorable output for the people, in 2020, the Phu Long Cooperative for off-season custard apple production and safe fruit consumption was established. To date, the Cooperative has more than 100 hectares of custard apple trees with 40 participating members.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuat, Director of Phu Long Cooperative for Off-Season Custard Apple Production and Safe Fruit Consumption, said that if custard apples want to have a place in the market, the products must be delicious and have the typical flavor of the region, which depends a lot on the care techniques. The key point for custard apples to produce large, delicious fruits is to prune the branches properly. Most of the high branches will be cut off, leaving only branches at the same level, the branches need to be evenly distributed. According to Mr. Thuat, custard apples growing on high branches are often not sweet and small. Moreover, leaving branches within reach also helps farmers easily pollinate the trees.

It is known that this year, although the weather is unfavorable, the prolonged heat affects the growth of the tree, so the custard apple grows less well, the fruit is not as big as in previous years, but in return, this year the price of custard apple is good, the entire harvested area is purchased by traders in the province as well as Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh provinces. With the purchase price ranging from 35-45 thousand VND/kg, this crop is a great success, some households earn from 300-400 million VND.

Mr. Thuat added: With the economic value that custard apple trees bring to the people here, in the coming time, the Cooperative wishes to expand the area to develop custard apple varieties with higher quality. In addition, the Cooperative also plans to build an experiential tourism model. In particular, the members of the Cooperative are nurturing a plan to develop an extremely rare purple custard apple variety, only found in Phu Long land. This is a mutant custard apple variety with a strange purple color, although the yield is not high, the quality is not inferior to many other custard apple varieties. Since then, the custard apple tree has truly become a crop that helps people get rich right on the barren and rocky land here.

Article and photos: Tien Dat

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