Thanh Ha farmers busy with Tet banana crop

At this time, banana growers in Thanh Ha commune (Hai Phong) are busy taking care of and protecting the fruit in preparation for the Tet banana crop.

Bananas sold for Tet are carefully taken care of by Mr. Cao Van Tho's family in Xuan An village.

A miracle of care

On the lush green fields in An Lao and Xuan An villages, the most beautiful bunches of dwarf bananas have been ordered early by traders. According to many households in An Lao village, many households now grow bananas in clusters, harvesting successive generations of young plants. Some households only grow one plant to ensure quality and take better care of them.

When the bananas are in bunches, the households here must provide adequate nutrition and carefully wrap them to avoid pests. Wrapping them in plastic or bags also helps the bananas have a brighter, more beautiful appearance, and are not affected by fungus or downy mildew. In particular, each banana tree must be supported by 3-4 bamboo poles to avoid storms.

According to the experience of Mr. Tran Van Xanh in An Lao village, who has spent his whole life with banana trees, he said: “The time when banana trees produce bunches until harvest is also the time when the weather changes a lot. There are years when banana crops have to endure a big storm that destroys everything. Therefore, prevention is better than cure. Each banana tree is carefully tied and wrapped by the people. If it is damaged, it means that Tet is lost.”

For a long time, people in Thanh Ha commune have combined composted chicken manure to supplement nutrients, keep the soil loose, banana trees grow well, and produce fruit evenly. After harvesting Tet bananas, every full moon of the second lunar month, people replant bananas, creating a sustainable production cycle for many years.

To have beautiful bunches of bananas to sell in time for Tet, Thanh Ha commune people have accumulated a lot of experience in production. Each banana tree only produces one bunch, if not well cared for, the bananas will bloom early, be harvested before Tet or have low quality.

Bananas grown in Thanh Ha commune for sale during Tet are dwarf bananas with small fruits and beautiful, evenly curved bunches, very suitable for displaying on the Tet fruit tray. According to banana growers here, dwarf bananas symbolize fullness and prosperity, so they are more popular than western bananas during Tet.

"Savings" for Tet

Bananas sold during Tet are often expensive.

Thanh Ha commune currently has about 30 hectares of bananas for sale during Tet, most concentrated in Xuan An and An Lao villages. This used to be the "Tet banana granary" of Thanh Ha district, former Hai Duong province. Besides the strength of growing lychee in the main season, some villages in Thanh Ha commune consider bananas as a key crop because of the high profit. Banana trees help change the lives of people here and develop more and more.

At this time, many gardens have traders coming to buy and order bananas for Tet. Therefore, garden owners take good care of the banana garden, ensuring the safety of the banana garden. Mr. Cao Van Tho in Xuan An village said that his family's bananas for Tet are mainly consumed in the Hanoi and Quang Ninh markets. If the family goes to the market to sell during Tet, they can earn more than 300,000 VND/beautiful bunch, but selling to traders is lower but still gives high profits. Therefore, many families consider Tet bananas as "savings" every Tet holiday.

However, for the past 3 years, Thanh Ha commune people have been facing a situation of polluted soil, causing unstable banana productivity. Many banana gardens are damaged when preparing to harvest. Symptoms are that the plants start to turn yellow from the top and fall down, and the bunches have to be sold early. Although many research teams have come to check and take soil samples to determine the level of pollution, it is very expensive to fix.

Mr. Dang Van Hanh, Secretary of the Party Cell of Xuan An village, said that people have many innovations in production such as drying the soil and sprinkling lime powder for disinfection, but they still cannot prevent the disease. “Growing bananas for harvest during Tet often brings much higher value than other crops. Some households earn a profit of 200-300 million VND/year, but currently farmers are facing difficulties in growing land. We hope that the authorities at all levels will pay attention and have solutions to support farmers for more sustainable production,” Mr. Hanh said.

According to Vice Chairwoman of Thanh Ha Commune People's Committee Nguyen Thi Thuy, in the face of the fact that many banana areas are affected by soil pollution and difficult-to-control pests, the locality hopes that the agricultural sector and specialized agencies of the city will continue to survey and assess the causes of soil pollution, and at the same time provide guidance on safe farming techniques, reasonable crop rotation and sustainable soil treatment.

While waiting for comprehensive measures, the commune encourages households to switch to using organic fertilizers, improve soil, and apply VietGAP processes in production. “People in many villages in Thanh Ha commune have decades of experience growing bananas for Tet. This is an important source of income at the end of each year. We hope to maintain the banana growing area for Tet sale while ensuring a safe and stable production environment for the people in the long term,” said Ms. Thuy.

Bananas sold during Tet are not simply agricultural products but also a cultural feature of Vietnamese people associated with the traditional custom of displaying five-fruit trays on Tet holiday with the wish for a new year of fullness and prosperity.

MINH NGUYEN

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/nong-dan-thanh-ha-tat-bat-vao-vu-chuoi-tet-528504.html