Prospects for growing red-fleshed, yellow-fiber jackfruit

Mr. Ngo Van Duoc takes care of the jackfruit garden.

The first step to high income

In recent years, many agricultural areas of the province have been converted by farmers to grow some types of fruit trees suitable to the soil, bringing higher economic efficiency.

In particular, the model of growing red-fleshed jackfruit with yellow fibrous leaves of Mr. Ngo Van Duoc - Director of Phu Thinh TN Agricultural Cooperative, Bau Nang Commune, Duong Minh Chau District, initially brought stable economic efficiency.

Mr. Duoc's garden of red-fleshed, yellow-fibered jackfruit is preparing for the first crop of fruit.

Mr. Duoc said that in the past, he had a period of growing seedless lemons but the economic efficiency was not high and he encountered difficulties due to high labor costs, so he decided to switch to growing red-fleshed yellow-fiber jackfruit. Currently, his total jackfruit growing area is nearly 6 hectares, including 2 hectares that are bearing fruit and 4 hectares that have just been planted for about 18 months, ready for the first crop of fruit.

According to Mr. Duoc, jackfruit is an easy-to-grow, low-maintenance plant. Jackfruit trees need a lot of water but cannot withstand waterlogging, so to grow jackfruit effectively, growers need to build mounds and dig ditches. From planting to harvest is about 24 months, faster than some other fruit trees, especially jackfruit with large weight.

Jackfruit bears fruit in Mr. Duoc's garden.

Jackfruit trees flower at about 18 months, from this point on, gardeners need to spray pesticides to prevent bee stings that cause black scab disease. Each flowering period, the number of fruits is very large, but depending on the health condition of the tree, growers can leave more or less fruit on each tree. However, according to Mr. Duoc, for newly fruiting trees, only about 2 fruits should be left per tree, when the tree is about 3 years old or older, the number of fruits can be left from 4-5.

With the current price of jackfruit ranging from 45,000 VND to more than 50,000 VND/kg, each jackfruit tree can bring the grower about 3 million VND - 5 million VND/year.

Unique double root planting model

While learning about the model of growing red-fleshed, yellow-fiber jackfruit, Mr. Ngo Van Duoc was surprised to see many farmers in the Western provinces such as Hau Giang and Can Tho planting up to 2 jackfruit trees per mound (planted with double roots), each hectare can grow 1,000 trees, twice as many as the traditional planting method.

Studying this model in depth, Mr. Duoc realized that, unlike other jackfruit varieties such as super early Thai jackfruit, Indian almond jackfruit... and some other fruit trees, the red-fleshed, yellow-fiber jackfruit tree is especially suitable for double-root planting, because the jackfruit tree has few branches, does not compete for nutrients, and is not affected when it bears fruit, the fruit is still large, averaging 10-14 kg/fruit.

After learning about the double-root planting model, Mr. Ngo Van Duoc decided to apply it on an area of about 4 hectares in Tra Sim hamlet, Ninh Dien commune. This jackfruit garden is now 18 months old and has begun to produce its first fruits.

According to Mr. Duoc, when choosing to plant according to the double-root model, he studied the reality in many jackfruit gardens in the Western provinces. Planting two trees in one plot must comply with the necessary distance for the trees to grow such as: at least 1m between trees, 5m between rows to ensure that the trees do not compete for nutrients, the tree canopy is evenly spread, and does not overlap, leading to the tree trunk leaning in a "V" shape. In addition, planting two trees close together also helps limit the situation of falling due to wind.

“The model requires us to spend more money to invest in seedlings and initial care, but in return, when the fruit is produced, the yield will be double compared to planting only one tree per plot. The proof is that my jackfruit garden is still growing well, the trees are very uniform, there is no problem of big and small trees in the same plot like some other crops,” Mr. Duoc added.

Linking for sustainable development

In recent years, not only durian has brought a "huge" source of income to farmers, jackfruit is also a crop that many farmers in the province have converted to, bringing high economic value. In particular, red-fleshed, yellow-fiber jackfruit is currently one of the crops that is being strongly developed thanks to its stable price.

Understanding the needs of farmers, at the end of 2024, Mr. Ngo Van Duoc mobilized the establishment of Phu Thinh TN Agricultural Cooperative with 4 members, specializing in growing red-fleshed, yellow-fiber jackfruit with a total area of over 60 hectares. In addition, the Cooperative also undertakes the distribution of seedlings and links with businesses, providing fertilizers, pesticides and purchasing to proactively produce and supply to the market.

Mr. Ngo Van Duoc guides how to use pesticides to prevent pests and diseases on jackfruit trees.

According to Mr. Duoc, when joining the cooperative, farmers will be guided through every step from preparation before planting to the provision of seedlings with certified “mother trees”, fertilizers, and pesticides at 15%-20% lower than the market price. During the care process, the cooperative will also send people to guide each step, to ensure the trees grow evenly and stably until harvest, and jackfruit will be purchased at market price.

The establishment of the cooperative by Mr. Ngo Van Duoc and households specializing in growing red-fleshed, yellow-fiber jackfruit is one of the significant steps forward in production linkage, not only creating conditions for farmers to exchange production experiences and stabilize output, but also aiming to issue growing area codes, serving the cooperative's export goals.

Minh Duong

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/trien-vong-mo-hinh-trong-mit-ruot-do-xo-vang-a187944.html