Growing 125 hectares of watermelon for Tet season

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Duc Linh district said: Farmers in the district have planted 125/110 hectares of watermelon to serve the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin in 2024, reaching 113.63% of the plan.

Watermelon is grown in large quantities in the fields of Me Pu, Sung Nhon, and Nam Chinh communes. Some other localities such as Vo Xu town and Duc Tin commune also grow melons for Tet this season, but not much. The locality with the largest watermelon growing area in the district is Me Pu commune with an area of 40 hectares, accounting for more than 1/3 of the total current melon area in the whole district. The main melon varieties grown this Tet season are APOLO 66, Kim Hong, and Trang Nong 12; of which APOLO 66 accounts for 80% of the area. Watermelons for Tet in the year of the Dragon 2024 are on average 24 - 26 days old, in the flowering and fruiting period.

Many farmers in Duc Linh commented: The weather this year is favorable, the melons for Tet have few pests and are growing well. If the weather continues to be favorable as it is now, there is a high possibility that the melons will yield high yields and around the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, the mass melon crop will be harvested for Tet sale.

Mr. Tran Van Diep in Ward 4, Vo Xu Town planted more than 6 sao of watermelons that are 26 days old and growing well. He excitedly shared: “I have been growing melons for nearly 20 years. Now, I see that the weather for growing melons this season is very favorable. From the beginning of the melon season until now, there has only been a small off-season rain, which did not affect the growth of the melons, and the melons have few pests and diseases, and are growing very strongly. The melons at home are only 26 days old, but they are growing as well as melons that are more than 1 month old in previous years. It is expected to be harvested in the middle of the 12th lunar month. I hope that the weather will continue to be favorable, the melon fields will have few pests and diseases, resulting in high yields, and prices will also be favorable for melon growers to have high profits.”

Currently, Mr. Diep and many other farmers in Duc Linh are actively taking care of and cultivating watermelon fields with the hope that this year's watermelon crop will be bountiful and the price will be high so that their families can make a lot of profit and have a happy Tet holiday.

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