Growing wax coconut on acid sulfate soil brings unexpected results

Mr. Nguyen Van Phan is excited next to his high-yielding wax coconut garden.

Mr. Phan told about his fate with wax coconut. In 2017, he was given a wax coconut sapling by his nephew. Since he liked to try new crops, he immediately planted it in his garden. “Many people who knew I grew wax coconut shook their heads, saying that the coconut could not survive because this coconut only suited light sandy soil, but here the soil is heavily acidic, it was difficult to grow the tree, how could it have wax?” - Mr. Phan recalled.

Contrary to many people's predictions, in less than 4 years, the first wax coconut tree bore fruit, the most surprising thing was that about 20-30% of the fruit had wax. Seeing that the wax coconut had taken root and survived in this land, Mr. Phan propagated 30 more trees and planted them around the house. After that, each year, he expanded the area, until now there are about 200 trees planted on a 0.7ha plot of land. Of these, 30 trees have begun to bear fruit with quite high yields.

According to Mr. Phan, the technique of growing wax coconut is similar to other types of coconut. He grows coconut seedlings from the fruit of the first wax coconut tree. When digging holes or planting mounds, he often adds organic fertilizer to the roots to ensure nutrition for the tree. He closely monitors the growth process of the tree to promptly prevent and control coconut beetles and beetles from attacking. If well cared for, each wax coconut tree can produce more than 100 fruits per year.

Currently, Mr. Phan sells fresh wax coconuts locally at a trial price of 50,000 VND/fruit, mainly to share for people to enjoy, and he sells most of the fresh coconuts, at a price that traders buy at the garden for about 70,000-80,000 VND/dozen, if the coconuts are dried, the price is higher. Mr. Phan also propagates wax coconuts according to the needs of some neighboring gardens, with the desire to create a wax coconut growing area with a large enough area to build a brand for the locality.

A few months ago, Mr. Nguyen Truong Hong in Hamlet 8, Vinh Vien Commune, ordered Mr. Phan to plant more than 50 wax coconut seedlings for trial planting. “I have known about wax coconut for a long time, it is a special type of coconut with high economic efficiency. Now that I see Mr. Phan growing it in this area, the fruit has quite a high wax content, I decided to try planting it. Initially, I saw that the trees are tolerant to the soil and grow well, so I plan to buy more to plant on about 0.6 hectares,” Mr. Hong shared.

On the wax coconut growing area, Mr. Phan also intercrops pineapple and soursop, with the aim of short-term profit for long-term. In the ditch, he raises snails and catfish. The vacant land around the house is used to build a net house to grow clean vegetables and tubers and fruits. In about 2 years, all the wax coconuts in Mr. Phan's garden will be able to bear fruit, which will be a significant source of income for the family. His dynamism, daring to change and experiment in farming have helped this old farmer become a typical pioneer in the movement "Farmers compete in production and good business" in the locality.

Article and photos: DANG THU

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/trong-dua-sap-tren-dat-phen-mang-lai-ket-qua-bat-ngo-a188809.html