Growing pomelos to sell as a specialty fruit, a farmer in Vinh Long became rich, producing off-season fruit even richer

He took us to visit the garden of sweet pomelos planted in beautiful rows. The garden of 2 hectares, with 500 sweet pomelos, of Mr. Cap is the first place to successfully research and process the fruit for off-season fruit.

Mr. Cap said that the pomelo tree originated in the mountainous region of Ha Tien ( Kien Giang province).

About 70-80 years ago, this specialty tree was brought back by local people to grow and became the typical fruit of this land.

But because there are many pomelo growers and price competition, profits are often not high.

Worried about that, in 2011, he determined to hunt for sweet pomelo varieties in all gardens in Binh Minh town of Vinh Long province.

Luckily, he discovered a sweet pomelo variety that bore a lot of fruit and bore fruit regularly every season.

"I found some sweet pomelo varieties from long-time growers. I brought some pomelo seedlings home to try planting them.

After 3 years of planting, the pomelo fruit has a sweetness similar to Hoa Loc mango, big fruit, small seeds...

Seeing the great potential of this specialty tree, I decided to cut down all the sour pomelo trees that were being planted on an area of ​​more than 1 hectare to plant new varieties," said Mr. Cap.

Mr. Huynh Van Cap, a farmer in Dong Binh commune, Binh Minh town, (Vinh Long province) painstakingly found a sweet pomelo variety and successfully processed it to produce off-season fruit, helping his family earn more than 300 million VND/year.

After successfully propagating the sweet pomelo tree, he began to share it with people in the growing area, and at the same time registered the exclusive rights and was certified by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vinh Long province as the original orchard and the original sweet pomelo seedlings with an output of 90,000 seedlings/year.

This specialty fruit tree depends a lot on the weather and that is what makes it difficult for gardeners. Therefore, for over 10 years, Mr. Cap has tried to find techniques to make pomelo trees flower and bear fruit according to the wishes of the growers.

To "control" the weather, handle the pomelo tree to bear fruit in the off-season and aim for a tree that does not skip a season, he decided to work with teachers from Can Tho University to research a method to make the specialty tree of Binh Minh produce fruit according to the grower's wishes and by early 2024, he had achieved positive results.

A 13-year-old sweet pomelo tree in the garden produces about 70kg of fruit, while a smaller tree produces 40kg of fruit. "The favorable season for pomelos is after Tet and lasts until the end of the second lunar month. However, if the weather is unfavorable, pomelo production will decrease sharply.

For a long time, gardeners have grown pomelos extensively, without investing in fertilizers or pesticides, mainly flowering and fruiting naturally, so they depend entirely on the weather. In years when the weather is favorable, the trees bear a lot of fruit, and have a good harvest. In years when the weather is cold and late, the trees do not flower, which is considered a loss.

Over the past year, I have tested 4 batches of pomelo trees to bear fruit in the off-season, with 8 pomelo trees each batch. The first two batches had a fruit set rate that was almost double that of natural conditions, and the flowering rate of the pomelo trees in the following two batches was also quite good," said Mr. Cap.

To make the sweet pomelo tree flower and bear fruit in the off-season, many factors and techniques are needed. First, you have to fertilize the tree to make new leaves appear, then water it with germination medicine, then tighten the water...

After the tree flowers in the off-season, fertilize and spray periodically... Sweet pomelo trees in the off-season sell for more than 120,000 VND/kg, but pomelos in the off-season sell for up to 160,000 VND/kg.

Currently, with 500 pomelo trees, Mr. Cap harvests more than 3 tons of the specialty fruit each year. With pomelos selling for 120,000 VND/kg, he earns more than 300 million VND, after deducting all investment costs.

According to Mr. Cap, if the next trials yield high yields and fruit quality, by 2025, he plans to apply these off-season fruiting techniques to the entire pomelo garden and make adjustments earlier so that the pomelo trees will have ripe fruit right before Tet, selling at a good price.

At the same time, he will also expand and share the method of processing the specialty pomelo tree to produce fruit in the off-season for those in need so that pomelo growers are no longer passive in the face of the weather.

Source: https://danviet.vn/trong-thanh-tra-ban-trai-dac-san-mot-nong-dan-vinh-long-giau-len-cho-ra-trai-nghich-vu-cang-giau-20240710215332278.htm