A farmer in a border commune with the secret to fighting drought and growing clean vegetables and fruits

Proactively prevent drought for plants

In mid-June, Bai So land, Tam Quang commune, was dry, the sun was harsh and many places lacked water. However, Nguyen Thanh Tung's house was still surrounded by lush green gardens, each with a fruit tree that provided a rotating income.

There are fruit-bearing plants such as cucumbers, cantaloupes, and squash that have entered their 7th and 8th harvests, bringing the garden owner tens of millions of dong in revenue in less than 3 months.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung invested in 4 km of water pipes from streams to the garden. Photo: Hoai Thu

Under the trellis of squash laden with fruit, Mr. Tung takes advantage of the land to intercrop green vegetables such as Malabar spinach, sweet potatoes, amaranth... Not far from the squash field is a banana garden with nearly 100 trees. Next is the melon and cucumber garden in harvest season, each time picking about 50 kg. Each sao of melon yields about 4-5 quintals, selling for 30-35 thousand VND/kg. The banana garden bears fruit regularly and sells several hundred bunches every weekday and month.

Along with raising a few more buffaloes and cows, growing seasonal crops, and taking care of them diligently can also help farmers in Bai So become prosperous," said Mr. Tung.

However, to keep fruit trees growing well in a locality that is often hot and dry, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung had to struggle to find solutions, especially the scarcity of water resources.

“Bai So does not have a natural water source. Therefore, in addition to the 3 wells invested by the State (2 of which are now broken), people have to find, improve, and overcome the lack of water for production,” said Ms. Kha Thi Hien - Chairwoman of Tam Quang Commune People's Committee.

Thanks to proactively finding water sources, crops are always lush and produce high yields. Photo: Hoai Thu

For his garden, Mr. Tung said he invested in buying 4 km of plastic pipes to bring water from the mountain stream to a tank located in the corner of the garden, to water the plants.

To save water resources that are already scarce, Mr. Tung learned how to install drip irrigation systems and metered irrigation systems. For young trees and gardens of tall, closed and wide vines like squash, he uses drip irrigation at the base.

For lower climbing plants such as melons and cucumbers, he uses directional watering and chooses the right time to water. Thanks to his hard work and diligence, the land has paid off. Mr. Tung's vegetable and fruit garden yields a harvest all year round.

Persistently pursuing biosafety production

In addition to investing in water pipes and finding ways to save irrigation water, Mr. Tung's vegetable and fruit garden is also known by people for its "secrets" to green, clean production that is safe for consumers' health.

Mr. Tung's family's small green garden has different crops for each season. Since the beginning of June 2023, Mr. Tung has cut and sold many batches of squash, cucumber, and melon.

Notably, fruits such as cucumbers, melons, and squash are susceptible to fruit flies, causing them to become warped and damaged, but the fruits in Mr. Tung's garden are almost unaffected by these insects.

“The melons and cucumbers we harvest can weigh up to a ton each time, but none of them are damaged by fruit flies or insects because I regularly set traps to kill flies and insects,” said Nguyen Thanh Tung.

Fruit fly trap in Nguyen Thanh Tung's garden. Photo: Hoai Thu

To prevent fruit flies from biting and damaging the fruit, Mr. Tung went online to research and buy a fragrant, sticky medicinal herb and then created a “trap” out of a plastic bottle to kill fruit flies. Using discarded plastic bottles, Mr. Tung drilled holes in the cap to hang a bottle coated with a layer of fragrant resin to attract flies on the outside of the bottle. Smelling the attractive scent, fruit flies flying over will stick to the trap.

In addition, Mr. Tung also uses other types of traps to ensure that all fruit-destroying insects are destroyed. “I also use plastic bottles, but I create a lockable slot in each bottle so that flies can enter but not exit. There is bait inside the bottle to attract flies. Each trap like this can kill hundreds of fruit flies in a few days,” said Mr. Tung.

In addition to fly traps, Mr. Tung also invested in buying fruit bags to protect fruits such as cucumbers and squash from other pests. At the same time, he used organic fertilizer made from manure to ensure that the products achieved a high level of biological safety.

"The process of planting and caring for vegetables and fruits, I made public on Facebook so that people would know and trust me. When it was time to harvest, the output was not enough to meet the "orders" from my friends on social networks. They were all acquaintances, locals and had learned my growing methods so they trusted me and placed orders," said Nguyen Thanh Tung.

Use protective fruit bags, do not spray pesticides. Photo: Hoai Thu

Ms. Kha Thi Hien added that the Tam Quang Commune People's Committee staff also regularly monitor, encourage and supervise people to practice safe production. Pioneers like Mr. Tung's model when it comes to harvest, the commune staff support to introduce the products so they always sell well, unable to produce enough to sell.

Each crop of melons and cucumbers takes less than 3 months to grow from planting to harvest, but brings in tens of millions of dong in revenue.

After more than 1 year of applying "green" farming methods, Mr. Tung has a fair amount of capital to serve his plans to expand production and livestock farming.

Each crop of melons brings in about 20 million VND. Photo: Hoai Thu

“In the near future, in addition to the accumulated capital, along with the support of the government, I plan to invest in building greenhouses to produce more safe vegetables, tubers and fruits. Because this is a product that is well received by the market, it is also a modern agricultural production trend that farmers need to approach and implement to be able to maintain it for a long time,” Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung affirmed.