Red gourd-shaped bamboo grows well on alluvial soil in Anh Son

Mr. Nguyen Van Nga's family in village 4, Phuc Son commune is in the red-flower harvest season. The gourd-shaped red-flowers lie close together, stretching out straight across the area.Lam River alluvial land.

Harvesting red rice in the Lam River sandbank area in Anh Son district. Photo: Thai Hien

Stopping to continue talking with us, Mr. Nga shared: This winter crop, his family planted 5 sao of red mulberry on alluvial land. After many years of planting, he realized that this is an easy-to-grow plant. All you need to do is prepare the soil, cover it with plastic, and plant it after 2-3 days, it will germinate. Moreover, it does not require much care during the planting process. There is no need to build a trellis, but let the vines crawl on the ground. Just provide enough water to produce fruit.

In terms of quality, this gourd-shaped red variety is more flexible than other varieties, and its size is not too large, each fruit weighs from 1-1.5 kg, so it is easy to sell. Mr. Nga also said that each sao of red fruit will be harvested after 40-50 days, with young red fruit and after 75 days, with mature fruit.

The gourd-shaped red fruit weighs more than 1kg. The older it gets, the tastier its flesh becomes, and it can be preserved for a long time. Photo: Thai Hien

This is a versatile vegetable because when the plant is growing strongly, the tops and flowers are harvested and sold by households as vegetables with high nutritional value, priced from 3-5 thousand VND/bunch. When the fruit is young, it can also be sold for stir-frying or cooking soup at a price of 5-10 thousand VND/kg, depending on the time.

Growing this red bean has an advantage over other vegetables in that it does not depend too much on the market. When the price drops, the family will not sell it because the shell of the bean is hard and can be preserved for a long time. Moreover, the older the bean is, the more flexible and delicious it will be. People are very excited because this year, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the red bean is easy to sell and the price is also stable. With an area of ​​5 sao of red bean, Mr. Nga's family has harvested nearly 6 tons of fruit. The price at the beginning of the season was 6,500 VND/kg, currently it is 4,500 VND/kg, giving his family a profit of nearly 30 million VND.

Although she was busy harvesting red mulberry to sell to traders, Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang in Hoi Lam village, Cam Son commune still took the time to talk to us. Ms. Giang said: Starting in December, her family planted red mulberry, and harvested the fruit in mid-February. If fertilized and cared for properly according to technical procedures, after only one month, the mulberry will begin to cover the field and sprout shoots and flowers.

According to Ms. Giang, the red pomelo has a thick, hard shell and can be preserved for a long time, making it very convenient for consuming products, especially when vegetables are scarce. After more than 2 months of planting and caring, each sao yields 1-1.2 tons of fruit, after deducting expenses, the family earns a profit of more than 5 million VND/sao, not to mention collecting additional pomelo flowers and pomelo shoots at the beginning of the season, which also brings her family a considerable amount of money.

According to the experience of farmers growing red pomelo in Anh Son, this is a fast-growing plant with a short growing period, only 70-75 days to harvest. A pomelo tree can produce 3-4 fruits, each fruit weighing 1 kg or more. This fruit variety can be transported far away, adapts to local weather and cultivation conditions, and has a wide consumption market.

Red bamboo is expanding its area in Anh Son. Photo: Thai Hien

Over many years of growing red mulberry trees, farmers in localities in Anh Son district have mastered intensive farming techniques as well as measures to prevent and control harmful pests so that red mulberry trees can produce the highest yield. The average yield is 24 - 30 tons/ha, bringing in a revenue of 100 - 120 million VND/ha after deducting expenses. In addition, the products are diverse from flowers, shoots, young fruits to old fruits, which are favored by consumers and are therefore easy to consume.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Khoa - Chairman of the District Farmers' AssociationMr. Sonsaid: The whole district has about 20 hectares of red mulberry, mainly grown in the alluvial lands along the Lam River. The localities with the most red mulberry are Cam Son, Phuc Son, Tao Son and Thach Son. Red mulberry has become a commodity crop with high economic value, providing a safe and quality food source for the locality and neighboring areas every winter crop in Anh Son./.