Dien grapefruit is a fruit of Do Luong land.

(Baonghean.vn) - Thanks to converting ineffective mixed garden areas to grow Dien grapefruit trees, many households in Giang Son commune, Do Luong not only escaped poverty but also became rich.

At the end of the year, Mr. Dao Danh Bay's Dien grapefruit garden in Giang Son Dong commune is golden and full of fruit. Mr. Bay said: More than 1.5 hectares of hilly garden land used to be mainly used to grow short-term industrial crops but it was not effective. In 2008, while visiting relatives in a northern province, I saw that they had a Dien grapefruit garden also on the hill. I was invited by everyone to eat grapefruit. The first impression when eating grapefruit segments was that it had a distinctive flavor, so I came up with the idea of ​​bringing the Dien grapefruit variety back to my hometown to try planting it.

Mr. Bay bought more than 40 trees to try planting. After 3 years of planting and caring for them, the first Dien grapefruit trees planted here, due to their suitability to the soil and climate, produced sweet, juicy fruit. Immediately after that, he focused on renovating the mixed garden, planting over 200 grapefruit trees on the hillside.

Mr. Dao Danh Bay's grapefruit garden in Giang Son Dong commune (Do Luong) has been harvested. Photo: Van Truong

To help Dien grapefruit grow and develop well, Mr. Bay applied mechanization in agriculture, brought in machines to till the soil to make it loose enough, and applied the correct planting process according to the technical process. The land did not fail the people, now more than 200 Dien grapefruit trees bear fruit regularly, bringing a good income to the family.

Due to the high demand for Dien grapefruit, Mr. Bay continued to renovate the hill garden, bought seedlings from the Central Plant Breeding Institute, and planted more than 500 Dien grapefruit trees around the hillside. Up to now, Mr. Bay's Dien grapefruit garden has more than 400 trees for the main harvest, and more than 200 trees for the off-season harvest. After harvesting, after deducting all expenses, his family earns from 350 to 400 million VND each year.

In addition, the Dien grapefruit garden of Mr. Thai Van Dung in Thinh Dong hamlet, Giang Son Dong has also been effective. This model grows over 350 Dien grapefruit trees and currently yields a harvest of 120-150 million VND/year. Seeing the effectiveness of Dien grapefruit, since 2013, Mr. Huu Vinh in Nam Tan hamlet, Giang Son Dong commune has also planted over 300 Dien grapefruit trees, and this Tet is expected to earn over 150 million VND.

Customers go to the garden to buy grapefruit. Photo: Van Truong

Dien grapefruit is easy to grow, just need to treat the planting hole with lime, add manure, and water regularly to harvest. The advantage of Dien grapefruit is its long life of 20 - 30 years before needing to be replanted. The older the tree, the more the roots cling to the ground, the deeper the soil, the higher the quality of the fruit.

The good thing about Dien grapefruit is that it is one of the fruits that can be kept for a long time without preservatives, so it is very safe. When Dien grapefruit withers, it does not lose its delicious taste but becomes sweeter. The reason is that after harvesting, the organic acid content in the fruit has not been completely transformed, when Dien grapefruit withers, these substances will be gone, so the fruit will be more delicious.

That is also the reason why before Tet, many customers buy grapefruit to store for a whole month. Ms. Thai Thi Thoa in Bac Thanh commune, Yen Thanh - a grapefruit buyer in Giang Son shared: Every year, before Tet, I often go to the garden to buy 2 - 3 million VND worth of Dien grapefruit to save for eating until after Tet, each grapefruit costs from 20,000 - 40,000 VND.

According to Mr. Le Thanh Son - Chairman of Giang Son Dong Commune People's Committee, pomelo trees are very suitable for this land, currently there are over 2 hectares of pomelo trees with high productivity and income. Next year, the commune will continue to encourage people to expand the area to over 10 hectares. In the long term, a specialized pomelo growing area of ​​30 - 40 hectares will be planned.

The commune hopes to receive support from the State in planting and caring for pomelo trees. In particular, capital support will be provided so that people can improve the land and buy pomelo seeds, because pomelo trees can be a new economic spearhead in this semi-mountainous area.

Van Truong