Quang Tien pink grapefruit - Thai Hoa town has a good harvest but low price

Quang Tien pink grapefruit in Thai Hoa town has a good harvest this year, but people are worried about low prices. Photo: Minh Thai

In the Doc Cao, Le Loi, Quang Vinh blocks... of Quang Tien ward (Thai Hoa town), every few hundred meters there are gardens.Quang Tien pink grapefruitgreen, fruit-laden

Mr. Le Van Cuong in Le Loi block said: This year's grapefruit crop is more favorable than last year, grapefruit has less pests and diseases, and produces more fruit. My family has nearly 150 trees, each tree bears an average of 100 - 150 fruits. Currently, the selling price at the garden ranges from 12,000 - 15,000 VND/kg of grade 1 fruit, for grade 2 fruit it ranges from 7,000 - 10,000 VND/kg. In previous years, the selling price at the garden was also from 20,000 VND/fruit or more. This is the beginning of the season but the price is still low, if the price is even lower in the main season, the pink grapefruit growers in Quang Tien will not make a profit.

"To have a high-yield fruit garden requires strict fertilization techniques. In addition, to provide adequate nutrients for the trees, helping fruit trees grow and develop well, farmers can use additionalbiological products"It increases the resistance of plants, helping to reduce some types of pests and diseases such as leafminers, planthoppers, stem borers, aphids, spider mites; scabs, ulcers, green vein yellowing disease... helping plants to quickly bear fruit and produce beautiful fruit," Mr. Cuong added.

To take care of the Quang Tien grapefruit garden to develop well, it requires a large and elaborate investment. Photo: Minh Thai

In recent years, Quang Tien ward residents have been proactive in artificial pollination and care techniques to produce fruit. Mr. Le Pham Dien's family has planted more than 50 Quang Tien pink grapefruit trees, this is the third year the trees have been harvested. Mr. Dien said that each Quang Tien pink grapefruit tree has a canopy of about 4.5m wide and is 3-4m high. The average lifespan of a tree is 10-12 years, after which it must be replaced with a new tree. To propagate, in the middle of the season, garden owners graft and breed trees.

"To ensure the fruit is sweet, plump, and evenly segmented, in addition to NPK fertilizer, she also adds compost, soybeans, corn flour, etc. soaked in a certain ratio. Therefore, if the price of grapefruit is lower than 10,000 VND/fruit, grapefruit growers will have almost no profit - Mr. Dien added.

The entire Quang Tien ward currently has about 34 hectares of grapefruit, of which more than 30 hectares are harvested. In recent years, grapefruit trees have become the main source of income for local people. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, income from grapefruit has been quite unstable.

Mr. Pham Xuan Huong - Vice Chairman of Quang Tien Ward Farmers' Association said: This year, although the erratic climate has affected the growth of the trees, thanks to careful care before and after harvest, Quang Tien pink grapefruit has a good harvest, but the price is unstable. We also recommend that people should not expand the grapefruit growing area, because the investment cost of production is high. If affected by pests, weather or crop failure and price loss, the level of damage will be great".