Amidst the drought, off-season lemons in Do Luong still have a good harvest and good prices.
(Baonghean.vn) - While other lemon growing areas were dying due to drought, farmers in Thong Nhat hamlet, Dong Son commune (Do Luong) were happy and excited when lemons had a good harvest and good prices.
On an area of 0.5 hectares, Ms. Thai Thi Thu's family in Thong Nhat hamlet, Dong Son commune planted 250 lemon trees. During this hot season, she and her family members harvested 3.5 tons of fruit. Lemon harvesting takes place every day, about 1.2 tons per day, earning 1.8 million VND/day.
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Ms. Thai Thi Thu is harvesting lemons in her garden. Photo: Ngoc Phuong |
To have lemons to sell during the hot summer days, Ms. Thu said, there are days when she has to water the lemons until midnight to prevent them from drying out. But the reward for that hard work is that the lemons sell for a good price. If last year the price of lemons was only 7,500 VND/kg, this year the price has doubled, to 15,000 VND/kg.
Compared to other branded trees such as oranges and Thong Nhat green tea, lemon trees are more resilient. In the whole hamlet of 296 households, almost every house grows lemons. Small households grow 1 to 2 sao, large households grow 1 hectare.
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| Succulent Thong Nhat lemons are sold for 15,000 VND/kg. Photo: Ngoc Phuong |
Lemon trees are very suitable for the soil here. Many households have been growing lemons for decades. Ms. Ta Thi Hai said that lemons are easier to grow than other fruit trees, with an average lemon tree producing 30 kg of fruit.
In front of a large lemon orchard, the fruits are bright and juicy, this year many traders have come to the garden to buy. For example, Mr. Bui Van Nhung in Do Luong goes to the lemon gardens of households in the village every day to buy over 100 kg of lemons to sell at Luong market, with the selling price of 20,000 VND/kg, each day like that, he earns a profit of 500,000 - 600,000 VND.
There are dozens of hectares of lemons in Thong Nhat hamlet. This year’s off-season lemon crop is good, farmers have harvested hundreds of tons of fruit. It is expected that while the dry season is still going on, in July and August, the price of off-season lemons will continue to increase. Thanks to that, lemon growers will have more income.
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| Families prepare lemons for traders to buy. Photo: Ngoc Phuong |
In Do Luong, during the hot season, lemon trees have proven to be drought-resistant and bring high economic efficiency. Lemon is a fruit that contains a lot of vitamin C, has the effect of increasing resistance and cooling well, so it is being chosen by many consumers.
“In addition to orange and tea trees, lemon trees grown in our area are very effective, on average 1 hectare of lemon trees brings in an income of 50 million VND. We are encouraging people to expand the area of off-season lemon trees.”
