New direction from rotating chili with stevia
(Baonghean) -Stevia has recently appeared in the province and has been put into production by farmers in localities such as Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, etc., becoming an agricultural product with high economic value. In addition, the rotation formula of planting chili between two stevia crops not only improves the soil but also brings quite high economic efficiency.
Growing hot peppers for commercial purposes is not new. In recent years, people in many localities have started growing commercial peppers, bringing economic benefits to farmers. However, not all models are effective, because in the past, businesses only cared about input, but did not guarantee the output of products, causing many people to suffer because of growing peppers, reducing farmers' confidence. In the winter-spring crop of 2013, the introduction of chili plants into rotation in the stevia production area of Asia Company has initially brought high efficiency.
Stevia, also known as sweet herb, was first discovered in Paraguay, and is called sweet herb because the sweet substance is concentrated in the leaves. Stevioside sweetener is 300 times sweeter than regular sugar (Saccharose, Sucrose), especially it does not create calories, and has the ability to replace chemical sugar in food production.
Stevia can grow and develop on most types of soil, but yields higher on soil with a thick, loose, fertile arable layer, low groundwater level, and light mechanical composition. Suitable is light loam or sandy loam with a light sand ratio, high humus content, pH 6-7. Stevia is a plant that can be harvested many times and the main part used is the leaves, so it requires a lot of mineral nutrients. Therefore, fertilization is an active measure to increase plant productivity. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the three basic elements to build organic matter and increase plant productivity, especially nitrogen fertilizer.
The advantages of stevia are huge and encompass many different aspects. This is a crop with a short harvest cycle, low initial investment capital, large market demand, simple cultivation conditions, and high economic efficiency. With approximately more than 10 harvests in 2 years with only one planting, growers will significantly reduce costs compared to other common crops.
However, to ensure that the land for growing stevia does not degenerate, in addition to regularly providing nutrients, crop rotation with other families is also necessary. The crops proposed in the production plan include hot peppers, ginger, Dong Son garlic, beans, etc. However, currently, in Nghe An province, the rotation formula has only been initially applied in the direction of growing stevia for 2 years and hot peppers for 1 year.
To gain farmers' trust, Asia Stevia Company has conducted pilot planting in localities with fertile land such as Hung Xa (Hung Nguyen), Thanh Khe (Thanh Chuong), Hung Tien (Nam Dan),... Although it is the first trial planting season, it has brought about results and made people in the localities quite confident.
Taking care of chili in Nghi Loc. Photo: Q. Lan
When we arrived at the Chi Thien chili pepper field in Hung Tien commune (Nam Dan), Mr. Ta Quang Long, a resident of Dong Son hamlet, was harvesting chili peppers. He said: “My family has 2 sao of fertile land, previously growing peanuts and beans, but this year we switched to growing Chi Thien chili peppers, the income is 5-10 times higher than previous years. We can harvest 40kg of fruit a day, the company buys it at the field at a price of 16,500 VND/kg. After 3 months of planting, we can harvest in 2 months, next season we will participate in growing stevia.”
It is known that the whole Hung Tien commune produces 6.5 hectares of Chi Thien chili on 5 fields, bringing people a considerable income, creating people's trust in crop innovation as well as gaining more trust in cooperation with businesses. Not only the plains such as Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, but also on the hilly land of Thanh Khe commune (Thanh Chuong) Chi Dia chili is also being planted for testing.
With an agricultural land area of 350 hectares, of which the colored land area accounts for 145 hectares, this year, the commune has put into trial planting 1 hectare of Chi Dia chili. Mr. Nguyen Khac Tan - Vice Chairman of Thanh Khe Commune People's Committee said: "The whole commune has 80% of the population working in agriculture, the whole commune has up to 6/10 poor hamlets enjoying the 135 regime, the area of colored land is large, many types of crops have been planted in the past years but have not brought about efficiency, people still mainly grow cassava. This year, we are testing planting hot chili, after this period if it is effective, we will expand it for people to participate to reduce poverty. However, the purchase price is not high yet".
The effectiveness of chili peppers on Thanh Khe land is very clear, not only helping to improve the degraded land due to many years of growing cassava but also helping to solve the source of income in difficult times, while the time from planting to harvesting is also short, only about 3 months after planting, the harvest begins.
Thus, chili pepper in rotation with stevia in Nghe An has become a new direction, promising to bring practical results to farmers.
Thanh Tam (Hung Nguyen Radio)
