Effective watermelon growing model

(Baonghean)Taking us to see the model field in Hamlet 13, Nghi Long Commune (Nghi Loc), Mr. Nguyen Quoc Trung - Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee excitedly said: This is a model field with an area of ​​17 hectares of watermelon, with an expected yield of 2.5 tons/sao. After 7 years, the people here have gained a lot of experience in production, the quality of watermelons has been increasingly improved, meeting the needs of consumers.

Thanks to good infrastructure, wells, electricity, and transportation invested in the fields, it is convenient for melon care. The good income from growing watermelon has helped people have a more secure and prosperous life than before.

It was almost 11am, the sun was scorching hot, but Thai Thi Hang and her husband in hamlet 13, Nghi Long commune were still diligently weeding, pruning side branches and picking small melons so that the trees could focus on growing the main fruit, ensuring quality. Ms. Hang shared: “This year, my family grows 5 sao of watermelon, every morning we wake up from 4-5am to go to the field to water and take care of the melons, and only finish the work at 11-12pm. Although it is hard work, in return, watermelon plants bring in higher income than other crops. This year, the hot weather is prolonged, melons are expected to sell for 5,000-5,500 VND/kg, our family's 5 sao of watermelon also brings in an income of about 30 million VND.”



Model watermelon field in hamlet 13, Nghi Long commune.

Not far away, Mr. Nguyen Huu Trung, hamlet 13, is also actively taking care of watermelons. Mr. Trung happily said: “Last year, my family planted nearly 5 sao of watermelons, with a price of 4,200 VND/kg, we earned 32 million VND. This year, our family expanded the production area to 6 sao of watermelons, with an early season price of about 5,500 VND/kg, yielding a harvest of over 40 million VND. During the mass harvest season, the entire field is bustling with buyers and sellers, with large and small cars from all over the provinces of Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Hanoi, Thanh Hoa and within the province coming to buy, stretching along the village roads.

Nghi Long commune people mainly live on farming but have little land and a large population. Previously, people mainly produced rice, potatoes, and peanuts, with low productivity, making people's lives difficult. In 2006, with the support of the district's Agricultural Extension Station, Nghi Long put 3 hectares of watermelon into production. The commune People's Committee invested all the initial costs including: electricity, wells, seeds, fertilizers, and scientific and technical training for the people.

However, in the first year, without experience, people had to plant and replant several times, and they were discouraged. The People's Committee of the commune, together with other departments and branches, actively encouraged people to grow watermelon, but at that time, the output was still difficult, people had to sell at the markets themselves, and consumption was slow. These factors made people not interested in watermelon. Realizing the potential of the consumption market, the People's Committee of Nghi Long commune determined to direct people to continue growing watermelon, but in 2007, only 3.5 hectares were planted.

In 2008, the Commune People's Committee assigned departments, branches and organizations to actively promote production, the area increased to 5 hectares. In 2009, people expanded the watermelon growing area to 15 hectares, the commune directed production to focus on quality and design to increase attractiveness. The Commune People's Committee contacted and found markets in Hanoi, Hai Duong, Hai Phong and Thanh Hoa. The output was stable, people were very excited. Realizing the high efficiency of watermelon growing, in 2010 people actively expanded the production area to 35 hectares, harvesting about 800 tons, with the selling price at the field from 3,500 - 5,000 VND/kg, the watermelons had beautiful appearance, good quality, and were purchased by customers in the provinces. In 2012, the whole commune produced 32 hectares of watermelon, with an expected yield of 1,276 tons, worth more than 3.8 billion VND. It is expected that this first harvest season will have some households reaching 10 million VND/sao.

After 7 years of production, Nghi Long watermelon has now affirmed its brand in the market inside and outside the province. Hotels and restaurants in Cua Lo town specialize in importing Nghi Long watermelon to serve tourists. Nghi Long watermelon has the characteristics of small fruit, from 2.5 - 3.5 kg/fruit, thin skin, red flesh, lots of water, high sugar content, sweet, fragrant, so it is very popular with customers.

According to people's calculations, planting 1 sao of rice yields 300 kg, which can be sold for 1.5 million VND, while rice requires a high investment and a long time of 4 months. Growing watermelon takes only 2 months, with low investment, 1 sao of watermelon yields 7-8 million VND, 4-5 times more than growing rice. While summer-autumn rice cultivation often encounters drought and low yield, watermelon is suitable for hot weather, the sunnier the weather, the better the watermelon grows, the higher the quality, the greater the profit...

Quynh Lan