(Baonghean.vn) - Coming to Dien Chau these days, along National Highway 1A through Dien Ky and Dien Hong communes... cantaloupe and watermelon stalls are sold right at the foot of the fields. These are the fruits that are currently favored by consumers because both types of melons have high cooling properties.
Mrs. Bui Thi Phuc (60 years old) in village 2, Dien Ky commune, is busy weeding the melon field and said: Her family is one of the families with the largest melon area in this area. With 1 hectare of melon (both watermelon and cantaloupe), each melon season also brings her an income of millions of dong, much higher than peanuts and sesame. The more sunshine, the happier melon growers like her are, because the stronger the sunshine means the sweeter the melons, the more fruit and the higher the price. Like this summer, even though the work is harder, every day I have to go to the field, every day I have to weed, then check to see if the melons are damaged by rats, if any plants are too weak or too wormy, I have to pull them out... but everyone in the village is excited because "the harvest is good, the price is good".
If at this time last year, the price of watermelon only fluctuated from 3 - 4 thousand VND/kg, now it has increased to 6 thousand VND/kg, Thien Mat melon alone has a field price of 15 thousand VND/kg. After 3 months of intensive cultivation, on average, per sao of melon, farmers harvest 1.3 tons of fruit. Thus, according to the current market price, after deducting costs, farmers earn a profit of 6 - 7 million VND/sao.
Watermelon and Thien Mat melon are currently high-income crops in Dien Chau. Promoting that efficiency, in the coming summer-autumn crop, the district will continue to restructure 250 hectares of these two types of melon.
The following images were recorded in the Dien Ky melon field.
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| Currently, the entire Dien Ky commune has 27 hectares of fertile land converted from growing sesame and peanuts to growing Thien Mat melons and watermelons for high income. People are very excited because since the conversion, thanks to melons, people's lives have become more stable. |
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| The melon season lasts from the 12th lunar month of the previous year to the 8th lunar month of the following year. After 50 days of sowing, the melons will be harvested. Therefore, in a melon field, we can easily see both the fields in the harvest period and the fields in the care period. Ms. Pham Thi Nhung (Village 2, Dien Ky) said: Her family has 2 sao of melons, 1 sao is in the harvest period and 1 sao is in the care period. |
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| Watermelon is a very easy plant to grow, especially in the hot weather of Nghe An. Mr. Nguyen Van Tam said: The hotter the weather, the stronger the sun, the more effort it takes to care for it, and the melons are big and sweet, how strange! |
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| To produce many watermelons, in addition to care, weeding, and watering, pollination is also very important. |
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| To have large, effective watermelons, after 10 days of fruiting, farmers use scissors to prune the top to concentrate nutrients to nourish the stem and fruit. |
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| Along with taking care of the melon field, the two sisters Pham Thi Nhung (village 2, Dien Ky) also used plastic wrap around it to prevent rats from damaging it. |
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| Mr. Nguyen Van Tam used mouse traps, the bait was also cantaloupe. |
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| Thanks to proper care and safe protection of melon fields, most families growing melons in Dien Ky village 2 have high yields, with large, even, sweet fruits. |
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| Ms. Nguyen Thi Yen (45 years old) grows more than 3 sao of melons. She boasts that the heaviest fruit weighs 8 - 9 taels, while the one she is holding in her hand weighs 5 - 6 taels. |
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| The important thing is that the output for cantaloupe and watermelon products in Dien Ky is currently very stable. Mainly, traders come to buy, pick and select at the melon field. Pham Van Nho and his wife are present at the melon field every day from early morning. Mr. Nho said: Every day he buys a box of cantaloupe and transports it to nearby markets to sell. Because he buys at the field, he can freely choose beautiful fruits at reasonable prices, so his income is also stable. |
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| Melons are not only sold right in the fields but also displayed on both sides of the national highway at 20,000 VND/kg for large fruit and 15,000 VND/kg for medium fruit. |
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| After tiring working hours, melon growers invite each other to enjoy the products made by their own hands. While enjoying the melons, they also exchange experiences in how to take care of the melon fields. Everyone hopes that next year will be favorable weather and land so that the farmers will have a successful melon crop. |
Thanh Thuy - Thu Huong
