(Baonghean.vn) - Visiting Dien Chau these days, along National Highway 1A through Dien Ky and Dien Hong communes, you'll find stalls selling cantaloupe and watermelon right in the fields. These are currently popular fruits among consumers because both types of melon have high cooling properties.
Ms. Bui Thi Phuc (60 years old) from Hamlet 2, Dien Ky Commune, was busy weeding her melon field when she said: Her family is one of the families with the largest melon cultivation area in this region. With one acre of melons (both watermelons and cantaloupes), each melon season brings her millions of dong in income, far more than peanuts or sesame. The hotter the sun, the happier melon growers like her are, because the hotter the sun, the sweeter the melons, the more fruit they produce, and the higher the price. This summer, even though working is harder, having to go to the fields every day, weeding, checking for rat damage, and removing weak or infested plants... the whole village is happy because of the "good harvest and good prices".
While watermelon prices fluctuated between 3,000 and 4,000 VND/kg at this time last year, they have now risen to 6,000 VND/kg, with Thien Mat cantaloupe selling for 15,000 VND/kg at the farm. After three months of intensive cultivation, farmers harvest an average of 1.3 tons of watermelon per sao (approximately 1000 square meters). Therefore, based on current market prices, after deducting expenses, farmers earn a profit of 6-7 million VND per sao.
Watermelon and honeydew melon are currently high-income crops in Dien Chau. Building on this success, the district will continue to allocate 250 hectares to these two types of melons for the upcoming summer-autumn crop.
The following images were taken in the Dien Ky melon fields.
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| Currently, the entire Dien Ky commune has 27 hectares of arable land that have been converted from growing sesame and peanuts to growing Thien Mat cantaloupe and watermelon, yielding high incomes. The people are very happy because since the conversion, thanks to the melons, their lives have become more stable. |
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| The melon season lasts from December of the previous lunar year to August of the following lunar year. From sowing the seeds, it takes 50 days for the melons to be harvested. Therefore, in a melon field, you can easily find both plots ready for harvest and plots still under care. Ms. Pham Thi Nhung (Hamlet 2, Dien Ky) said: Her family has 2 sao (approximately 2,000 square meters) of melons, 1 sao is in the harvesting stage and 1 sao is still under care. |
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| Watermelons are very easy to grow, especially in the hot and sunny weather of Nghe An province. Mr. Nguyen Van Tam said: "The hotter and sunnier the weather, the easier the care is, and the watermelons grow bigger and sweeter – that's amazing!" |
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| To ensure a high yield of watermelons, in addition to proper care, weeding, and watering, pollination is also very important. |
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| To grow large, high-yielding watermelons, farmers prune the tops of the plants 10 days after the fruit appears, concentrating nutrients on the main stem and fruit. |
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| In addition to tending to their melon crop, to protect it, the two sisters, Pham Thi Nhung (village 2, Dien Ky), also used plastic sheeting to surround the field to prevent rats from damaging it. |
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| Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam uses a method of trapping rats, with the bait also being cantaloupe. |
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| Thanks to proper care and safe protection of the melon fields, most families growing cantaloupes in Hamlet 2, Dien Ky, achieve high yields with large, uniform, and sweet fruits. |
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| Ms. Nguyen Thi Yen (45 years old) grows more than 3 acres of cantaloupe. She proudly showed off the heaviest fruit, which weighed 8-9 ounces, while the one she was holding weighed 5-6 ounces. |
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| Importantly, the market for cantaloupe and watermelon in Dien Ky is currently very stable. Most traders come to buy, harvest, and select the melons directly from the fields. Pham Van Nho and his wife are present in the fields every day from early morning. Mr. Nho said: "Every day I buy one crate of cantaloupe and transport it to nearby markets to sell. Because I buy directly from the fields, I can freely choose the best ones at reasonable prices, so my income is stable." |
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| Cantaloupes are not only sold directly in the fields but also displayed along the national highway at prices of 20,000 VND/kg for large ones and 15,000 VND/kg for medium-sized ones. |
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| After a hard day's work, the melon farmers share their produce with each other. They enjoy the melons while exchanging experiences on how to care for their fields. Everyone hopes for favorable weather and conditions next year so that they can have a successful melon harvest. |
Thanh Thủy - Thu Hương
