Off-season squash fetches high prices in Nghe An

Farmers in Cam Son commune harvest off-season squash with joy of a good harvest and good price. Photo: Thai Hien

At this time, while most farmers are preparing the land to sow winter squash in time for the season, some people in Cam Son commune are focusing on harvesting off-season squash with the joy of a good harvest and good price.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang in village 4, Cam Son commune said that in previous years, squash was grown in two main crops of the year, spring-summer and autumn-winter; when it came to harvest, it was very difficult to sell. When she realized that squash had a much higher economic value than other vegetables, and that it had a short growing period of only 45 days, this summer-autumn crop, her family invested in planting off-season crops on an area of ​​4 sao. Currently, squash is in its main harvest season, picking 8-9 yen per day, and at peak times, picking 200 kg of fruit.

Because squash is rare this season, the supply of green vegetables in the area is lacking, so the selling price is high; after harvesting, traders come to the garden to buy; the current purchase price is from 8,000 - 10,000 VND/kg. After only 4 days of harvesting, Ms. Giang's family has nearly 5 million VND. By the end of the season, after deducting expenses, each sao earns about 10 - 12 million VND.

These days, Ms. Le Thi Hoa’s family in village 4, Cam Son commune is also focusing on harvesting off-season squash. Ms. Hoa shared: This is the first year she has grown squash out of season.Starting in July, she planted seeds on the same land. Although the weather at the beginning of the season was not favorable for the growth of squash, thanks to good care, the yield was quite high. With an area of ​​2 sao, she cut and sold about 80 - 100 kg of squash every day. Especially after the flood, green vegetables were scarce, so squash was priced well and easy to sell. On harvest day, traders came to the fields to buy and weigh right there, so farmers did not have to go to the market to sell like in the main season.

Not only in Cam Son commune, farmers in Thach Son, Hoa Son, and Tao Son communes also take advantage of home garden land, land on the side, and land of the same color to grow squash.with an area of ​​10 hectares. According to the people, growing squash does not require much investment, and can be harvested daily and continuously for 3-4 months. With the current price, each sao of squash yields 1.5-2 tons, with a net profit of 10-12 million VND/sao.

Currently, squash plants are helping people earn extra income, contributing to reducing difficulties when some crops are completely lost after floods.With the value of luffa, Anh Son district encourages people to expand the area on fertile land, hilly land, and rice fields.