Nam Dan gets good prices for early melon crop.

(Baonghean.vn) - From mid-May, farmers in Nam Tan commune (Nam Dan district) began harvesting early melons. This year, the early melon crop was poor, but the price was good.

These days, Mrs. Pham Thi Ngoc from Hamlet 6, Nam Tan Commune, is always present on National Highway 15 from morning till night selling watermelons to passersby. This watermelon season, her family planted 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of early-season watermelons and 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of main-season watermelons.

According to Ms. Ngoc, to grow melons early, you have to plant other crops early, and plant melons immediately after harvesting them. Usually, melons are planted in March so they can be harvested in May, and only one melon crop can be grown each year. Ms. Ngoc's 3 sao (approximately 3,000 square meters) of early melons have been harvested for the past 10 days, estimated to yield an income of about 4 million VND per sao.

Residents of Nam Tan commune are selling melons along National Highway 15. Currently, red melons are priced from 6,000 to 8,000 VND/kg, while honeydew melons and cantaloupes are 15,000 VND/kg. (Photo: Huy Thu)

Sharing her watermelon sales along National Highway 15, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang from Hamlet 7 said: "My family also planted 4 acres of early-ripening watermelons with short-day varieties like Phu Dong and Nong Viet, which can be harvested in just 55-60 days; these watermelons have thin skins, are juicy, sweet, and have beautiful colors."

According to Ms. Hang, this year's weather was unfavorable for growing melons. Heavy rains during the fruiting period resulted in fewer fruits setting, many damaged fruits, large ones cracking, and smaller ones rotting, leading to a significant decrease in early melon yield compared to last year.

However, early-season melons are fetching good prices and are easier to sell this year compared to previous years; currently, red melons are priced from 6,000 to 8,000 VND/kg, while cantaloupes and honeydews are 15,000 VND/kg. According to farmers' experience, the earlier the melons are harvested, the higher the price; planting melons early extends the harvesting period, prolonging the melon season.

Traders come to buy watermelons directly from the field. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tien, head of Hamlet 5, said: Hamlet 5 is the hamlet with the most melon cultivation in Nam Tan commune, with about 90 households growing melons on 17 hectares. Some households cultivate 4-5 sao (approximately 0.4-0.5 hectares), while others cultivate more than 1 hectare. More than half of the households plant early-ripening melons. The people's belief is "better to lose early than to gain late," so every household tries to cultivate a few sao of early melons; calculated per season, the villagers earn 4-6 million VND per sao, higher than other crops.

For this year's early melon crop, farmers in Nam Dan are growing many varieties of melons, including Phu Dong, Hoan Chau, and Nong Viet…Photo: Huy Thu

Currently, all seven hamlets in Nam Tan commune cultivate watermelons, with a total area exceeding 100 hectares; in 2016, the locality earned approximately 6 billion VND from watermelons. In Nam Tan, this is a key crop, providing a substantial income for the people, and the area planted with watermelons has continuously expanded over the years.

Huy Thu