Gardeners in Nghe An province earn tens of millions of dong from pomelo blossoms.
Previously, during the pomelo blossom season, farmers in Nghe An would let the flowers fall to the ground, but now, those flowers are becoming a valuable commodity thanks to being purchased by medicinal processing facilities.
The pomelo flowering season lasts from February to the end of March according to the lunar calendar, with about 3-4 flowering cycles. This year, from mid-February until now, the weather has been favorable, resulting in a bumper crop of pomelo flowers. The flowers are densely clustered, blooming white on the trees. In reality, an excessive amount of flowers can compromise fruit quality and tree development. Many orchards have to prune some flowers, or those that are not pollinated will wither and fall off.
“Usually, we only select 50-60 fruits per grapefruit tree to ensure the appearance, quality, and growth of the tree. Meanwhile, each grapefruit tree, like this season, produces countless flowers; if all were pollinated, it would yield thousands of fruits. Therefore, we have to thin them out to ensure quality,” said Mr. Dam Duy Tu, owner of an organic fruit farm in Quynh Tam commune (Quynh Luu district).
Like last year, Mr. Tu's entire orchard of 600 pomelo trees is covered in blossoms, with one bloom after another falling to the ground. Some trees have borne fruit, but the sheer number of fruits necessitates pruning. This year, Mr. Tu is very excited that a medicinal herb production facility has come to his orchard to discuss purchasing the pomelo blossoms.
“Previously, we would let the flowers fall or we would have to prune them and throw them away, which was very wasteful. Now they are buying them, so I have mobilized manpower to harvest the flowers to sell to them. Pomelo trees produce many batches of flowers, and based on my years of gardening experience, I choose the best batch of flowers with the highest pollination rate to ensure fruit set,” Mr. Tu said.
During this year's pomelo blossom season alone, Mr. Tu's farm collected over 300 kg of flowers. With a selling price of 35,000 VND/kg, he earned over 10 million VND.
Having grown pomelos for many years, this year, Mr. Bui Van Khanh, the owner of a farm in Do Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), has been carefully planning to prevent all the pomelos from ripening at the same time. He has found ways to manage the trees so that the pomelos flower, set fruit, and ripen at appropriate times. At the same time, he has been ensuring that the flowers and fruits appear at the tips of the branches. Therefore, pruning the pomelo flowers is mandatory in the process of caring for fruit-bearing pomelo trees.
"A grapefruit tree in full bloom can have thousands, even several thousand blossoms. However, it's usually enough to keep only 30 to 50 blossoms on the tree. When harvesting grapefruit blossoms, growers are deliberate and calculating; they only pick the flowers up to the second bloom and then stop to allow the tree to bear a truly abundant fruit."
"Each plant, if harvested and pruned completely, can yield about 2-3 kg of flowers. At current prices, this brings in about 100,000 VND per plant from selling the flowers. For large-scale gardens, this is a considerable source of income," Khanh said.
Not only large-scale farms but also many small-scale grapefruit growers are earning additional income from selling fresh grapefruit blossoms to medicinal processing facilities.
Ms. Hoang Thi Hien, a resident of Quynh Thang commune (Quynh Luu district), said: “My family has 10 pomelo trees, mainly grown for family consumption rather than for sale on the market. This season, when the pomelo trees are in full bloom, I prune them to allow the trees to concentrate nutrients on fruit production. Each tree yields 2 kg of flowers, which I supply to a medicinal herb processing facility, earning me nearly 1 million VND, which helps me buy fertilizer for the pomelo trees.”
In the northern provinces, during the pomelo blossom season, gardeners often prune the flowers to sell to traders, mainly for decoration, vase arrangements, or tea infusion. The requirement is that the flowers be cut when they are just budding, fresh, with stems attached, and undamaged. Therefore, the price of the flowers is quite high, 100,000-150,000 VND/kg, and many gardeners earn hundreds of millions of VND from selling pomelo blossoms.
In Nghe An province, this year marks the first time that grapefruit growers are selling their flowers to pharmaceutical companies. Grapefruit flowers are bought in bulk (buds, fully bloomed flowers, and even fallen petals) at a price of 35,000-40,000 VND per kilogram. After collection, the companies sort, wash, and distill grapefruit flower essential oil for use in shampoos, conditioners, perfumes, and other products.
Ms. Tran Thi Vui, owner of a herbal processing facility in Do Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), said: “Our main products are herbal shampoos and conditioners, with pomelo flowers and young pomelo fruits as the primary ingredients. When the pomelo flower season started this year, we announced our purchasing activities to households and pomelo orchards. We buy directly from the orchards without quantity limits. This helps farmers earn extra income and increases the value of their pomelo trees.”
