Golden grapefruit gardens full of fruit welcome Tet in Giang Son Dong

Dien grapefruit in Mr. Dao Danh Bay's family garden - Dong Thinh hamlet, Giang Son Dong commune, Do Luong district. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

These days, Mr. Dao Danh Bay and his wife in Dong Thinh hamlet, Giang Son Dong commune, Do Luong district are always busy with the work of harvesting grapefruit in their family garden. Although this year the price of grapefruit is not as high as previous years due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, however, compared to other fruit trees,Dien grapefruitstill give good income during Lunar New Year.

Currently, Mr. Bay's family grows about 2,000 grapefruit trees, mainly Dien grapefruit. Thanks to careful care, the grapefruit garden always produces fragrant, sweet fruit with beautiful, tight skin, very typical of Dien grapefruit. He said: "Last time, we sold Dien grapefruit at the mass price of 15,000 VND/fruit, the price of selected grapefruit was 18,000 VND/fruit, currently the family has earned over 100 million VND from selling grapefruit."

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thinh's family's grapefruit garden has 110 Dien grapefruit trees ready to be harvested. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Not only Mr. Dao Danh Bay's family, currently in Giang Son Dong commune there are over 40 households growing Dien grapefruit. Most of the households have a good income thanks to growing grapefruit. The longer Dien grapefruit is grown, the more fruit it produces and the more delicious it is.

For example, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thinh's family has a 110-tree grapefruit garden that has been planted for 8 years. Currently, her family is waiting for the Tet holiday to sell it to reach the peak price.“The family has recently sold a small number of grapefruits to the market. There are still about 700 to 800 fruits that the family is waiting for near Tet to sell at a good price. This year, due to little rain, the grapefruits are sweeter than previous years…” - Ms. Thinh shared.

Grapefruit gardens full of ripe fruit are waiting for Tet to sell for a good price. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Dien grapefruit trees are grown inGiang Son Dong communealways favored by customers not only in Do Luong district, but also many customers in Yen Thanh, Tan Ky, Dien Chau, Vinh city come to buy. Dien pomelo has an average weight of 1.4 kg per fruit. Last year's Lunar New Year, thegarden houseHere it is sold for 20 thousand dong/kg. This year it is expected to be from 15 to 20 thousand dong/fruit.

To support the care and output of the products, over 40 households growing grapefruit in Giang Son Dong commune have joined together to form a "Fruit Tree Cooperative". Through this cooperative, members will regularly connect with each other to exchange care techniques, prevent pests and diseases and especially the appropriate time to sell to achieve high economic value. Thanks to favorable natural conditions, grapefruit trees in general and Dien grapefruit in particular in the mountainous commune of Giang Son Dong have been bringing high income to the people here.

Dien grapefruit in Giang Son Dong commune has a beautiful, plump appearance thanks to being peeled beforehand - Mr. Dang Ba Tan - shared. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Mr. Dang Ba Tan, a member of the Fruit Tree Growing Cooperative in Dong Thinh Hamlet, Giang Son Dong Commune, said: “To ensure the quality of grapefruit, my family fights fruit flies by using bait and wrapping the fruit. But wrapping the fruit will be more effective. In addition, we fertilize Dien grapefruit twice a year, in the third lunar month and the tenth and eleventh lunar months. The fertilizer used is composted manure and NPK.”

To continue to produce good fruit next year, some households dig trenches to fertilize.

Among nearly 40 farming households growing Dien grapefruit in Giang Son Dong commune, according to the calculation of the commune's fruit tree growing cooperative, households with low income also reach several tens of millions of VND/year, households with medium income reach approximately 100 million VND, income from 200 million to 500 million VND with Dien grapefruit, combined with other grapefruit varieties, there are up to 7 households, such as the households of Mr. Dao Danh Bay, Dao Danh Hien... in Dong Thinh hamlet.