Farmers turn on air conditioners to cool specialty grapefruit in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn)- To keep grapefruit fresh for a month after picking, farmer Nguyen Hong Cong in Thai Hoa Town (Nghe An) put the grapefruit in an air-conditioned room, turning it on day and night.

Air-conditioned room used to preserve grapefruit of Mr. Nguyen Hong Cong's family: Photo by Quang Huy.

On average, the ripening season of Quang Tien pink grapefruit only lasts about 45 days. After that time, the grapefruit will dry out, the skin will turn yellow and the fruit will fall off. Faced with this reality, farmer Nguyen Hong Cong in Trung Nghia block, Quang Tien ward, Thai Hoa town has taken advantage of the uninhabited room, invested 15 million VND to buy an air conditioner, and made 2 iron frame shelves, each frame designed with 3 floors to preserve the grapefruit.

After more than 1 month of application, grapefruits stored in an air-conditioned room at 20 - 22 degrees Celsius still retain their color, quality, and do not rot. Especially when placed at normal temperature, grapefruits can still be sold for 7 - 10 days without affecting the quality.

Currently, Mr. Nguyen Hong Cong's family has over 2,000 preserved grapefruits. Photo by Quang Huy.

"Preserving grapefruit in an air-conditioned room not only solves the quality problem, but also helps my family extend the time to sell grapefruit, avoid traders forcing down prices and sell at a higher price than in the main season. Currently, there are over 2,000 grapefruits being preserved in my family's room" - Mr. Nguyen Hong Cong shared.

In Thai Hoa town, there are currently over 80 hectares of Quang Tien pink grapefruit, of which 40 hectares are being harvested; the average yield is about 25 tons of fruit/ha, each year grapefruit growers sell about 1,000 tons of fruit to the market. How to consume a large quantity of grapefruit in a short time during the ripening season is a difficult problem for households here.

Grapefruits preserved for more than 30 days still ensure quality. Photo: Quang Huy.

Therefore, using air-conditioned rooms to preserve grapefruit longer like Mr. Nguyen Hong Cong's household can be considered an effective measure in consuming products, increasing income, and improving life.

Quang Huy