Nghe An farmers grow eggplants covered with plastic to double productivity
(Baonghean.vn) - With the method of growing eggplant covered with nylon, many households in Chi Khe commune, Con Cuong district have doubled the productivity of this plant variety.
Ms. Hoang Thi Hong's family in Tien Thanh village, Chi Khe commune has been growing eggplant for more than 6 years. At first, she only planted 1 sao, after harvesting, seeing the economic efficiency, she expanded the area.
With more than 2 sao of land to grow eggplant, Ms. Hong invested nearly 500,000 VND to buy plastic cover, plus fertilizer, seeds... total cost over 2 million VND. Eggplants are ready to harvest after about 4 months of planting. "Currently, eggplants have a stable output, although the output is not much at the beginning of the season, the price is high, there is not enough eggplant to sell to traders. Calculating the average price of 8,000 VND/kg, each year my family has a revenue of over 40 million VND, much higher than growing other crops" - Ms. Hoang Thi Hong said.
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| Ms. Hoang Thi Hong in Tien Thanh village, Chi Khe commune (Con Cuong) is excited because this year's eggplant crop is good and the price is good. Photo: Minh Hanh |
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Chau, an eggplant grower in Tien Thanh village, Chi Khe commune: Eggplants take about 1 year to be harvested from planting to harvest, and are harvested 4-5 times a month. During rainy months, when the eggplants are in full bloom, in order to harvest and sell to traders in time, households often form groups to help each other harvest.
Most eggplant growers grow their own seedlings, starting from September to November of the lunar calendar. In addition, pests and diseases must be regularly monitored, and nitrogen fertilizer must be applied after each harvest to keep the plants flowering continuously until the end of the harvest.
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| People in Tien Thanh village, Chi Khe commune (Con Cuong) gather to harvest coffee. Photo: Ba Hau |
Chi Khe commune is the locality with the largest eggplant growing area in Con Cuong district. The whole commune currently has more than 15 hectares of eggplant growing, concentrated in Tien Thanh and Quyet Tien villages.
To improve the productivity and quality of eggplants, most households grow them using the nylon covering method; although the investment cost is higher than the conventional method, covering with nylon has many advantages such as: maintaining soil moisture so there is no need to water, weed-free, high resistance to pests and diseases... Therefore, eggplants have higher yields and better fruit quality. On average, each sao of eggplant yields 4 - 5 tons, but planting using the nylon covering method yields nearly double, from 7 - 8 tons/sao, after deducting costs, the income is nearly 30 million VND/sao.
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| Eggplant grown using the nylon covering method yields nearly double the yield, from 7-8 tons/sao. Photo: Ba Hau |
Currently, communes such as Chi Khe, Bong Khe, and the town are localities with large eggplant growing areas in the district. Eggplant has become a key crop, helping many households improve and enhance their lives./.
