Thanh Chuong farmers share experience in intercropping for '2 in 1' income
(Baonghean.vn) - While waiting for the dragon fruit to be harvested, many households in Lien Chau hamlet, Thanh Lien commune, Thanh Chuong have proactively intercropped with onions, garlic, corn, peanuts, eggplants, etc. to make short-term profits.
With the commune's policy, dozens of households in Lien Chau - Thanh Lien - Thanh Chuong hamlet boldly bid for 2 hectares of alluvial land, each family from 2 - 3 sao to grow dragon fruit trees. The land area divided into empty spaces for the excess trees is up to 4m, weeds grow a lot, making the fertilization process difficult, many households here have proactively intercropped agricultural crops such as onions, garlic, corn, peanuts, eggplants, etc.
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| Thanh Lien farmers intercrop beans under dragon fruit canopy for good income. Photo: Le Chinh |
The advantage of this method is that it takes advantage of the excess fertilizer from dragon fruit trees and the bare land area limits the growth of weeds. Mr. Tran Van Hoang (Lien Chau hamlet, Thanh Lien) shared: “On average, each dragon fruit tree needs a wheelbarrow of manure, and with a lot of manure, weeds grow very well around it. Since intercropping with peanuts, beans, onions, and garlic, we have had more income and less work on weeding the dragon fruit.”
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (Lien Chau hamlet, Thanh Lien) shared: “My family intercrops eggplant and peanuts. Eggplants grow very quickly and can be sold after about 3 months. Recently, on average, my eggplant garden has earned about 5 million VND. Peanuts are profitable after about 4 months, so there are 2 more intercropping crops each year.”
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| Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (Lien Chau hamlet, Thanh Lien) intercropped eggplant under dragon fruit and earned an additional 5 million VND. Photo: Le Chinh |
In addition to growing intercropped crops, households still focus on fertilizing and applying technical methods for the main crop, dragon fruit, to have a "2 in 1" source of income. Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (Lien Chau hamlet, Thanh Lien) shared: "Last season, I intercropped onions, garlic and beans. This year, I planted corn and earned 2 million from onions and garlic, and 1.5 million from green beans. However, we still focus on caring for the main crop, dragon fruit, to have a higher yield."
Mr. Phan Ba Ngoc, Chairman of Thanh Lien Commune, said: “The application of such intercropping model initially brought high efficiency to farmers. In the near future, the commune will cooperate with agricultural extension officers to replicate the model and apply technical methods to bring higher efficiency.”