In full season, the heat-relieving flower in Nam Dan still has a high price

In a large hilly garden, Ms. Dang Thi Hoa (Hamlet 5, Nam Kim Commune, Nam Dan) grows 40 passionflower trees. The combination of soil, climate, and planting in the home garden, with proactive irrigation, means that although it is only the second year of harvest, the flowers are very fruitful, large, lush green and very fragrant. Ms. Hoa said: “Unlike planting in the fields where bamboo climbs, my family invested in pouring concrete stakes and stretching fishing lines so that the passionflower trees can spread out, be airy, and receive sunlight more evenly. Therefore, the flowers are more abundant, the flowers are larger, and more fragrant. From the beginning of the season until now, 40 passionflower trees have been harvested 15 times, each time from 20-25 kg, bringing in a fairly high income.”

Currently, in Nam Kim commune, there are about 50 households that have converted from fruit trees to growing passionflowers. Hilly land, high slope, planted in home gardens, so watering is proactive, therefore, passionflowers give high yield, are not affected by pests, and are not flooded when it rains.

“Households that plant a lot have 2 sao or more, and households that plant a little have 10-20 plants. This year, the price of passionflower is high, so people are excited. Although passionflower has just been introduced to Nam Kim, it is growing and developing well, with quite a yield, and many households are expanding their acreage,” said Mr. Dang Van Tan, an agricultural official of Nam Kim commune.

In the Nam Xuan crop fields these days, from 5am, people have gathered in the fields to harvest jasmine flowers. At 7am, there are already traders waiting to buy them right in the field. Last year, jasmine had a poor harvest, low productivity, and low prices, but this year, people are excited to have a good harvest and good prices.

Mr. Thanh Tam (Xuan Tan hamlet, Nam Xuan commune) grows more than 2 sao of morning glory flowers. From the beginning of the season until now, he has harvested and sold 7 batches, each batch earning 3-4 million VND. Mr. Tam said: "This year, thanks to investment in care, the weather is hot but there is no heavy rain causing flooding like previous years, so the morning glory flowers yield quite high yields. In particular, due to the hot weather, morning glory flowers are very popular in the market, as soon as they are picked, traders buy them immediately."

Compared to other vegetables, the passionflower plant still brings the best income, so after 2 years of crop failure and falling prices, the people of Nam Xuan persevere in caring for and expanding the area. Currently, the whole commune has about 18 hectares of passionflower, concentrated in the hamlets of Xuan Tan, Xuan Ho, and Xuan Son.

“Compared to the years of good harvest, this year's yield is lower, but compared to the previous two crops, this year's yield is higher. Many households take good care of the plants and invest a lot, so the passion fruit trees yield high yields, 13-17kg per sao/harvest. The current selling price is still fluctuating between 27,000 - 35,000 VND/kg,” said Mr. Truong Van Huong (Hamlet 7, Nam Anh Commune).

This year, the price of passionflower is quite high, at the beginning of the season it fluctuated from 60,000-70,000 VND/kg, then dropped to 45,000-50,000 VND/kg and now it is 30,000-35,000 VND/kg. On average, passionflower can be harvested once every 3 days, with good areas yielding 15kg/sao/harvest. Each passionflower season lasts 2.5 months, with about 20-25 harvests, bringing in an income of 15-20 million VND/sao.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, a trader who buys morning glory flowers in Nam Dan, said: “Morning glory flowers are grown mainly in Nam Anh, Nam Xuan and scattered in the communes of Thuong Tan Loc, Nam Nghia, Nam Hung, Nam Kim... This year, morning glory flowers have a good harvest and good price. Currently, it is the peak harvest season but the price of morning glory flowers is still at 30,000-35,000 VND/kg. Every day, I buy tons of morning glory flowers for people in the district, and sell them to Vinh, Thanh Hoa and Hanoi.”