Thanh Chuong: Late-ripening oranges bring in revenue of hundreds of millions of VND/ha

This season, Mr. Le Tat Chung's family in Thanh Ha commune, Thanh Chuong district has more than 1.5 tons of late-ripening V2 oranges to sell during and after Tet. This year, thanks to digging drainage ditches and investing in and taking better care, Mr. Chung's orange garden has a higher yield and output than last year; some orange trees yield over 300 kg of fruit and the color is also fresher and more beautiful, so the selling price has increased.

Thanks to good care, late-ripening oranges have high productivity and yield, averaging over 20 tons per hectare. Photo: Huu Thinh

"Growing late oranges requires more care, but the economic value is much higher than that of main-season oranges and other crops, so our family is continuing to improve the land to expand the area of ​​late oranges. From 1.5 tons of this crop, I earned more than 600 million VND." - Mr. Chung shared.

Not only Mr. Le Tat Chung's family, currently in Thanh Chuong district, there are many households investing in growing late-ripening oranges. According to the experience of households, growing late-ripening oranges is not difficult, however, care requires a lot of effort. In particular, the soil for growing oranges must be loose, moist enough, fertilized properly and must have drainage ditches to prevent timely flooding, not allowing the orange tree to be eroded at the base.

During the care process, it is necessary to clearly understand the process of pests and diseases and leaf changes on the tree during the months of the season. To have good quality oranges with beautiful fruit, at the beginning of the season, the grower must know how to intervene in the process of flowering of the tree, know how to prune flowers, trim branches, and create a canopy so that the oranges bloom at the right time.

Currently, V2 oranges are sold at the garden for about 40,000 VND/kg. Photo: Huu Thinh

As an experienced grower, Ms. Tran Thi Lam's family in Suong hamlet, Thanh Duc commune currently has more than 5 hectares of oranges of various types, mainly V2 variety. To ensure intercropping and increase value per unit area, she plants 3 hectares of early-ripening oranges for harvest from September to the end of November of the lunar calendar, and 2 hectares of late-ripening oranges for harvest from Tet to the end of March of the lunar calendar. The advantage of late-ripening oranges is that they are small in quantity and ripen during Tet, so they are popular with consumers. Therefore, the price is much higher than that of main-season oranges.

"Late-ripening oranges are usually priced 5-10 times higher than the main-season oranges. Currently, I sell them at 40,000 VND/kg at the garden. This Tet, my family will harvest 50 tons, which will bring in about 2 billion VND in revenue," said Ms. Tran Thi Lam.

Currently, Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong) has about 10 hectares of late-ripening oranges; people are happy that this orange crop is a good harvest and has a good price. Photo: Huu Thinh

According to Mr. Nguyen Ba Son - Vice Chairman of Thanh Duc Commune People's Committee, the whole commune has more than 100 hectares of oranges, but mainly grows main-season oranges, while there are more than 10 hectares of off-season oranges. Only those with a lot of experience and a stable economy dare to grow off-season oranges, and compared to main-season oranges, growing late-season oranges has a higher economic value, and there is no need to worry about consumption.

After Tet, in addition to strengthening science and technology training for people, the commune mobilized people to expand the area of ​​late orange cultivation to increase income.