Growing tea trees, picking fruits every year for big income

Along Khua Road through the mountainous commune of Thinh Thanh, among the vast planted forests are the fruit-laden Sophora trees in harvest season. For Mr. Thai Khac Hai in Dong Thinh hamlet, this year joy has come to his family as the income from Sophora trees has reached about 120 million VND.

People in Thinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) are excited about the fruit-laden crop that sells for a good price. Photo: Thai Hong

Mr. Thai Khac Hai said: More than 10 years ago, his family boldly planted the So tree on nearly 2 hectares of forest hill land. This is the 5th crop of the tree bearing fruit in large quantities, with an expected yield of 6 tons/ha this year. These days, he has to hire more than 10 workers to harvest; fresh So fruit is purchased by traders right in the forest at a price of 15 million VND/ton, higher than previous crops.

So is a plant of the tea family, has a long growing period and is almost free from pests and diseases. The main product of this plant is seeds for pressing food oil, processing soap, making medicine, fertilizer and pesticide...

The tree has been planted in Thinh Thanh commune since 2007, according to the district's forestry development project with an area of ​​50 hectares.

According to the people here, planting Sophora requires little investment in care and fertilization. Care is only needed when the tree is still small and has not closed its canopy. After 5 years of planting, the tree begins to bear fruit. Each year, a crop is harvested in the last months of the year. After harvesting, the tree will flower immediately to bear fruit for the next crop.

Coix seeds are used to press food oil, make soap, make medicine, fertilizer and pesticide... Photo: Thai Duong

This year, the custard apple tree in Thinh Thanh commune has an average yield of 5 tons/ha, reaching a total output of 250 tons of fresh custard apple; in hilly areas with good soil quality and investment in care, the yield can reach about 7 tons/ha.

In particular, the market for the product of cassia seeds is always stable; with the current selling price after deducting costs, each hectare brings in a profit of about 70 million VND. Thanks to that, households participating in growing cassia seeds all have a good income.

In addition to its economic value, the So tree also has many advantages such as being green all year round, with roots that cling deep into the ground, and not falling or dropping fruit during tornadoes or storms. Therefore, the So tree also has the effect of preventing erosion during floods, contributing to protecting the ecological environment in upstream protection forests.

Yen Thanh Protective Forest Management Board has planted more than 20,000 saplings to serve the 2018 spring forest planting. Photo: Thai Hong

Also according to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh - Head of Yen Thanh Protective Forest Management Board: With many advantages of the So tree, the unit continues to develop a plan to expand the So tree planting area in protective forest areas. Currently, in the garden of production team No. 3, over 20,000 seedlings have been grown to serve the new planting of 20 hectares of So tree in the spring crop of 2018.