Growing papaya earns hundreds of millions of dong

(Baonghean.vn) - The papaya growing model has only been applied in Dien Lien commune (Dien Chau) since 2012, but up to now, the crop has brought about high economic efficiency.

The seedlings are planted in iron cans, fertilized with bio-fertilizer, the soil is kept moist and the entire plant is covered with packaging to avoid the effects of hot weather.

In 2012, after attending agricultural extension training courses, Mr. Nguyen Van Ba ​​in Hamlet 4, Dien Lien decided to experiment with growing papaya on 3 sao of land and achieved remarkable results. He was the first person in Dien Lien commune to pursue this model on the largest area.

Mr. Ba said: “In my family’s nearly 2-hectare farm, papaya trees, although not large in area, have higher yields than other crops. On the other hand, this is a crop that yields regular harvests and stable output, bringing my family an income of nearly 200 million VND/year.”

Well-cared papaya clusters will produce large, high-quality, and colorful fruits. Each fruit weighs about 2 kg and sells for 10,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Ba bought papaya seeds from the provincial agricultural extension center. Each seed costs 2,000 VND, and after about 20 days of sowing, the seeds will sprout. Currently, Mr. Ba accepts to sow seeds for households at the price of 5,000 VND/tree. However, there must be techniques to have a high rate of sprouting. He said: "Seeds must be fertilized with biofertilizer, watered once a day, and not allowed to dry out too much. Seedlings must be carefully covered because even though they are not affected by pests, they can easily be bitten by rats or trampled by poultry."

The time from sowing to harvest is 9 months. One sao can grow about 50 - 70 trees, giving an average yield of 6 tons/sao. It is currently the time to harvest papaya for sale to the market, the price of papaya is 10,000 VND/kg when sold directly in the garden, but during peak periods, it can be up to 15,000 VND/kg. Thus, 1 sao earns a minimum of 60 million VND. Well-developed, large and beautiful fruits can weigh up to 3 - 4 kg. On average, his family sells 50 kg of papaya to the market each day, bringing in an income of 500,000 VND/day.

Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh - Head of the Agricultural Extension Department of Dien Lien commune visited the papaya growing model with high productivity and income in the area.

Currently, there are two main types of papaya: Thai red-fleshed papaya and Taiwanese yellow-fleshed papaya. Taiwanese papaya has a higher yield, softer fruit, and a higher fruiting rate, but is not as delicious as Thai papaya. Therefore, in terms of price, Thai papaya is 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg higher.

Currently, the total agricultural land area of ​​Dien Lien is 475 hectares, of which papaya land is only over 2 hectares because this is a new variety of plant applied for planting locally, mainly concentrated in hamlets 3 and 4.

Papaya growing model of Mr. Cao Xuan Giang, Hamlet 4, Dien Lien. This year he planted more than 100 papaya trees on 2 sao of land. After a year of harvesting, the income was nearly 100 million VND.

Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh - Head of the Agricultural Extension Department of Dien Lien Commune said: "Previously, papaya was mainly grown individually in households' gardens without stable output, so the economic efficiency was not high. In the past 2 years, this crop has been developed in the direction of commercial papaya because people realized that this crop has high vitality, good resistance to pests and diseases, high price and large consumption market. Currently, there are 15 households in the commune growing papaya on a fairly large scale". Dien Lien papaya is sold to traders to bring to markets for consumption, the remaining part is imported for restaurants, eateries and beverage and smoothie shops because this is a product that consumes strongly during the heat wave.

Quang An