"King of areca" in the field

(Baonghean) -Although there are not many generations left today who dye their teeth black and chew betel, areca nuts still hold a certain position in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people. "A piece of betel is the beginning of a conversation", betel leaves and areca nuts are the first choice for traditional behavior in Vietnam. Therefore, during the wedding season as well as on normal days, the areca garden of Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh in Dong Luoc hamlet, Kim Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) has traders coming to buy areca nuts every day, bringing them to all regions for consumption. Because he is the biggest areca grower in the region, people here call Mr. Vinh "king of areca nuts".

One hot sunny morning, we made our way to Dong Luoc. Opening the iron gate, Mr. Vinh enthusiastically invited guests into his house. Before our eyes was a vast areca garden, embracing his small house. Areca trees were planted in straight lines, each tree was tall, bearing heavy areca clusters. Mr. Vinh introduced: My family has 1 hectare of garden land, I invested in planting a total of 1,100 trees, on an area of ​​0.5 hectare. Of these, 800 trees have already produced clusters. This is a areca variety with attached leaves, each tree has fruit for sale all year round. Traders from Yen Thanh, Tan Ky, Dien Chau... come here to buy areca trees to transport and sell everywhere.
Talking about the areca growing profession, Mr. Vinh confided: “In February 1967, my brother got married. At that time, the bride's family was required to pay a bundle of 50 areca nuts. At that time, areca nuts were very rare, although almost every household in the area grew areca nuts, but because the areca nut season was over, I had to cycle all over Yen Thanh district, down to Dien Chau but still could not find a nice bunch of areca nuts. Then, someone told me that in Quynh Thien commune (Quynh Luu) there was a family that grew areca nuts continuously, I went there and bought a satisfactory bunch of areca nuts. After buying the areca nuts, I also ordered 30 seedlings to plant. It was not until 3 years later that someone sold me the seedlings. Since then, I have invested in commercial areca nut cultivation, the areca nut variety with continuous leaves, so there are always fruits to sell.

A corner of the areca garden of Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh's family

Asked about the secret of growing areca, after a moment of hesitation, Mr. Vinh said: I will not hide anything from you, after more than 40 years of growing areca, I have gained some experience. This is a areca variety with a continuous leaf, so each time the leaf falls, a bunch of areca will bloom, so on an areca tree there are always 3-4 generations of fruit. Experience shows that in the areca season in October, areca is cheap, the price is only 1/15 of the current price. Therefore, we must know how to adjust to the off-season areca. At this time (in July), whichever bunch of areca blooms, we use a sickle immediately. By doing so, we can partly avoid harvesting areca in October and partly create conditions for the areca tree to grow, having the strength to nurture the off-season areca crops.

Mr. Vinh’s 800 areca trees in bloom each year yield about 16 tons of fruit. With an average selling price of 10,000 VND/kg, the “areca king” Nguyen Quang Vinh earns about 160 million VND a year. Currently, he has selected 30 areca trees planted since 1971 to get fruit for breeding. If anyone needs it, he is willing to provide seedlings and instructions on how to plant and care for them.

Growing areca, in addition to harvesting the fruit, if one is healthy and a little skillful, one can also earn extra income from its leaves. The areca leaves fall down, investing in a little rattan and steel wire, will make brooms from areca leaves, sweeping very conveniently and durable. Mr. Vinh said, this areca garden drops at least 50 leaves every day, which means that many areca bunches bloom, if you work hard to make brooms to sell, you will also have money. Because of his poor health, all the leaves fall to the areca roots to create more moisture for the soil. Many families in the village ask for the areca spathe to make palm leaf fans, to use during power outages. In this mountainous area, electricity is erratic, every house proactively makes a few palm leaf fans. The areca trunk is slender and flexible. Therefore, if used to make rafters and rafters for the roof, it will be very durable, not inferior to old bamboo...

Article and photos: Xuan Hoang