Binh Phuoc: Getting rich thanks to perseverance with longan trees

Thanh An Hamlet, Thanh Luong Commune, Binh Long Town is a famous longan growing area in Binh Phuoc Province. In the period of 2017-2019, the longan growing area of Thanh An Hamlet was 450 hectares. After the Covid-19 outbreak, farmers had difficulty selling longan due to unstable prices. Many households switched to other crops, the remaining longan growing area in the commune is currently about 70 hectares. However, longan is still a high-yield crop, bringing in a good income for many farming households.

Loyal to longan tree

In the early years of settling down in Thanh An hamlet, Mr. Nguyen Van Tien's family planted 4 hectares of longan with cowhide. This longan variety has the characteristics of thick flesh, small seeds like peppercorns, yellow skin like cowhide, and a sweet taste that is favored by many people.

Longan garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Tien in Thanh An hamlet, Thanh Luong commune is blooming.

Because longan trees take 3 years to produce the first harvest, when the trees are still small, Mr. Tien intercrops some short-term crops such as corn and beans to get short-term benefits for long-term use. Up to now, Mr. Tien's longan garden has been planted for 25 years, with large, ancient roots and trees about 8-9m high. When first planted, the trees were still small, so the planting density was 400 trees/ha. In later years, he cut them down to spread out the canopy, with a density of 100 trees/ha. Mr. Tien said that longan trees have higher yields than some other crops, with an average yield of 10-15 tons per hectare. However, growers must understand care techniques for the trees to achieve high yields.

Longan garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Tien (left) is blooming

In May, Mr. Tien's longan garden is in full bloom. To make the longan garden bloom evenly, Mr. Tien takes care of the garden right after the harvest. About 1 month after harvesting longan, he often trims old branches and branches close to the ground to make the garden airy. Longan trees often weaken after a fruiting season. During this period, the trees need to be fertilized, each tree needs 3-5kg of phosphate to create new roots, combined with watering to keep the soil moist. Every February, he weeds the garden and leaves it to rot in place to make organic fertilizer.

Mr. Tien said: “In the garden, we should not cut the grass too cleanly, but keep a layer of grass and dry leaves around the base. The purpose is to keep the soil moist, helping the plants grow well. Limit the use of herbicides and pesticides in the garden. Because if weeds are cut cleanly, insects will fly up to the plants and cause damage, and spraying too much pesticide will weaken the plants.”

Thanks to growing longan, Mr. Nguyen Van Tien's family (right) has an income of nearly 500 million VND per year.

Every year, Mr. Tien usually cuts the grass twice, at the beginning and end of the rainy season. He only sprays pesticides when the longan fruit is ripe, to prevent fruit borers. After cutting the grass, Mr. Tien stimulates the longan tree to sprout new shoots. During the dry season, the first watering should be done to make the garden completely wet. The next waterings should be done 3 days apart, with just enough water to keep the tree moist, combined with NPK fertilizer for the tree to absorb nutrients.

Mr. Tien shared: “When treating the tree to sprout new shoots, fertilize with mixed fertilizer, with high nitrogen content. When treating the tree to bloom, fertilize mainly with potassium, accounting for 90% to stimulate flower buds. About 15 days after fertilizing to stimulate flowering, the longan tree is barked, water is tightened, and flowers are stimulated. Note that only about 2/3 to 3/4 of the branches should be ringed, the rest should be used to nourish the roots.”

Visiting Mr. Tien's ancient longan garden, experienced people only need to count the number of rings on the bark to know the age of the tree. When the young leaves turn light green, continue to apply mixed fertilizer, water to keep moist until the tree flowers evenly. Currently, Mr. Tien's longan garden has flowered 90%. This year's crop is expected to yield about 40-45 tons of fruit. Because there is enough irrigation water, he often treats longan trees to flower and bear fruit in the off-season. This year's longan crop, Mr. Tien expects to harvest in July, at this time there are few fruit trees in season, so the selling price is often higher than the main season longan.

Poverty reduction tree

Thanks to proper care, Mr. Tien's longan garden is always green and has few pests. In previous years, the garden yielded 45-60 tons/4 hectares. In the 2023 crop, Mr. Tien harvested 45 tons of longan, with an average selling price of 10,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, he made a profit of about 400 million VND. For many years, his family's economic development has mainly been based on longan trees. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, longan prices were 20-22,000 VND/kg. Thanks to the income from longan trees, Mr. Tien was able to build a large, solid house, buy a car, and have a stable economy.

Like Mr. Tien’s family, in Thanh An hamlet, Thanh Luong commune, there are many households that have made a good living by growing longan. Despite the ups and downs in prices, while many households have switched crops, Mr. Tien and many families in the hamlet are still determined to stick with longan trees.

Mr. Tien's ancient longan garden is a model in Thanh An hamlet, attracting many people in the area to visit and learn. In addition to 4 hectares of longan, he also grows many other types of trees and raises pigs. Thanks to the diversity of crops and livestock, his family has a stable income of more than 1 billion VND per year. Not only is he a good farmer, Mr. Tien also enthusiastically shares his experience and techniques in caring for longan trees with many people.

Source