A very young farmer converted his rice fields to grow green-skinned grapefruit. The red-fleshed green-skinned grapefruit, developed into a local OCOP product, brought sweet harvests.
Mr. K'Tieu - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Quoc Oai Commune, Da Huoai District, introduced a grapefruit garden that has just been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product in the area. That is the grapefruit garden of young farmer Nguyen Dinh Quyet, Ha Tay Village, Quoc Oai Commune, with the brand name of green-skinned grapefruit Nhu Quynh.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quyet, a very young farmer, shared that his family's grapefruit garden covers an area of 3 hectares. Previously, this land was rice land, then converted to mulberry cultivation. Realizing the market demand for green-skinned grapefruit was quite large, he renovated the land, planting green-skinned grapefruit trees originating from the Southwest region.
Mr. Quyet shared: “The most important thing when growing fruit trees is the source of seeds. Only with standard seeds can the trees be healthy, the fruits will be delicious, and the market will favor them. Therefore, I went all the way to the green-skinned grapefruit region of Ben Tre, choosing a reputable nursery to get the seeds.” With 1,000 grapefruit trees, Mr. Quyet said that after three years of care, the grapefruits bore their first fruit.
According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quyet, grapefruit is not a familiar crop for the people of Quoc Oai. Therefore, he himself had to learn from many gardeners and from techniques on the internet. Grapefruit trees depend a lot on the weather, especially water. Irrigation water is the most important factor to ensure whether the grapefruit is delicious or not.
If there is a lack of water, grapefruits will have yellow skin, dry heads, young fruit will fall off, and the yield will be very low. Ripe fruit will also not be of good quality and will not be accepted by the market, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quyet informed.
Currently, his family's grapefruit garden uses two water systems, including a drilled well for the dry season and irrigation water during the convenient seasons. During the dry season, he has to water the grapefruit regularly every day. The amount of water does not need much but the grapefruit roots must always be moist. The grapefruit garden is beautiful with an automatic irrigation system, small horizontal and vertical grooves throughout the garden to ensure that the soil is always dry, not flooded, affecting the grapefruit roots.
The family's grapefruit garden is 6 years old, has harvested three crops, and by the end of 2024, Quoc Oai commune encouraged the family to develop OCOP products for green-skin grapefruit. With the procedural assistance of Quoc Oai commune, the family has developed a reasonable and safe cultivation process to produce grapefruit with high productivity and quality, preserving the reputation of the grapefruit tree.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quyet determined from the beginning that his family's grapefruit garden would be cultivated organically, with natural care products.
He shared: “My family takes care of the grapefruit garden completely following the organic farming process. Currently, the garden is covered with grass, we do not use herbicides but only use a mower when the grass is too high, always keeping a green layer on the ground. The green grass layer both prevents landslides, retains moisture, and creates a stable habitat for microorganisms to live in."
"Fertilizers for the grapefruit garden are also mainly soaked and composted by the family. I use fish protein, cow manure, aloe vera, and bananas to compost with Trichoderma yeast, and extract the solution to water the grapefruit trees. This type of solution is very effective and very suitable for citrus trees. In addition, I also use some high-quality organic microbial fertilizers, complete fertilizer, beautiful, sweet grapefruit segments, green skin, very suitable for the display needs of consumers," said Mr. Quyet.
To prevent diseases, Mr. Quyet uses essential oils extracted from the peels of oranges, lemons, grapefruits, ginger, and lemongrass to spray to prevent common diseases on grapefruit trees. He also "reveals" a secret to help grapefruits have green skin and not get sunburned, which is, for grapefruits located in sunny areas, gardeners must cover the fruit stems with tarpaulin to avoid burning the skin and reducing the price of grapefruits. Covering the fruit stems with tarpaulin takes place from September, the beginning of the dry season, until the end of the year, when the grapefruits are harvested. In other seasons, the grapefruits are still beautiful and do not need this tarpaulin area.
According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quyet, Quoc Oai grapefruit has two main crops a year: the May - June crop and the Tet crop. After harvesting, farmers clean the fields, prune branches, fertilize and prepare the trees to bear fruit. From flowering to fruit formation is 6 months to harvest.
Green-skinned grapefruit weighs an average of 1.4 - 1.8 kg/fruit. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Quyet often cuts it for export companies in the summer and serves the domestic market during Tet. The price depends on the ups and downs of the market, but with beautiful grapefruits and stable sweetness, Mr. Quyet's grapefruit garden is highly appreciated.
He also shared that grapefruit from Quoc Oai and neighboring communes has a rich sweet taste but poor appearance. He is continuing to research to grow green, beautiful grapefruit.
Mr. K'Tieu assessed that young farmer Nguyen Dinh Quyet is a bold person in changing crops, applying modern farming techniques to growing grapefruit. Mr. Quyet's grapefruit garden has been certified as a 3-star OCOP product, is popular in the market, and is a new model for farmers in Quoc Oai.
Source: https://danviet.vn/bo-lua-chuyen-sang-trong-buoi-trai-dat-lam-dong-co-bi-quyet-ra-qua-triu-trit-10-trai-dep-ca-10-20250207153341555.htm
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