Despite not investing too much in seeds, fertilizers or care, the ridged squash plant still achieves high productivity and yield. Recently, the ridged squash growing model in Vinh Thai coastal commune, Vinh Linh district has brought a good income to the people here.
The model of growing ribbed squash in Vinh Thai commune, Vinh Linh district brings a good income to the people - Photo: NP
At this time, like many other households in Dong Luat village, Vinh Thai commune, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy's family is busy harvesting the ribbed squash in the garden. This year, her family planted a total of 2.5 sao of squash. Thanks to good care, her family's ribbed squash growing area has developed well, with beautiful green fruits and high productivity.
Talking to reporters, Ms. Thuy said that compared to other crops, the ribbed gourd is less susceptible to pests and diseases. If stung by a bee, only biological drugs are used, not pesticides, so it is very safe. Not only is the yield high, the ribbed gourd is also delicious and easy to sell. "The price of ribbed gourd at the beginning of the season was about 22,000 VND/kg, now it has decreased to 18,000 - 20,000 VND/kg.
With simple growing techniques and little care, the model of growing ribbed squash is bringing high economic efficiency to my family and squash growers in the village. In addition, I also intercrop with other vegetables to diversify crops and increase family income," Ms. Thuy confided.
Similarly, since the ribbed gourd plant began to yield harvest, at around 2 pm every day, Tran Thi Hanh and her husband, in Dong Luat village, Vinh Thai commune, have picked about 100 kg of gourd, then carefully arranged them on the car to transport to wholesale markets early the next morning.
With the economic efficiency that the ridged squash has brought in previous years, this year, Ms. Hanh's family decided to expand the ridged squash growing area to a total of 5 sao. To facilitate harvesting, instead of planting all at once, the squash fields are planted 10-15 days apart.
With nearly 20 years of experience in growing squash, Ms. Hanh said that this is a short-term plant suitable for sandy soil. Although it does not require much care, it grows well and gives high yield and quality. However, it is important to note that to prevent the squash from dying, when preparing the soil, you must make high beds with good drainage ditches so that the plants do not get waterlogged. When the squash is 20cm - 30cm high, buy nets and plants to make a trellis for the squash to climb.
“Slitted squash is very quick to harvest, from planting to fruiting is only about 55 - 60 days. Harvest time is 30 - 35 days and can be longer if the squash is well cared for. Currently, the squash garden brings my family an income of 1.5 million VND - 1.7 million VND/day,” Ms. Hanh shared.
According to calculations, if the price is good, this year's squash crop will earn her and her husband over 70 million VND. It is known that after each squash crop, Ms. Hanh proactively saves the seeds to continue preparing for the next crop. However, for households in need, she is willing to share the seeds and her family's experience in growing squash effectively.
This has partly helped the ribbed squash model to be increasingly replicated in Dong Luat village in particular and Vinh Thai commune in general, contributing to increasing economic efficiency on the same unit area.
Luffa has many medicinal uses such as cooling, detoxifying, treating sinusitis, rhinitis...; it is also a food that can be processed into many delicious dishes that have been familiar in Vietnamese meals for generations, so it is always favored by the market.
Dong Luat village head Ho Sy Duong said that the whole village currently has about 10 households growing ridged squash with an area of 2 - 5 sao/household. "The growing technique is simple, the initial cost is low but the yield is high, so the ridged squash model is bringing people in the village a relatively stable source of income," Mr. Duong affirmed.
Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Vinh Thai Commune, Nguyen Huu Thanh, added that according to statistics up to now, the whole commune has over 2 hectares of area for growing ribbed gourd. Recently, along with some other plants such as taro, sweet potato, cassava, nem... ribbed gourd has also been chosen by some households to grow and bring high economic efficiency to the families.
In the coming time, the Farmers' Association of Vinh Thai commune will continue to encourage farmers to replicate the ribbed squash model; at the same time, help farmers choose new and suitable production models, contributing to the transformation of local crop structure, increasing income, and stabilizing people's lives.
Nam Phuong
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