Thanh An Hamlet, Thanh Luong Commune, Binh Long Town is a famous longan growing area of Binh Phuoc Province. During the period 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 have switched to other crops, the remaining longan 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 the 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.
Because longan trees take 3 years to produce their first harvest, when the trees are still small, Mr. Tien intercrops some short-term crops such as corn and beans to get short-term income to support long-term income.
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 down some of the trees to spread out their canopy, with a density of 100 trees/ha.
The longan garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Tien (left), Thanh An hamlet, Thanh Luong commune (Binh Long town, Binh Phuoc province) is blooming.
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 to achieve high yields.
In May, Mr. Tien's longan garden is in full bloom. To ensure the longan garden blooms evenly, Mr. Tien takes care of the garden right after harvest.
About 1 month after harvesting longan, he often trims old branches and branches close to the ground to keep the garden airy.
Longan trees often weaken after a fruiting season. During this period, the trees need to be fertilized to recover, 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 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 weeding, Mr. Tien stimulates the longan trees 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 bud formation.
About 15 days after fertilizing with flowering stimulant, the longan tree is barked, watered, and stimulated to bloom. Note that only about 2/3 to 3/4 of the branches should be barked, the rest should be left 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 fertilize with mixed fertilizer, water to keep moist until the tree flowers evenly.
Currently, Mr. Tien's longan garden has blossomed 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 which time there are few fruit trees in season, so the selling price is often higher than the main season.
Longan garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Tien in Thanh An hamlet, Thanh Luong commune (Binh Long town, Binh Phuoc province) is blooming.
Longan - a tree that reduces poverty and makes people rich
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 ranged from 20,000 to 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, visited and learned by many people in the area.
In addition to 4 hectares of longan, he also grows many other plants 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 of caring for longan trees with many people.
Thanh An Hamlet has 900 hectares of fruit trees, of which longan is the main crop. After the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers have had difficulty selling because longan prices have dropped, while fertilizer prices have increased. At the beginning of the season, the purchase price of longan at the garden was 14-15 thousand VND/kg, but by the end of the season it was only 6-8 thousand VND/kg. Due to unstable prices, many households have switched to growing durian and some other fruit trees. The area is not as large as before, but longan is still a tree that provides stable income, contributing to poverty reduction in the locality.
Mr. Tran Tuan Dung, Head of Thanh An Hamlet, Thanh Luong Commune, Binh Long Town, Binh Phuoc Province.
Source: https://danviet.vn/kien-tri-trong-nhan-quy-vo-qua-mau-da-bo-mot-nong-binh-phuoc-bo-tui-nua-ty-nam-20240525224526338.htm
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