Nghe An farmers grow onions for Tet sale on shallot land

After 5 months of planting, the onions are now ready for harvest. Photo: TP

Since August 2023, Ms. Lam Cuong's family (Hamlet 8, Nghi Lam) has imported shallot seeds to try planting on part of the area where they previously planted shallots. Near the end of December, her family harvested the shallots.

According to Ms. Lam, the initial trial planting showed that the shallot plant is suitable for the soil used to grow chives (loose, humus-rich, sandy, well-drained soil, pH from 6-6.5); less labor-intensive to care for than chives, high yield and long harvest time.

Shallots can be grown all year round but there are two main crops; especially planted in September and harvested in January and February. The plants grow well and produce high yields, so the price of shallots is higher during the Lunar New Year.

The shallot plant is suitable for Nghi Lam soil and has a fairly high yield. Photo: TP

Mr. Nguyen Sy Cuong, a shallot grower in Nghi Lam commune, said: "The growth rate of shallots is faster than that of chives. Planted at the same time as chives, the whole shallot plant can be harvested at the beginning of December, and the bulbs can be harvested at the end of December. Due to the high demand for pickled shallots for Tet, the price of shallots is also quite high."

This season, the whole commune has 5 households planting spontaneously with 50kg of shallot seeds imported from Binh Dinh. According to estimates, each sao of shallots will yield about 3-3.5 quintals of fresh tubers. Based on market prices (VND35,000-40,000/kg), each sao will earn VND12-13 million, after deducting expenses, the profit is VND9-10 million.

However, localities need to pay attention to planning orientation to balance supply and demand. Photo: TP

With the above profits, growing shallots is still more suitable and effective than other crops. Especially in recent years, when shallots are difficult to sell, switching to growing shallots instead is also a direction. However, localities need to calculate specific and reasonable planning to avoid supply exceeding demand, making it difficult to sell.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nong-dan-nghe-an-trong-kieu-ban-tet-tren-dat-hanh-tam-post284425.html