DAK NONG 'This macadamia garden will be a sustainable eco-tourism destination. That's why I plant sparse seedlings and cultivate according to organic processes'.
DAK NONG 'This macadamia garden will be a sustainable eco-tourism destination. That's why I plant sparse seedlings and cultivate according to organic processes'.
That is the sharing of Mr. Le Van Quyen, 51 years old, owner of a 13-year-old macadamia garden in Duc An town, Dak Song district, Dak Nong.
Mr. Quyen’s macadamia nursery garden has a total area of over 2 hectares, planted at a density of 7 x 7m, meaning each hectare has about 200 trees, but during the growth process, some trees died or developed poorly, so he cut them down and replaced them with durian trees, which are also durian nursery trees. He does not plant grafted trees and cultivates organically with the aim of “saving” for the next generation.
Mr. Le Van Quyen (left) introduces his family's 13-year-old organic macadamia garden. Photo: Hong Thuy.
“This macadamia garden is all vegetative (planted from seeds) and not grafted. At that time, not many people planted macadamia and when planting, they all got grafted seeds from reputable sources. As for me, I bought seeds to plant, so when I first planted, everyone was discouraged because it was a matter of luck. But luckily, the trees grew very well, the yield was also quite good, not inferior to grafted trees. Maybe I was lucky to have good seeds, stable yield,” said Mr. Quyen.
Present at Mr. Quyen's garden, Mr. Ho Gam, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Dak Nong province, analyzed that if macadamia is grown from seedlings, it will take about 7 years or more to flower. On the other hand, the fruit of seedlings is easily separated. In return, the tree is stronger, can live up to more than 100 years, so the harvest time is longer.
Meanwhile, grafted macadamia trees have more advantages such as it only takes 3-4 years to bear fruit. By the 6th year, the tree will have many fruits. From the 10th year onwards, the tree will have a stable yield, reaching 20-25kg/tree/year. Therefore, experts still recommend grafted macadamia trees, both ensuring quality and a shorter harvest time.
Mr. Le Van Quyen's farm is located on the bank of Dak R'lon irrigation lake, the scenery is as beautiful as a painting, very suitable for tourism development. Photo: Hong Thuy.
Talking about the reason for taking the risk and only planting seedlings, Mr. Quyen said that seedlings have a long life span, he hopes that for his children and grandchildren, the macadamia and durian trees will still grow well, and this place will be an ancient fruit garden.
“My garden is located on a hillside but not high, right below the garden is Dak R'lon irrigation lake, a very beautiful location and convenient for irrigation. I do not spend much money to invest in a pumping system, drip irrigation takes water from the lake. Therefore, this is one of the very favorable conditions for developing garden ecotourism. If we want to develop sustainably, the inevitable path is organic farming, the garden must not only be beautiful but also clean, the products must ensure quality and safety for consumers.
Let's ask, if I process macadamia products picked in my garden to sell to tourists, but when they visit the garden and see that I use chemical pesticides to spray for pests, use chemical fertilizers, and have a strong smell, how would they dare to buy and eat them?", said Mr. Quyen.
Mr. Ho Gam (left) - Chairman of Dak Nong Farmers' Association and leaders of Dak Song District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development look at a macadamia grafted by Mr. Quyen. Photo: Hong Thuy.
Currently, Mr. Quyen's macadamia garden has only about 200 trees, but each tree is large and has a wide canopy. The average yield is 18 - 20kg/tree/year. "On average, each year I harvest about 3.5 tons of macadamia nuts, selling them to businesses that regularly purchase them for 150 million VND/ton. Of which, after deducting costs, including labor for about 1 ton of nuts, the rest is profit. Compared to many other types of trees, macadamia still has a good income," said Mr. Quyen.
Talking about the care process, Mr. Quyen said that before planting macadamia, he had a pepper garden cultivated organically, mainly using biological products and cow manure fermented with microorganisms. “When I bought this garden, I also intended to cultivate organically. Before I bought this land, it was a mixed garden, because the garden owner was a local, little care and investment was required, the soil had no chemical residues, so cultivating according to the organic process was simple,” he said.
Mr. Quyen's fish fertilizer tank is used to water his macadamia garden. Photo: Hong Thuy.
Mr. Quyen said that nutrition for macadamia trees does not cost much, on average each tree needs about 30kg of fermented cow manure each year and makes use of agricultural by-products such as fresh macadamia shells, ground coffee husks, mixed discarded fruits and vegetables fermented with probiotics... In addition, he also composts fish protein to water the trees. Regarding pests, he uses biological products to prevent and control harmful diseases during the period before flowering and after fruit setting.
According to Mr. Le Hoang Vinh, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Song district, macadamia is a perennial plant, not only a tree with high economic value but also plays an important role in increasing land cover. Compared to other long-term crops such as coffee, pepper..., macadamia is an easy-to-grow crop, low investment, simple care techniques, while the output is stable, high price.
But to develop sustainably and increase the value of macadamia trees, it is necessary to apply organic farming processes to have high-quality products, along with many other benefits. “This tree species grows and develops quickly, is not picky about soil, is resistant to pests and drought, so organic farming is simpler than many other types of trees. Meanwhile, the process of harvesting, processing and preserving macadamia fruits is also simple. If there is capital to invest in machinery and further processing, the value will increase,” said Mr. Vinh.
Currently, Mr. Le Van Quyen has invested in a factory and a dryer to package finished macadamia products. After being encouraged by local leaders, he established a macadamia growing cooperative with 16 members. The goal of the cooperative is to support each other in organic, sustainable macadamia farming, deep processing and finding stable output for the products.
Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/ong-chu-vuon-mac-ca-huu-co-voi-tu-duy-an-chac-mac-ben-d410399.html
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