Growing a vine that produces giant, fragrant fruits makes farmers rich

(Dan Tri) - A giant pumpkin variety that produces fruit weighing up to nearly ten kilograms, hanging like piglets on a trellis, helps farmers in Muong Lat district, Thanh Hoa province have jobs and stable income.

Mr. Dinh Van Nguyen, a 60-year-old farmer in Ten Tan quarter, Muong Lat town, Muong Lat district, Thanh Hoa province, has just harvested more than 600 kg of pumpkin from his family's 2 sao garden. With a selling price of 10,000 VND/kg, after deducting production costs, Mr. Nguyen earned 6 million VND in profit.

"The profit from pumpkin is five times higher than other crops such as corn and cassava. Just by selling a 7kg pumpkin, I get 70,000 VND, equivalent to the money from selling half a quintal of cassava," Mr. Nguyen compared.

To keep the squash stable on the trellis, Mr. Nguyen uses plastic rope to tie and support the fruit (Photo: Hanh Linh).

Pumpkin, known as a giant vegetable, weighs 2-8kg/fruit. Each pumpkin trellis can hold 40-50 fruits, requiring the grower to make a sturdy frame.

According to Mr. Nguyen, the fragrant squash has a distinctive aroma from the stem, leaves, flowers to the fruit. When ripe, the squash skin has a thick layer of white powder. The squash is used to cook soup, stir-fry, and dip in hot pot, with the flesh being soft, fragrant, and sweet. Not only the fruit, the squash buds and shoots are also used and sell very well.

Pumpkin is planted from late February to April of the lunar calendar and harvested after 4-6 months. After harvest, pumpkin can be stored for 6 months, convenient for long-distance transportation and optimal profit.

Mr. Nguyen harvests squash (Photo: Hanh Linh).

Squash is a traditional crop of the highland people, but only in the last 3 years has squash cultivation been expanded and produced in a commercial manner. Squash cultivation techniques require a lot of effort from soil preparation, planting, fertilization, watering, pest control, especially the trellis construction which is very complicated.

Mr. Vi Van Thong, Deputy Director of Muong Lat Trading Cooperative, said that if properly cared for, 1 hectare of squash can yield more than 10 tons of fruit. With a stable selling price of 10,000-15,000 VND/kg, growers can earn about 90 million VND/ha. Squash growing is creating jobs for more than 30 local workers.

Currently, pumpkins are grown according to clean and safe production processes and have been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product (One Commune One Product Program) in 2022 with the name "Dong Sa Pumpkin". To create jobs and increase income for members, the cooperative plans to expand the pumpkin growing area by 5 hectares by 2025.

"We are building a chain from production to consumption of products for members. The cooperative plans to process many products from squash such as jam, tea, candy; and sell squash buds and flowers," Mr. Thong shared.

After harvesting, squash can be preserved and used for 6 months (Photo: Hanh Linh).

Mr. Tran Van Thang, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Muong Lat district, said that there are currently about 10 hectares of squash grown in Muong Chanh and Quang Chieu communes and Muong Lat town.

"Thanks to its delicious taste and high nutritional value, squash is always sought after by traders. At the end of the season, squash is often sold out," said Mr. Thang.

With the goal of developing squash into a key crop, Muong Lat district will continue to direct communes, cooperatives and people to restore squash varieties to expand the planting area.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/trong-loai-cay-day-leo-ra-trai-khong-lo-thom-nuc-nong-dan-rung-rinh-tien-20241216205506558.htm