Growing thorny fruit on salty land, farmers in Ca Mau reap "sweet fruit"

In the brackish water area of ​​Ong Quyen hamlet, Tan An Tay commune, Ngoc Hien district, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dao's family is considered a pioneer in the model of growing pineapple on the shrimp pond embankment.

Ms. Dao said that she currently grows more than 1,500 pineapple trees on an area of ​​more than 1 hectare of land. Up to now, after nearly 8 months, the pineapples have produced large fruits and are being sought after by traders at high prices.

"At first, when people saw me growing pineapples on saltwater-marsh land, they laughed and said how could the pineapples survive. However, when they saw the current results, some households have applied the practice and developed their pineapple fields," said Ms. Dao.

According to Ms. Dao, pineapple is very suitable for the saline land of this southernmost land. If households have vacant land and actively plant and care for it, they will have a good income, because pineapple only requires initial planting, and later only needs to be weeded a few times to harvest.

More than 1,500 pineapple trees on the shrimp square embankment of Ms. Dao's family are bearing fruit, so big that traders come to buy them, helping her family earn an additional income of more than 17 million VND/crop. Photo: Chi Hieu

"Each pineapple tree produces one fruit and sells it to traders for 10,000 VND/fruit. With a growing area of ​​about one hectare of land, the family earns more than 17 million VND per year," Ms. Dao happily said.

For convenience, Ms. Dao chose the sunny month to plant, to help harvest the fruit, and at the same time, the pineapple in the sunny season is also sweeter than the rainy season.

Also a pineapple grower who has brought in an income of more than 30 million VND/crop for nearly 8 years, Ms. Nguyen Thu Yen, residing in Chinh Bien Hamlet, Tam Giang Tay Commune, Ngoc Hien District, said that many years ago, she took advantage of the land surrounding the shrimp pond to grow more than 2,000 pineapple trees. Initially, she thought it was just enough for daily food, but unexpectedly, the pineapple plants are drought-resistant and do not require much watering.

Ngoc Hien District Farmers' Association said that pineapple is becoming a suitable crop for the local saline land, helping many families have a good income after each harvest. Photo: Chi Hieu

"On average, I plant about 300 trees a month, rotating them throughout the year so that the pineapples can bear fruit and be sold year-round," said Ms. Yen, adding that the pineapples I grow are mainly sold to local people and are popular because of their delicious, sweet quality.

Seeing the effectiveness of this model, many women in other communes in Ngoc Hien district are now taking advantage of vacant land and land around their houses to grow pineapples, both to improve family meals and increase income.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ngoc Hien district , pineapple is identified as one of the crops suitable for the local saline land. Up to now, the pineapple area in the district is about 100 hectares, mainly planted by households along square embankments for shrimp farming.

In addition, pineapple is drought tolerant, adapts to salty soil all year round, and requires little care, only requires initial planting and can be harvested in the 8th month.

Mr. Le Ngoc Lam - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Ngoc Hien district said that the pineapple crop on the local saline land this year was a good crop and good price, so people are very excited.

In the near future, the District Farmers’ Association will organize for its members and households who are passionate about pineapple to visit effective pineapple growing areas in other provinces to learn from their experiences. At the same time, the District Farmers’ Association will pilot planting several dozen hectares of concentrated pineapple for testing, and if effective, it will be expanded to households.

Source: https://danviet.vn/trong-loai-trai-gai-goc-day-minh-tren-vung-dat-man-nong-dan-o-ca-mau-thu-ve-qua-ngot-20240801115357114.htm