HAI PHONG When the owner of Dai Mat apple orchard introduced watering with brackish water to make the fruit crispier and more flavorful, I had to ask her again and again to see if I heard wrong.
HAI PHONG When the owner of Dai Mat apple orchard introduced watering with brackish water to make the fruit crispier and more flavorful, I had to ask her again and again to see if I heard wrong.
Ms. Rua watered the apples with brackish water to make them more crispy and flavorful. Photo: Duong Dinh Tuong.
Under the shade of the Dai Mat apple trees, we chatted to the buzzing of bees searching for nectar. This year, the first batch of flowers fell off due to Typhoon Yagi, many branches and leaves were crushed, and now the trees are recovering to produce a second batch of flowers.
Ms. Vu Thi Rua in Tan Quang village, Vinh Quang commune (Tien Lang district, Hai Phong city) used to be a shoe worker. After getting married, she saw that her hometown land was abandoned so she rented it to grow fruit trees. At first, she planted Thai jackfruit but the price was cheap and she still couldn't sell it, so she cut it down to plant sapodilla. She found that grapefruit was not suitable for the sandy soil and salty water here, so she abandoned it to plant custard apple but it also failed.
She had to pay a lot of "tuition", both in money and time, for several years until 2018, thinking that she had found a suitable tree, the Taiwanese pear apple, but encountered the problem of beautiful fruit that was not sweet and had maggots. That was also the time when the Taiwanese pear apple reached its peak of popularity in the market, but she still decided to switch to the Taiwanese Dai Mat apple variety because the flesh was thick, delicious and the fruit was also larger, only 5-6 fruits/kg.
Ms. Rua pruning the apple orchard. Photo: Duong Dinh Tuong.
The initial failures did not discourage her, but she gradually tried to find the mistakes and fix them. On a total area of 1 hectare, she planted 200 apple trees, in which the first year the distance between trees was 5m, but later she found it too dense so she changed to 7m.
At first, she grew apples chemically, but then switched to organic, using chicken manure, pig manure, soybeans, eggs, bananas, etc. to soak and compost into organic fertilizer or make a liquid to water to help the roots grow healthy and the leaves stay colorful. Depending on the stage of the tree, the care and fertilization, from the beginning of the cutting of the branches, how to "eat" the regime, when the branches grow 1-2m, how to "eat" the regime... are completely different.
What is special is that she also waters the apple trees with brackish water when they start to bear fruit as big as a finger, twice a day, for 10 minutes each time to moisten the roots. The garden is only about 500m from the sea, so it is very convenient to bring brackish water. Thanks to the brackish water, the apples when harvested will be crispier and more flavorful. Instead of using chemical pesticides, Ms. Rua makes her own onions, garlic, ginger, and chili to spray to prevent pests, and uses sticky traps to prevent fruit flies.
Vinh Quang commune used to only grow tomatoes, onions and garlic, but after Ms. Rua successfully planted apples, many households followed suit with a total area of about 10 - 15 hectares. Due to the heavy chemical nutrition and young trees, the fruit quality of these gardens is limited. Neighbors selling whole trees is not as good as Ms. Rua selling the fruit of a branch at the garden price of 45,000 VND/kg. Thanks to that, in 2022, there were only a few apple trees that reached the business period, but she earned 600 million VND, making a profit of 500 million VND. In 2023, she earned 700 million VND, making a profit of 600 million VND.
A corner of Ms. Rua's apple garden. Photo: Duong Dinh Tuong.
Ms. Dang Thi Duoc - an officer at the Tien Lang District Agricultural Extension Station explained to me that the reason why Bang La apples from Do Son District, Hai Phong City are famous for their deliciousness is because they are grown on old salt-making land, the soil is already salty so there is no need to irrigate with brackish water.
When a certain amount of salt is added to the apple tree, the fruit will be sweeter and richer. The trellis helps the apples to always be exposed to the sun, and the top and bottom are airy, so there are few pests and diseases, and the skin is shiny and beautiful. While many other households regret not pruning the branches, Ms. Rua only leaves the number of fruits sufficient for the tree's ability to grow, helping the fruit to be large and of better quality.
Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/tuoi-nuoc-lo-cho-tao-them-gion-dam-vi-d405819.html
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