Tien Phuoc district is considered the “capital” of bon bon trees in Quang Nam province. From the beginning of the 8th lunar month, bon bon fruits ripen bright yellow, bringing good income to growers.
Bon bon fruit also has other names: nam tran, phoenix… Legend has it that this fruit once saved Lord Nguyen Anh’s army from hunger and thirst. After that, every year he asked for donations and appointed someone to take care of this precious forest.
Bon bon used to be a tree that grew in wild forests. Bon bon fruit has a sweet taste and is popular. People in some areas in Quang Nam bring the tree to their home gardens to grow, and consider bon bon as a valuable specialty crop that brings high income.
Bon bon is usually harvested in September and October every year. When ripe, the fruit is bright yellow and grows in clusters on the trunk and branches. Bon bon trees are grown in many mountainous and midland districts of Quang Nam, in which Tien Phuoc is considered the “capital” of this tree when the locality has nearly 120 hectares.
According to people’s share, after 3 consecutive years of crop failure due to unfavorable weather, this year the trees have returned fruit.
Selling specialty bonbons in the peak ripening season, allowing growers to count money evenly (Video: Ngo Linh).
Busy weeding her family’s bonsai garden, Ms. Nguyen Thi Sanh (60 years old, in Thanh Boi village, Tien Chau commune, Tien Phuoc district) said that in the past 3 years, the weather has been erratic and harsh, affecting her health. great impact on bon bon trees. In the hot summer, there is a scarcity of irrigation water, and in the stormy rainy season, strong winds cause broken branches and tree failure.
“For several years in a row here, the harvest has been poor. There are gardens that produce fruit out of season. They don’t ripen until December. The fruit is sour and the tree easily declines. This year, the harvest is in season but not much,” Ms. Sanh added.
Also according to Ms. Sanh, the price of bonbon at the beginning of the season was about more than 50,000 VND/kg, currently it is only 20,000-30,000 VND/kg (depending on fruit quality), because many gardens begin to ripen simultaneously. Ms. Sanh’s family garden has more than 30 bonsai trees, but only 8 trees bear fruit, the largest tree yields about 100kg. This year’s crop, she can earn more than 12 million VND.
This year, the family garden of Mr. Tran Dinh Chuong (59 years old, in Tien My commune, Tien Phuoc district) produced about 12 trees out of the family’s total of 35 trees. This crop, Mr. Chuong estimates, he can earn more than 15 million VND.
Mr. Chuong said that bon bon is an economic crop, bringing good income to people, and is now being replicated in many places. However, in recent years, the fruit season has been affected by weather such as prolonged heat, lack of irrigation water, or storms causing broken branches and tree failure…
“Many households have switched to growing mangosteen instead of bonsai. My family is also testing a few trees. I only plan to intercrop, not cutting down bonsai, because this is also a tree that gives a good income.” Mr. Chuong shared.
Tien Chau commune is where a lot of bonsai is grown in Tien Phuoc district. Since April, the People’s Committee of Tien Chau commune has implemented a model of applying general technical measures to stabilize and improve productivity and quality on bonbon trees in 2 households. The model has brought many positive results.
Overall assessment, the average yield of gardens participating in the model is more than 13 tons/ha, 2 times higher than mass-grown gardens in the same area (6.06 tons/ha). Furthermore, the bon bon fruits are bright and beautiful and of higher quality than those from mass gardens.
Thanks to that, the economic efficiency obtained from gardens participating in the model reached more than 288 million VND/ha, 130 million VND/ha higher than mass gardens.
With the results achieved, the People’s Committee of Tien Phuoc district requested the Agricultural Technology Center of Tien Phuoc district and Tien Chau commune to continue transferring science and technology to help farmers improve productivity and quality of hardwood fruits, aiming to Manufactured according to safety standards, meeting market requirements
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)