Instead of growing papaya to harvest fruit, many farmers in Dak Nong grow male papaya. Harvested regularly twice a month, this plant helps farmers earn tens of millions of dong.
After many years of working with long-term industrial crops but the economic value is not high, more than 2 years ago, Mr. Ta Van Quyet (village 12, Cu K’nia commune, Cu Jut district, Dak Nong province) convert to growing fruit trees.
On an area of about 1.8 hectares planted with longan, Mr. Quyet planted thousands of male papaya trees. After 2 years of intercropping, this “real food” crop helps Mr. Quyet earn tens of millions of dong each month.
“Once at an acquaintance’s house, I was introduced to 4 male papaya trees that can be harvested all year round. At first I was curious because male papayas are often cut down, but when I learned that this type of tree is specialized for harvesting Only then did I understand its economic value,” Mr. Quyet recounted.
Also according to Mr. Quyet, there are some households that have grown male papaya trees and earn hundreds of millions of dong each year. That’s why Mr. Quyet bought seedlings, learned how to plant them, take care of them, and produce products.
After nearly 2 years of planting, Mr. Quyet has now harvested 600 male papaya trees. Hundreds of other papaya trees are also growing well, expected to flower by the end of 2023.
According to Mr. Quyet, growing male papaya trees does not require much care or fertilizer. With the current area, Mr. Quyet only applies one bag of NPK fertilizer, but harvests all year round.
“I cut flowers once every 15 days. Each time I cut about 2.5-3 quintals of fresh flowers. With the purchase price at the garden of about 20,000 VND/kg, I can earn more than ten million VND per harvest. from the papaya garden,” Mr. Quyet revealed.
Not far from Mr. Quyet’s garden, Mr. Phung Trong Diem also has about 1 hectare of male papaya grown intercropped in his orchard.
Mr. Diem said that during the planting and harvesting process, people realized that this is a “real” plant. Although it has only been planted for less than 2 years, for some local households, this is the right direction to escape poverty.
Besides buying seedlings, Mr. Diem and Mr. Quyet are learning techniques for extracting seedlings and nursery seeds to save costs as well as support other households.
“There are always two types of seeds in a papaya. Usually people only take black seeds and grow papaya for fruit. To grow male papaya, we must use white seeds. We have now grown our own papaya varieties. male”, Mr. Diem shared his experience.
It is known that male papaya flowers are a popular medicinal plant. Papaya flowers are currently purchased by traders at the garden for 20,000-25,000 VND/kg, thereby helping many households, especially ethnic minority households in Cu K’nia commune, have a stable source of income.
Mr. Le Xuan Cuong, Chairman of Cu K’nia Commune People’s Committee, said that currently, male papaya is a medicinal plant that creates food and drink products that are popular in the market. However, the association and consumption of this plant and some other plants is unclear.
“We do not encourage area expansion. In the coming time, we will zone it to create a stable and sustainable raw material area for people, thereby helping people produce effectively,” Mr. Le Xuan Cuong said
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)