In mid-April, in many plum growing areas in Van Ho, Moc Chau, Yen Chau, Phieng Khoai, Chieng An ward and Muoi Noi commune, traders from provinces and cities flock to buy. Early ripe plum trading activities are bustling day and night.
In Phieng Khoai commune, the atmosphere of early ripe plum harvesting is bustling. Hundreds of gardens with early ripe plums, with more than 30 purchasing points operating, trucks going back and forth carrying plums for consumption.
According to records of Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, plum gardens in Phieng Khoai commune this year, early ripe plums bear uniformly, beautifully shaped, are favored by traders and purchased right at the garden at high prices.
The family of Mr. Nguyen Van Nam, Con Huat village, Phieng Khoai commune is entering the peak harvest season. The plum garden of more than 10 hectares, with over 1,000 trees treated to bear early fruit, invested in an automatic irrigation system, so the trees grow well and have high yields.
Mr. Nam said that off-season plums and early ripe plums are harvested from the New Year holiday, reaching about 10 tons of fruit to date, harvesting about 3 - 9 quintals of fruit per day. "The price is slightly higher than last year's plum crop, so the family is very excited. If the price is kept stable, this year's early ripe plum crop can bring in revenue of over 600 million VND," Mr. Nam said.
However, to have early ripe plums, growers must master the technique. Immediately after finishing the previous harvest season, gardeners have selected healthy, old enough trees, pruned, fertilized and closely monitored weather developments to handle flowering at the right time. Proactively controlling water sources, nutrients and pest and disease prevention are decisive factors.
Ms. Le Huong Mo - Deputy Director of Huong Mo Green Agriculture Cooperative said that at this time, the cooperative sells 2-4 tons of early ripe plums every day. Products are mainly consumed at major wholesalers such as Long Bien market (Hanoi), Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa. In addition, the cooperative also sells on e-commerce platforms from 50-150 orders per day.
Thanks to the quality of beautiful, crispy, delicious, and less sour fruits, Phieng Khoai early ripe plums are favored by the market and have stable prices," Ms. Mo said.
Mr. Nguyen Van Toan - Vice Chairman of Phieng Khoai Commune People's Committee, said: The whole commune currently has more than 2,600 hectares of plums, of which about 30% are off-season plums, ripening early. Proactively spreading the crop is becoming an effective direction, helping to improve product value and reduce consumption pressure in the main crop.
As for the plum growing area in Moc Chau with more than 3,000 hectares, the plum area, of which early ripe plums account for more than 20%. At this time, many gardeners are also busy harvesting plums.
In Pa Khen residential group, Thao Nguyen ward, Mr. Trinh Viet Cuong's family has nearly 8 hectares of plums, of which more than 4 hectares are invested in drip irrigation systems to grow off-season plums and ripen early.
Mr. Cuong said that since 2023, his family has proactively applied pruning techniques, fertilization, and reasonable water regulation to help the tree bloom early. Thanks to that, plums are harvested from December of the previous year to May of the following year.
To produce off-season plums, early ripening plums, it requires perseverance and high technique. Growers must correctly assess the age of the trees, take full care of nutrients, and effectively prevent pests and diseases to achieve the desired yield," Mr. Cuong shared.
Currently, the price of early ripe plums ranges from 70,000-120,000 VND/kg, 3-6 times higher than the main season. Thanks to this, many plum growers in Son La have high incomes and gradually improve their lives.
This year, quite favorable weather and the application of reasonable care techniques have helped early-ripening Son La plums have a bumper crop and good prices. This is a positive sign, affirming the right direction in developing fruit trees in the direction of increasing value and adapting to the market.
