Farmers share the secret to growing watermelon on sand

Hang chuc nam nay vung dat cat ven bien tinh Soc Trang duoc nong dan phu xanh cac loai rau mau nhu dua hau, hanh tim, ot.

For decades, the coastal sand dunes of Mo O hamlet, Trung Binh commune (Tran De district, Soc Trang province) have been covered with green all year round by watermelon beds with large, round, and plump fruits.

Ba Nguyen Thi Hieu - mot nguoi trong dua lau nam o xa Trung Binh (huyen Tran De, tinh Soc Trang) - chia se: Moi nam 3 vu dua hoac hai vu dua xen ke mot vu dau phong. Mac du trong tren dat cat, nhung nho kinh nghiem va dau tu bai ban, dua van tuoi tot, cho nang suat cao va chat luong thom ngon. Trung binh moi vu cho nang suat 5 tan/1.000 m2. Loi nhuan tu 20 - 30 trieu dong/vu.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hieu - a long-time melon grower in Trung Binh commune (Tran De district, Soc Trang province) - shared: Every year, 3 melon crops or two melon crops interspersed with a peanut crop. Although grown on sandy soil, thanks to experience and proper investment, melons are still lush, giving high productivity and delicious quality. On average, each crop yields 5 tons/1,000 m2. Profit from 20 - 30 million VND/crop.

Nhung luong dua chi chit trai bat chap thoi tiet khac nghiet ven bien.

The melon beds are full of fruit despite the harsh weather along the coast.

De chu dong nguon nuoc ngot, nhieu ho trong dua o Mo O da keo duong ong dan nuoc sach sinh hoat tu nha ra tan ruong de tuoi cho dua. Ben canh do, ba con con xay dung cac ao bat tru nuoc ket hop voi phuong phap tuoi nho giot, giup dua phat trien xanh tot ngay trong mua han man.

To proactively source fresh water, many households have pulled clean water pipes from their homes to the fields to water the melons. People also build ponds to store water combined with drop- drop irrigation, helping melons grow green even in the dry season.

“Trong dua tren dat cat ven bien se cuc cong va chi phi cao hon cac vung khac. Moi vu trung binh ton khoang 2 trieu dong tien nuoc may. Ngoai ra, do sat bien, cay de bi anh huong cua suong muoi hay gio manh. Du chi phi dau tu cao hon, nhung bu lai, dua hau Mo O luon duoc thi truong ua chuong boi chat luong vuot troi. Dua o day luon co gia ban cao hon so voi cac noi khac, gia luon duy tri o muc 6.500 - 9.000 dong/kg gop phan dam bao nguon thu nhap“, mot ho trong dua cho biet.

Growing melons on coastal sand will be more labor-intensive and costly than in other areas. Each crop costs an average of 2 million VND for tap water. In addition, due to their location close to the sea, the trees are easily affected by frost or strong winds. Although the investment cost is higher, in return, Mo O watermelon is always favored by the market for its outstanding quality. Cucumbers here always have a higher selling price than other places, the price is always maintained at 6,500 - 9,000 VND/kg, contributing to ensuring income", said a melon grower.

chong chi Nguyen Thi Ly cung da co gan 20 nam trong dua tren dat cat. Chi Ly chia se: Gia dinh vua thu hoach 2 cong dua, san luong 7,5 tan, loi nhuan khoang 25 trieu dong sau 2 thang trong va cham soc. Chi Ly cho biet them, dat o day giong cat, ti le cat nhieu hon dat, nen moi nam chi phai mua them cat de dap nen cho luong dua de cay khong bi ngap nuoc vao mua mua. “Nuoc thi xai nuoc sach, bon phan lam tu phu pham ca tom. Roi trong tren cat, co le vi vay ma chat luong va nang suat dua luon o muc rat cao. Trung binh moi trai tu 4- 6kg, so con lai cung dat khoang 2kg/trai“, chi Ly noi.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly in Trung Binh commune (Tran De district, Soc Trang province) has been growing melons for nearly 20 years and said: The soil here is sandy, the proportion of sand is higher than the soil, so each year we have to buy more sand to build the foundation for the melon beds so that the plants do not be flooded during the rainy season. Use clean water and fertilizer to make from shrimp fish by-products. Then plant on sand, perhaps that is why the quality and productivity of melons are always very high. On average, each fruit is 4-6 kg, the rest are about 2 kg/fruit.

Theo ong Pham Quoc Thai - mot ho trong dua lau nam o xa Trung Binh - yeu to quan trong gop phan tao nen chat luong dac biet cua dua hau Mo O chinh la dac tinh rieng biet cua dat vung nay. “Cung mot giong dua, nhung khi trong tai vung dat giong cat o Mo O thi dua cho nang suat rat cao, trai to, chat luong ngon, ngot, mau ma dep, co mau xanh bong, ruot mau do son va dac biet co the de duoc lau ngay ma khong lo bi hu“, ong Thai khang dinh.

Theo ong Pham Quoc Thai - mot ho trong dua lau nam o xa Trung Binh (huyen Tran De, tinh Soc Trang) - yeu to quan trong gop phan tao nen chat luong dac biet cua dua hau Mo O chinh la dac tinh rieng biet cua dat vung nay. “Cung mot giong dua, nhung khi trong tai vung dat giong cat Mo O thi dua cho nang suat rat cao, trai to, chat luong ngon, ngot, mau ma dep, co mau xanh bong, ruot mau do son va dac biet co the de duoc lau ngay ma khong lo bi hu“, ong Thai khang dinh.

According to Mr. Pham Quoc Thai - a long-time melon grower in Trung Binh commune (Tran De district, Soc Trang province) - an important factor contributing to the special quality of Mo O watermelon is the unique characteristics of this land. "Same as a melon variety, but when grown in the sandy soil of Mo O, melons produce very high productivity, large fruit, delicious quality, sweet, beautiful plum, shiny green color, bright red intestines and especially can be kept for a long time without worrying about damage", Mr. Thai affirmed.

Nho nhung uu diem vuot troi ma dua luon hut hang, nhieu noi ua chuong. Hien nay khong chi co thuong lai o Can Tho xuong mua ma con o cac tinh Bac Lieu, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long cung tim den. Dua thu hoach toi dau thuong lai thu mua den do.

Thanks to its outstanding advantages, melons are always popular in many places. Currently, not only traders in Soc Trang and Can Tho are coming to buy, but also in Bac Lieu, Tra Vinh and Vinh Long provinces. Traders buy picked melons wherever they are harvested.

Nhung nam gan day, nguoi dan Mo O con chuyen sang san xuat theo huong chat luong an toan sinh hoc, giup tang nang suat, nang cao chat luong dua va giam chi phi dau tu. Ong Trieu Van Ut - mot ho trong dua - phan khoi cho biet: “Thong qua su ho tro cua dia phuong, doanh nghiep da ky ket hop dong bao tieu dau ra, voi gia thu mua cao hon dua cung loai khong trong huu co tu 2.000 - 3.000 dong/kg. Nho do, thu nhap on dinh, khong lo thi truong bap benh“.

In recent years, Mo O people have also switched to production in the direction of biosafety quality, helping to increase productivity, improve melon quality and reduce investment costs. Mr. Trieu Van Ut - a melon grower - excitedly said: "Through the support of the locality, the enterprise has signed an output purchase contract, with the purchase price higher than the melon of the same non-organic type by 2,000-3,000 VND/kg. Thanks to that, income is stable, no need to worry about unstable markets".