High-tech agriculture improves product quality

Coming to Mong and Thai villages in Sap Vat or Long Phieng, Phieng Khoai... of Yen Chau district, it is easy to feel the changes in each house here. Mango, orange and grapefruit gardens have covered the village, Yen Chau has become the fruit orchard of Son La, the people's lives are increasingly improved. That is thanks to the locality promoting the development of high-tech agriculture.

With the aim of linking and applying high technology to production, nearly ten households in Phieng Khoai commune, Yen Chau district contributed capital to establish Kien Cuong Cooperative and chose pear as the main crop. After more than 3 years of operation, thanks to the application of scientific advances in cultivation, the Phieng Khoai pear brand has become known to many people, thereby increasing the income of members.

Pear garden in Phieng Khoai commune, Yen Chau district, Son La province. Photo: Van Ngoc

Taking us to visit the pear garden, Ms. Dinh Thi May, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Kien Cuong Cooperative, shared: In 2014, after researching in books and newspapers and directly visiting the pear growing model in Lao Cai, my family decided to plant 1,000 Tai Nung pear trees, replacing the low-yield tea area. By mid-2018, the pear garden bore the first crop of fruit, every tree was laden with large, round, juicy fruits. Right from the first fruiting season, my family harvested over 700 kg of fruit, selling for 40,000 VND/kg, earning nearly 30 million VND. Therefore, in the following years, I gradually increased the pear growing area to 4,000 trees.

With 6 hectares of pears, each year Ms. May's family harvests more than 30 tons of fruit, the average selling price is from 40,000-80,000 VND/kg depending on the size of the fruit, earning an average of 600 million VND.

Kien Cuong Cooperative, Phieng Khoai Commune promotes the application of scientific advances in pear tree development. Photo: Van Ngoc

According to Ms. May, to achieve high quality and yield of pears, it is necessary to apply scientific advances in cultivation, comply with fertilization techniques, create canopy, and prune fruit. As a plant that prefers moist soil, from fruit set to harvest, it is necessary to ensure enough water for the fruit to be large, have a shiny skin, be juicy, and sweet. On the contrary, if there is a lack of water, the fruit will be small and easy to fall off. The secret to limiting the fruit from being sunburned and worm-eaten is to wrap the fruit 3 weeks after the fruit begins to develop. Thanks to this method, the pear has a beautiful appearance, is evenly large, has a rich sweet taste, is crunchy, and does not bruise when cut open like other pear varieties.

Realizing the high economic efficiency and good consumption market, since 2021, Ms. May has linked up with households in the area to expand the pear acreage and established Kien Cuong Cooperative. Up to now, the Cooperative has 8 members and linked up with households growing over 70 hectares of pears. Since joining the Cooperative, members have actively applied technology to production, installed water-saving irrigation systems; used organic fertilizers and biological products for fertilization; and packaged fruits to have beautiful appearance. The Cooperative also established a control team, regularly inspected pear gardens, ensuring food safety and hygiene for consumers. In 2023, the Cooperative harvested over 100 tons of fruit, with a total income of over 4 billion VND; on average, each member earned 400-700 million VND/year.

Each member household of Kien Cuong Cooperative has an average income of 400-700 million VND/year from growing fruit trees. Photo: Van Ngoc

Developing sustainable high-tech agriculture

With over 11,800 hectares of fruit trees of all kinds, yielding over 74,000 tons of fruit per year, the district has directed specialized departments and localities to focus on guiding and encouraging people and cooperatives to apply scientific and technological advances in production. In particular, the main ones are grafting late-ripening longan; replacing some ineffective fruit trees with Australian and Thai mango varieties, GL4 mango (Taiwan), VH6 pear (Tai Nung); improving and grafting round mango; selecting varieties, caring, watering, drip irrigation...

At the same time, direct the development of production on a regional scale, associated with preservation, processing and consumption of products, support the building of brands and product labels for typical fruits. Over the past 5 years, the district has supported the implementation of drip irrigation technology models for 8 fruit growing cooperatives; piloted smart monitoring stations in 2 communes of Sap Vat and Phieng Khoai, helping to warn of weather, prevent pests and diseases; support the construction of a product traceability system for people...

Custard apple orchards are covered to prevent pests and diseases. Photo: Van Ngoc

Mr. Cao Xuan Dung, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Chau district (Son La) said: Currently, in Yen Chau district, there are over 560 hectares of high technology applied by people in production; over 70 hectares of longan, 22 hectares of mango have been granted growing area codes and over 350 hectares of fruit trees have been granted VietGAP certificates. Many fruit tree growing models follow the organic direction, linking with export units to consume products. Many fruit tree growing models apply high technology, use live monitoring cameras, produce in the organic direction and link with export units.

In addition, Yen Chau district has built and completed the dossier to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for recognition of 3 high-tech agricultural areas, including: Plum area in Phieng Khoai commune; Longan area in Long Phieng commune; Mango area in Chieng Hac commune, with a total area of ​​nearly 1,030 hectares. The application of science and technology in production has contributed to increasing farmers' income, contributing to increasing the value of harvested products to 60 million VND/ha, the value of exported fruits to 5.9 million USD.

Thanks to the promotion of the application of scientific advances in cultivation, Yen Chau district has so far created many quality products. Photo: Van Ngoc

Along with that, many cooperatives and households in the district have promoted the application of scientific and technical advances in production, especially measures of pruning, canopy shaping, fruit bagging to prevent and control pests and diseases, investing in proactive irrigation systems, etc., creating high-value products. The area of ​​crops in the area applying high technology to production has gradually increased, forming many good models and practices in production, increasing product value, such as models of caring for plums and longans in Tu Nang, Long Phieng, Phieng Khoi communes; organic mango care model in Chieng Hac commune; strawberry and pear development model in Phieng Khoi commune.

By promoting the application of science and technology in production, creating favorable conditions for Yen Chau district to form and expand agricultural production areas applying high technology and organic agriculture for key products, aiming to develop clean and sustainable agriculture, bringing the district's agricultural products further and further.

According to: trangtraiviet.danviet.vn