Sweet and fragrant grapefruit garden on Leng Rôi rock mountain

The 1-hectare grapefruit garden of Ms. Ka Hong's family in village 3, Gia Hiep commune, is planted on a slope with many large and small rocks. According to Ms. Ka Hong, the K'ho people call this area Leng R'ôi, meaning a land with many small rocks. In the past, the Leng R'ôi land could not grow high-value crops because the hill was quite steep and there was no convenient irrigation water in the dry season. Therefore, people mainly grew curry, a semi-wild plant that is drought-resistant.

This land began to change when Ms. Ka Hong, a daughter of Leng Rôi, decided to try growing grapefruit on her family's high garden. Ms. Ka Hong went all the way to Dong Nai , to the green-skin grapefruit area of Dinh Quan to get seeds to try planting. At first, she only planted 50 trees, interspersed in the garden. "I myself was very surprised because growing grapefruit on a rocky mountain, the trees grew well and bore fruit quickly. In the plains, grapefruit trees take 3 years to bear fruit, but when planted on the mountain, some trees started to flower after just over 2 years," Ms. Ka Hong recalled.

In 2018, she started planting green-skinned grapefruit trees. By 2020, the grapefruit trees had provided a significant amount of fruit, which Ms. Ka Hong harvested and sold throughout Gia Hiep commune as well as the Di Linh market area. "Green-skinned grapefruit grown in the rocky mountains unexpectedly produced rich, sweet, and delicious fruit, so I sold all the harvests I had at home. People and traders loved it," Ms. Ka Hong recalled the first days of harvesting grapefruit. Also from the success of the initial experiment, she actively propagated to expand the number of grapefruit trees in her family.

Ms. Ka Hong said that grapefruit trees are water-loving plants. In the dry season, if there is not enough water for irrigation, the grapefruit will dry out and become spongy at the top. Therefore, she draws water from the Dong Nai River to irrigate her grapefruit garden in the dry season. In the rainy season, from April to December, she almost does not need to water, only paying attention to spraying to prevent stem borers from damaging grapefruit. “Growing grapefruit also requires knowing the technique of pruning fruit, keeping large, even, and beautiful fruit. I grow and propagate myself to expand the area as well as provide many varieties to the surrounding people. Currently, people in village 3 have started to grow grapefruit varieties of my family. When providing varieties, I always give specific care instructions so that the grapefruit trees quickly flower and bear fruit. Grapefruit grown on rocky mountains, 7-year-old trees can yield over 1 quintal/tree, divided into 2 crops a year,” Ms. Ka Hong said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa Lu - Chairwoman of Gia Hiep Commune Women's Union, assessed that Ms. Ka Hong's model of growing grapefruit on rocky hills in Leng R's village is a model with high economic efficiency. Ms. Ka Hong's green-skin grapefruits are widely sold in the commune, and at the same time, she encourages neighboring farmers to change their crop structure, intercropping grapefruit in coffee gardens to increase their income. "Ms. Ka Hong is a good farmer, and at the same time, holds the role of Head of the Farmers' Association of Village 3, an enthusiastic association officer, ready for the community. Ms. Ka Hong always accompanies the villagers in production, effective business, and building a sustainable new rural area in Gia Hiep commune", Ms. Hoa Lu assessed.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/ngot-thom-vuon-buoi-tren-nui-da-leng-rsoi-389967.html