SEEDLESS LEMON, SOUR BUT “SWEET PRICE”

HAU GIANG: Seedless lemon brings year-round fruits with a yield from 150 to 200 kg/year/tree. This tree is very resistant to disease compared to other citrus trees.

Mr. Do Ngoc Dai is happy to harvest seedless lemons with a high yield and good price. (Photo: Kim Anh)

In recent two years, on the sugarcane fields in Nga Bay city, Hau Giang province, seedless lemon trees have appeared. According to the local people, sugarcane cultivation has gradually become inefficient with unstable prices and precarious output. At the end of each season, farmers are always worried about prices.

 As a farmer attached to sugarcane for a long time, Mr. Do Ngoc Dai in area 7, Hiep Thanh ward, Nga Bay city, is now unable to survive with sugarcane, forcing him to change to other crops. And seedless lemon is chosen by farmers in this transformation.

Recently, to help farmers in Nga Bay city to learn about replicating effective models, the City Agricultural Extension Station has organized workshops on planting seedless lemons in Hiep Thanh and Lai Hieu wards. Thanks to these workshops, many farmers have boldly experimented with seedless lemons.

The workshop on replicating the model of seedless lemon cultivation associated with the product consumption was organized by the Agricultural Extension Station of Nga Bay city, Hau Giang province. (Photo: Kim Anh)

Mr. Dai said that, currently, his family is growing about 7,000 m2 of seedless lemons. The yield is quite good at nearly one tonne of fruit although this is the first season bearing fruit. The lemons are purchased by enterprises at the price of 15,000 VND/kg.

According to Mr. Dai, the support and technical guidance of agricultural extension officers at the first stage of production transformation have helped many farmers in the area to invest in seedless lemon trees.

“It is not difficult to take care of seedless lemon and the investment costs are low, so the profits are higher. The lemon is sour but the price is so sweet, ” said Mr. Dai.

The transition to seedless lemon has helped many farmers in Hau Giang province to enrich sustainably. (Photo: Kim Anh)

According to the agricultural sector of Nga Bay city, in 2021, there is 1,172 ha converted to other crops. Of which, 48 ha were converted from unproductive crops to seedless lemon with the participation of 50 households and a yield of about 16 tonnes/ha.

Mr. Lam Hoang Loi, Head of Agricultural Extension Station of Ho Chi Minh city, shared that the transition model of seedless lemon has been implemented since 2020. Currently, the seedless lemon area of the city has been linked to a number of enterprises to cover the product consumption for farmers.

Notably, some cooperatives with OCOP products and Dutch enterprises have guided farmers to produce safely under VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, creating uniform products in terms of quality. In particular, seedless lemons are not only consumed strongly in the domestic market but also are products with high export value.

Seedless lemon has become a major export item of Hau Giang province. (Photo: Kim Anh)

 “We organized for farmers to visit seedless lemon models in other localities. Thereby, they can see the effectiveness of the model to confidently transform the production. Technical officers of the unit also work closely with farmers to guide them to develop agriculture in a sustainable direction and in accordance with the market demand, ” Mr. Loi added.

Due to the transition to seedless lemon and the application of technology to production, many households in Chau Thanh, Chau Thanh A, Phung Hiep districts, and Nga bay city of Hau Giang province has been rising to get rich.

Currently, the transition of crop structure and building connections in agricultural production has become an urgent need, helping farmers have a new view on the linkage of production towards specialized areas and production along the value chain. 

The success of the production transformation has been proven when seedless lemon in Hau Giang province brings joy to many farmers in the context that the prices of many domestic agricultural commodities are falling. With a stable product output, seedless lemon is being considered a prospective crop for many households in Nga Bay city in particular and Hau Giang province in general.

Each year, seedless lemon brings a stable yield of 150 – 200 kg/tree. Especially this type of tree has a good disease resistance.
(Photo: Kim Anh)

 According to the Agricultural Extension and Service Center of Hau Giang province, seedless lemon is well adapted to the condition in the province. In particular, the pests on lemon trees are insignificant compared to other crops. In the coming time, the unit will continue to provide technical support to expand more areas to grow new seedless lemon trees and solve technical issues to maintain the quality of seedless lemon trees, serving export needs.

 The outstanding advantage of seedless lemon is that it brings year-round fruits with a yield from 150 to 200 kg/year/tree. Besides, this type of tree has good disease resistance compared to other citrus trees. However, not everyone knows the correct process to grow and help the trees bear fruits all year round.

 Seedless lemon is well adapted to the habitat, so choosing soil to grow lemon is not too difficult. This tree is suitable for all types of soil, as long as the soil is watered in the dry season and not flooded. With the characteristic that the young trees prefer shade, not resistant to direct light, farmers should combine the planting of seedless lemon with other fruit trees such as mango, guava, or grapefruit.