Chloe is a specialty plant of Vinh Long province and is grown extensively in Dong Thanh commune, Binh Minh town. Thanh Tra’s season starts from mid-January and lasts until the third lunar month. At this time, Thanh Tra is in the main harvest season.
Mr. Huynh Quang Xinh (86 years old, living in Dong Hung 2 hamlet, Dong Thanh commune) said that the Thanh Tra tree appeared in Vinh Long a hundred years ago. Every time the tree has fruit, people pick it and eat it as a cooling fruit. Later, people planted a few branches in their garden, waiting for the tree to grow and bear fruit before selling it to people in the surrounding area.
“This Thanh Tra tree is very easy to grow. It is not picky about the soil when planting and does not need any fertilizer. After 3 years, the tree begins to bear fruit. Each year the tree gets older, its productivity increases,” Mr. Xinh said. .
When ripe, Thanh Tra has a golden yellow color and the fruit is as big and round as a chicken egg, the rice is soft and the skin is thin, the taste is quite similar to mango but is more fragrant, so some people also call this wild mango.
According to many gardeners, there are two types of Thanh Tra: sour Thanh Tra and sweet Thanh Tra. However, sweet tea bar is difficult to grow with low yield, so the price is often 2-3 times higher than sour tea bar.
Guiding reporters to visit the more than 40-year-old Thanh Tra garden, Mr. This tree is “planted for fun”. Thanh Tra helped her raise 9 children, build a house and even buy gold to make money.
In the past, Mr. Xinh planted five-whip grapefruit and then intercropped it with tea trees in the garden. Over time, he saw that the grapefruit was not productive, so he cut down the grapefruit and expanded the Thanh Tra garden. Every year, his family harvests 3-4 tons, minus the cost of collecting a profit of more than 100 million VND/crop.
Mr. Le Van Hai (living in Dong Hung 2 hamlet) is a trader who buys Thanh Tra. 20 years old said: “At the beginning of the season, I bought about 100-200 kg/day. During the main season, I bought up to 700-800kg each day. Prices change depending on the time but are about 40,000 VND/kg (at peak ripeness). ) and from 70,000 VND/kg (early season). Sweet green tea costs about 120,000 VND/kg.
“My family grows 3 Thanh Tra trees. On weekdays, I take branches and sell seedlings, but when the season comes, I sell more commercial fruit. “In a year like that, I earn a profit of 50-60 million VND, which is normal, not including the profit from buying fruit and reselling it to the stalls,” Mr. Hai said happily.
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan (Dong Hung 2 hamlet) not only sells Thanh Tra commercially, she also makes Thanh Tra jam to increase her income (Photo: Bao Ky).
Mr. Phan Thien Chi – Deputy Head of Dong Hung 2 Hamlet, Dong Thanh Commune – said that thanks to the Thanh Tra tree, people in Dong Thanh are quite stable. Each family plants a few trees, but when the harvest season comes, they can earn several tens of millions of dong/crop.
“When Thanh Tra is in season, people will sell it along the highways, some will also be packed and exported to big provinces such as Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi… This year the weather is not favorable. Thanh Tra productivity has decreased, but compared to input costs, farming households rarely suffer losses,” Mr. Chi added.
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