Tan Lac red grapefruit is likened as delicious as the 'offered to the King' specialty

Sweet and healthy fruit likened as delicious as the "offered to the King" specialty

Bài liên quan

The advantages help Tan Lac become the largest 'barn' of red grapefruit in the country

Sitting on the Hanoi-Son La coach takes about 2 hours to reach Tan Lac district center (Hoa Binh). During this journey, traffic is convenient and easy. National Highway No. 6 is now quite spacious and flat, without many steep passes and curves like before.

But the Tan Lac mountain scenery is still extremely imposing. In addition, the cool weather, fresh climate, and highlanders’ inherent openness and hospitality have created a feeling of love, even for tourists who set foot in Tan Lac for the first time.

Walking around the communes and towns of Man Duc, Ngoc My, Dong Lai, Thanh Hoi, Tu Ne, Phong Phu, and My Hoa, thousands of Tan Lac yellow-ripe red grapefruits throughout the hills can be seen everywhere. Every garden has a lot of fruits laden with branches. Grapefruits are close to the ground, hanging all over the paths as if wanting to swoop into tourists and cordially inviting.

Knowing that there were guests coming from far away, Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh (Director of Thanh Hoi Integrated Agricultural Service and Rural Development Cooperative, 0382.330.278) immediately picked a few red grapefruits on the porch to welcome guests. Peeling off the skin and the last layers of the fruit's covering, each large, thick, succulent, bright red grapefruit clove gradually reveals itself, looking very attractive, making those sitting around salivate all over the spaces between teeth.

Unable to resist the seductive aroma of the special dish, I immediately picked up a few grapefruit segments in advance and brought them to my mouth. When the sweet taste of the fruit cloves melts evenly on the tips of my tongue and throat, that's when I feel healthy and refreshed. The delicious taste of grapefruit cools all over my body, and all the fatigue accumulating in my body on the more than 100-kilometer journey to come here has all disappeared.

Secret to growing delicious grapefruit

Mr. Pham Minh Thu in Thanh Hoi commune shares his experience growing delicious grapefruits, likened to an "offered to the King" specialty.

Accordingly, in addition to the available advantages in climate, hydrology, and soil, gardeners here must also choose to plant the elite red grapefruit variety that has been recognized by the specialized industry. Prioritize fertilization with microbial organic fertilizer or composted manure and pest control with biological pesticides. Instead of using herbicides, cut with a machine and compost the stump to keep the garden moist during the dry season.

In addition, gardeners also intercrop grapefruit with peanuts or soybeans when the garden has not yet closed its canopy to “use short-term goals as stepping stones towards long-term goals”, increase income, retain moisture, and prevent soil nutrient washout. Regularly prune, create a canopy, and promptly remove dry branches, diseased branches, and branches that grow straight, inward, or parallel to each other; shorten branches that tend to be too high or too far away from the canopy orientation; Prune out stunted, malformed fruits and thin out fruit clusters that are too thick.

Especially, people also intercrop red grapefruit trees with green-skinned grapefruit and Dien grapefruit at a ratio of 1:10, helping to increase the fruiting ability, increase quality, and spread the grapefruit harvest crop. Thanks to that, from the beginning of September to the end of January next year, Tan Lac will have good-quality grapefruit supplied to the market. Of which, green-skinned grapefruit is harvested from September 15 to October 15; next, red grapefruit is harvested until the end of December; and finally, Dien grapefruit is harvested around the New Year.

"Regarding future orientation, Tan Lac will stabilize grapefruit production in the direction of large-scale concentration. Promote the transfer and application of high-tech and advanced science and technology in intensive farming, processing, and preserving agricultural products in general and red grapefruit trees in particular. Support organizations and individuals in applying good agricultural practices (VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic). Attach sample grapefruit garden models with model residential areas, improve the ecological environment, and create landscapes to promote tourism, create jobs, and increase income for farmers," said Mr. Bui Dinh Hien, Head of the Tan Lac Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Red grapefruit is rich in vitamins C and A, along with other essential minerals, helping the body increase resistance, reduce blood cholesterol, fight aging, fight obesity and atherosclerosis, and prevent cancer and common colds, especially prostate cancer.

According to American and Israeli scientists, eating grapefruit every day is likened to a "miraculous drug" for people with diabetes. Oriental medicine in our country also concludes that grapefruit flesh is cold, non-toxic, cools, detoxifies alcohol, nourishes the body, cures diabetes, helps relax the mind, and maintains beautiful skin.