Black Queen comes to the rescue for the king of grapes
(Vietnam News -25/03/03) Nguyen Truong Chuong, a 51-year-old farmer in the southern central province of Ninh Thuan, is known as the “King of Grapes” by local growers after turning a wasteland into a flourishing orchard. Originally from Ninh Hai District, Chuong used to be a po or farmer without his own land to cultivate.*
After setting out to find a patch of dirt to call his own Chuong found some waste land in a deserted area near Ca Du mountain. Local authorities gave him permission to reclaim the land for farming in 1997.
Determined to turn the 1.5ha of barren soil into a high quality orchard he laboured for six months, struggling under the hot sun, hoeing the rocky land riddled with snakes and centipedes. Eventually Chuong turned the area into arable farming land.
With a VND40 million loan from the local Agriculture and Rural Development Bank branch, he built a water pumping system and the first day water flowed into his orchard Chuong burst into tears.
He planted mango and longan on two thirds of the reclaimed land and used the rest to grow red grapes. However, the grape variety he planted yielded only 15 tonnes per hectare and fetched a paltry VND5,000 per kg at market.
In June 2001, he heard about a new, high-value grape variety being planted in Tuy Phong District in nearby Binh Thuan Province. After his own investigations Chuong spent VND10 million on 700 Italian grape vines and 500 Black Queen vines. Unfortunately, d rought and a lack of experience proved fatal for his first crop, which he lost last April.
Since then Chuong has slowly learnt how to successfully grow the new grape varieties. Last September, his second crop was successful. The Black Queen vine yielded 30 tonnes of fruit per hectare and the Italian produced 20 tonnes.
He harvested more than 10 tonnes which he sold before the Tet (Lunar New Year). After selling his product to the local Sedex agricultural company for VND13,000 per kg he and his family earned a tidy VND100 million (US$6,472).
Now the provincial Crop Seedlings and Livestock Company, the Agriculture Extension Centre and Sedex all use his vineyard as a model for new grape varieties for local farmers.
Sedex agronomists have reported the Black Queen grape has a much higher sugar content compared to traditional grape varieties planted in nearby Binh Thuan Province. Chuong believes the secret of his success is the use of lime water eight to 10 days before harvesting, which he says washes away alum and acid in the soil, helping raise the sugar content in the grapes.
“As I have experienced losses, I am ready to help other farmers. If you want to avoid risks in grape growing, please come and see me,” he said.
