Artichoke leaf farm

Artichoke Exchange — Artichoke grows well in Phuc Tho Lam Ha land

ARTICHOKE TAKES ROOT IN NEW LAND

"Growing artichokes is not only to harvest artichoke flowers to supply the market but also to harvest a special agricultural product, which is the leaves. It was only when I grew artichokes and harvested the leaves that I learned about this very special plant," said Mr. Dao Quang Binh, a farmer in Phuc Tan village, Phuc Tho Lam Ha commune. He has just harvested his first batch of artichoke leaves with a yield of 60 tons of leaves.

"Artichoke is a very special plant, which can be harvested from leaves, flowers to stems and roots. The growth cycle of the plant is longer than a year, but farmers can harvest from the first 3 months. Like my family, we have been growing for more than 3 months and are preparing to harvest the second batch of leaves," Mr. Binh informed. According to Mr. Binh, Phuc Tho is the land of coffee, macadamia and many other crops. Farmers in Phuc Tho have not yet grown artichoke, but after receiving a contract with a business to grow artichoke for leaves, and evaluating the ecological environment of Phuc Tan land, he decided to plant the seeds.

“With an area of 10 hectares, I imported artichoke seeds from the US. The seeds were brought to the nursery, and grew into seedlings about 12 - 15 cm tall. I learned about artichoke growing techniques as well as received advice from an agricultural company. Artichokes are grown on 1 m wide beds, with an irrigation system running along the beds and covered with grass tarps. When the plants were 3 months old, the family harvested the first batch of leaves, yielding 60 tons, showing that artichokes are suitable for the Phuc Tan area,” said Mr. Dao Quang Binh. "The most important thing in growing artichokes is to carefully treat the soil. Before planting, the land must be plowed, dried, and treated with lime and probiotics carefully. Careful treatment helps the soil environment to be clean, the plants will not have root diseases, and will also provide enough nutrients for the plants to grow. Artichokes are compatible with organic fertilizers, and applying organic fertilizer periodically helps the plants take root quickly, have tall stems, large leaves, and be full of nutrients," said Mr. Dao Quang Binh, sharing his experience.

CONTRACT PLANTING

No matter what kind of plant is grown, farmers must pay attention to the output of the product, especially new varieties of plants. For example, my family's artichoke farm is grown under a contract with Ngoc Duy Tea Company as well as several other businesses. Therefore, the output for the product is guaranteed, farmers can feel secure in their cultivation," assessed Mr. Dao Quang Binh.

Mr. Binh said that the artichoke leaf product is very special. "According to the requirements of the purchasing enterprise, we only choose fresh leaves, large stems that are not yellowed, and when the harvest is finished, the enterprise will come and take them away the same day. The enterprise also said that the leaves must be processed within 24 hours after harvest to preserve the medicinal properties and nutrients in the artichoke. Therefore, growing artichoke leaves for medicinal purposes requires a strict contract with the enterprise to ensure output as well as quality of the leaves," Mr. Binh assessed.

According to Mr. Average, each harvest will yield about 3 - 4 leaves/kg. Each artichoke root will yield 1 kg/pick. If well cared for, farmers can harvest every 15 - 17 days, within 8 - 12 months. With prices announced by the enterprise in advance, this is a stable income for farmers. "We planted 10 hectares, harvested and found that Phuc Tan land is suitable for artichokes. The enterprise has tested the farm's leaves for indicators and evaluated the quality of Phuc Tan artichokes as very good. Therefore, in the near future, the family will expand the area to 30 hectares to supply tea production enterprises as well as medicinal production from artichokes," Mr. Dao Quang Binh shared about the future of this plant.

Not only growing and supplying leaves, Mr. Binh plans to open an artichoke processing factory right in Phuc Tho area to ensure the freshness and highest quality of medicinal herbs. According to him, when Phuc Tho area reaches enough area, an artichoke processing factory will be built in the middle of the raw material area.

Mr. Dao Van Sang - former Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Phuc Tho Lam Ha commune assessed that in the past, Phuc Tho land had no farmers growing artichokes, the model of Mr. Dao Quang Binh's family was the first model and showed clear effectiveness. Mr. Dao Quang Binh is also planning to expand the area of artichokes, ready to connect and cooperate with farmers in the area. This is also an opportunity for farmers in remote areas to get acquainted with this specialty plant, expanding the living space for artichokes, a famous plant of Lam Vien plateau.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/trang-trai-atiso-lay-la-381234.html