Stories of the past may flow beneath the great mangosteen tree

In the autumn-winter days, we have the opportunity to return to the countryside to enjoy moments of peaceful life. During a business trip to the remote district of Dau Tieng, we had our chance to listen to the stories about the origin of the mangosteen trees that are the specialty of this land.

Nguyen Vu Quang Tuan (on the right) and Nguyen Van Ty next to a 100-year-old giant mangosteen at Bung Cong hamlet in Thanh Tuyen commune

From the first shoots

Introduced by the Farmers' Association of Thanh Tuyen commune in Dau Tieng district, we went to the house of Nguyen Vu Quang Tuan at Bung Cong hamlet in Thanh Tuyen commune, where there is a giant mangosteen imprinted with time. Receiving us in the lush green garden of the house, Tuan calmly brewed a pot of tea and then told the old stories. In the cold weather, we and the farmers went back in time with sincere and rustic words to find out about the history of the land and the people.

At the time, Bung Cung was a swampy lowland covered with paths. During the migrations along the country, the great-grandfathers and the great-fathers of Tuan's family from Tra Vinh saw that the land was filled with a lot of silt by the poetic Saigon River, so they decided to stay and reclaim the land. Since then, the family's life on boats has ended, opening a new era with many imprints and achievements in agricultural development in today's Thanh Tuyen land.

Tuan said that after many times going back to his father's hometown, his great-grandfathers tried to bring some mangosteen seedlings from Tra Vinh to test planting in a new land. Just a few days after the completion of the exploration, the wild land was decorated with a row of beautiful little mangosteen trees - the premise to form the mangosteen famous near and far in the land of Dau Tieng like today.

After sipping a cup of hot tea, we followed Tuan to see the big tree in the garden. Crossing rows of lively shoots neatly planted, we came across a giant tree standing majestically tall and silent with time. Its shoots have a horizontal line in the circumference of the trunk of about 1.7 meters and about 6 meters high in about 20 square meters wide, which is confirmed by locals as the oldest mangosteen in Thanh Tuyen up to today. The shoot is considered by the locals as one of the important historical security values ​​in the region.

After more than 100 years, the giant tree in Tuan's garden now has only the bark and a thin outer layer of trunk that still carries life. According to the evaluation of the farmers who have been taking care of the local mangosteen for many years, the core and main roots of the tree have rotted. Currently, the giant shoots only use its auxiliary roots to absorb water and nutrients through its rough bark to provide nutrients and to maintain life for branches and leaves, but in all the tree no longer has enough strength to continue growing.

Tuan said that his childhood was spent peacefully and completely with beautiful memories in the mangosteen garden of his family. Accordingly, in the early years when peace had just been restored to his homeland, he and his brothers and friends had great memories of the great mangosteen tree that have a fairly large and sturdy branch system, so at the time, Tuan often invited his friends in the hamlet to climb up the tree to pick the ripe fruits and eat them, then passed the branches from trees to trees to enjoy the sweet and ripe fruits. In those times, Tuan fell from the 4 remarkable times in his life.

To the new cultivation

Tested by time, Tuan's father found that the mangosteen variety had strong vitality and delicious fruit even in 10 days to half a month of flooding when the tree was still alive and well, so his family continued to grow seeds from the big trees to develop the shoots. Currently, nearly 30 mature mangosteen roots at the age of 30-40 years reside in the garden of Tuan's family, which are all the varieties nursed from the great trees of years. According to the family, the variety had a slow growth and development rate to compensate for the strong vitality and especially the sweet and mellow fruit.

That is also the reason why the mangosteen orchard of Tuan's family often sells out before the harvest begins. Most of the mangosteen collected are delivered to customers who order food and gifts in advance let alone selling to the market. Tuan calculated that after deducting expenses and the mangosteen left to eat and donate, the family's total income is about more than VND 30 million a year - an ideal source of income for a modest area of about 600 square meters.

Talking to us, Nguyen Van Ty - a nationally good farmer and a long-time expert on mangosteen varieties, said that Thanh Tuyen land in particular and the Saigon riverside area in general have potential mangosteen trees that can live up to several hundred years under good care, which is an important point as according to research by scientists, the average life expectancy of mangosteen trees in other countries is just within 20-30 years when the tree maybe dead and must be replaced with a new one, by which the longevity and time of the mangosteen treen in Nguyen Vu Quang Tuan's garden is a great example.

Listening to the sincere and rustic sharing of farmers, we thought about the policy of developing specialty fruit areas associated with the eco-tourism project that the province and the localities in the river basins have developed. While the rich lands along the Dong Nai River are given priority to develop citrus orchards such as pomelos, oranges, tangerines, etc., the localities in the Saigon river basin are recommended to develop mangosteen varieties. Research and survey results of the agricultural industry show that, at present, the land along the Saigon River from Lai Thieu, Binh Nham, An Son up to Thanh Tuyen, Thanh An etc. in Dau Tieng district is very suitable for development into areas specialized in cultivating mangosteen.

In a conversation with Nguyen Phuong Linh - Chairman of Dau Tieng district People's Committee, we heard him share his thoughts and concerns about the socio-economic development orientations for the locality. Accordingly, in the coming time, the locality will focus on restructuring agriculture in the direction of reducing rubber and increasing the number and area of ​​specialized fruit trees and livestock farms, at the same time, actively developing industrial parks and clusters as a premise to attract residents and workers, on which basis to form developed urban and residential areas with many types of businesses and services.

Huynh Van Dan - Standing Deputy Secretary of the district Party Committee and Head of the Steering Committee for Collective Economic Development of Dau Tieng district, said that the brand of Thanh Tuyen mangosteen in particular and Dau Tieng district in general is appreciated by customers near and far for its quality and design. Accordingly, for many years now when participating in the Southern delicious and safe fruit contest on June 1 every year, the brand has won the prizes almost every year. Up to now, Dau Tieng mangosteen brand has had more than 20 awards and certificates of merit with all first, second, third and consolation positions. In particular, the mangosteen brand of farmer Nguyen Van Ty from Thanh Tuyen has won 6 prizes in the participation in delicious fruit contests.

In the 1980s - 1990s of the last century when talking about mangosteen, people would immediately think of the image of Lai Thieu and Hung Dinh with their fruit-laden mangosteen orchards that entered poetry. Facing the rapid urban sprawl, Lai Thieu mangosteen has gradually been thinned out to be replaced by the promising orchards in the upstream area of Saigon River, which Dau Tieng has known to greatly spotential.

Reported by Dinh Thang – Translated by Vi Bao