Groves
of mulberries span two hectares in Hiep Thuan Commune, Hanoi. The field belongs
to 14 families and are harvested annually.
Do
Thi Can harvests the fruit. "We have 400 square meters and 30 mulberry
trees. We harvest them in April, then we cut off the stems to prepare for the
next season. Each tree produces about 80-90 kilograms of mulberries," she
said.
Nguyen
Thi Hoa plucks the berries. "We've had 20 trees for six years now. We
started harvesting them back in February. Plucking them during sunny days will
keep them shiny and juicy; we can harvest about two tons of mulberries each
season," she said.
Freshly
harvested black and red mulberries. The juice from the berries leaves a stain
on the skin, so farmers often use limes to clean their hands.
Clusters
of mulberries ready to be harvested. 40 days before harvesting, farmers stop
using fertilizers and pesticides to let the mulberries ripen naturally, hence
the varied colors.
Traders
arrive to collect the mulberries.
Vibrant,
succulent mulberries sit in containers before being delivered to markets in
Hanoi and central Vietnam's Da Nang, Quang Binh and Quang Tri. In Hanoi, you
can buy them for about VND25,000 ($1) per kilogram.
By VNE