Ben Tre plans to widely develop non-latex Mica star apple

The non-latex Mica star apple with the edible peel of Ben Tre Province has been selected to develop widely by many gardeners in the West, East, and Central Highlands regions.

When a Mica star apple is ripe, it has no latex and is edible with its peel. Photo: Minh Dam.

In recent years, since the unique, non-latex star apple variety of Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province was introduced to the market, it has been always a “hot" fruit of consumption. In 2016, when it was first "presented", the fruit showed many good features, superior to many other varieties and it had been named Mica non-latex star apple.

Common star varieties have a lot of latex. People have to remove the peel and often use a spoon to eat. Fastidious consumers would not like to eat breast milk. But when the Mica appeared, the way it was eaten has changed. When a Mica star apple is ripe, its thick skin is not acrid without latex so people just need to peel off the thin outer skin (like peeling a mango) then it is able to eat.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Deputy Head of the Sub-Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Ben Tre province, this Mica fruit variety is a mutation from the common star apple grown by farmers from seeds. Currently, the fruit’s quality is highly appreciated by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as farmers.

Dung also said that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ben Tre Province has issued local quality standards for this variety. Accordingly, for seeds, each fruit should not have more than 5 seeds. The pulp should not be more than 0.5mm thick. When it is ripe, it should not have latex and can be eaten with its peel. “This variety has its own special advantage of sweetness. According to the standard, the minimum Brix must be 13%. However, at present, in Mr. Nguyen Cong Thanh's garden, the fruit has reached an average Brix of 15.5%, which is quite sweet, " Dung assessed.

In addition to its delicious quality, the Mica variety can tolerate a moderate salinity. Typically, in the 2019-2020 dry season, a prolonged deep salinity intrusion and drought hit the Cho Lach area, with salinity was measured at 4g/liter. However, Mica star apple trees in the gardens of many farmers in the area were still growing strong, while rambutan and durian were heavily affected. Therefore, Ben Tre Province will have a plan to develop the fruit in both brackish and freshwater areas. Not only Ben Tre, some other provinces in the East and Central Highlands are also strongly developing this fruit variety.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Thanh, the owner of Tu Thanh seedling production unit in Phung Chau hamlet, Son Dinh Commune, Ben Tre Province’s Cho Lach District, is an old farmer with extensive experience in selecting and maintaining delicious fruit varieties. Knowing about this special fruit after a trial, Thanh said he will keep investing in growing it. Recently, his garden with over 1,000 Mica star apple trees has been recognized as a leading garden of the area, in which there are some have been certificated as first-class trees.

Last year, the Tu Thanh seedling production unit produced from 10,000 to 15,000 Mica seedlings, which were totally consumed by Ngoc Vinh seedling enterprise in Hung Khanh Trung A Commune, Mo Cay Bac District, Ben Tre Province. The enterprise has also committed to ensuring the seedlings' quality for farmers inside and outside the province.

With the above potentials, within the next 3 years, the area and output of Mica star apple will ensure supplying for domestic consumption as well as for exports to international markets. Currently, fruit exporters in Ben Tre, such as Chanh Thu and Cuoi Cua companies, have also committed to finding output markets for Mica fruit in the US and Europe. With the participation of businesses at this initial time, it is believed that Mica star apple will be further developed in the future.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Vinh, the owner of Ngoc Vinh seedling production enterprise, said she has registered the name Mica star apple for intellectual property protection. Currently, many web pages and Facebook fan pages have stolen and forged images of her enterprises and Tu Thanh company to sell seedlings to farmers at very cheap prices. Vinh confirmed that these are fake products so farmers must be very careful when deciding to buy. She also added that if any farmer wants to plant this fruit, she is ready to support 50% of the cost of seeds and commit to purchasing all of his/her products at a fixed price of VND60,000/kg in the first 5 years from the time the tree begins to grow.