More than 20 households at Duong Son flower village in Danang city are busy caring for chrysanthemums so they flower on schedule for Tet. In the evenings, farmers switch on small fluorescent bulbs of 15 to 20 watts to stimulate faster growth.
Local growers said chrysanthemum planting began in mid-August. Although heavy rain early in the season damaged seedlings, they were able to recover in time to keep production on track. Lights are kept on overnight once the plants enter a strong growth phase, usually until the middle of the 11th lunar month. The system typically operates from 8 pm to about 3 am the following day.
Pham Ngoc Anh, 68, who has more than 22 years of experience growing flowers in Duong Son, is tending 1,400 pots of chrysanthemums. He invested nearly VND 30 million (about USD 1,220) in an automated lighting system with more than 100 bulbs.
Anh said chrysanthemums are heat-loving plants that require more than eight hours of light a day to grow properly. Overnight lighting provides up to 16 hours of continuous illumination, helping the plants develop as expected. His family's monthly electricity bill for the flower field is about VND 800,000 (around USD 32).
Read more at DTI News
