Final article: Early application of disease-free orange growing process
(Baonghean) - Currently, the demand for oranges domestically and internationally is very high along with quality requirements. This is the opportunity for Nghe An orange trees with the Vinh orange brand to develop strongly and sustainably, especially creating good seed sources.
The state of degradation of the original seedlings
With high quality and famous brand, Vinh oranges are very easy to consume, especially when there is a quality assurance, protected by the State nationwide, and affixed with a traceability stamp. Growing oranges is considered a profession to get rich on the red basalt land of Phu Quy and in many other districts such as Con Cuong, Yen Thanh, Hung Nguyen...
From growing oranges, many farmers have earned billions of dong each year; land for growing oranges is traded on the market for 300 million VND/ha or more. This is an important premise for the People's Committee of Nghe An province to build the project "Developing Nghe An orange trees with the Vinh orange brand into a large commodity product, with a scale of up to 8,000 hectares, output of 160,000 tons in 2020 and 10,000 hectares, output of 200,000 tons in 2025".
However, as mentioned in the previous issue, oranges have not been managed from the root. For a long time, the State has not encouraged or cared for orange seed centers to ensure disease-free oranges for people. Orange growers have searched for floating orange seeds, leading to many consequences...
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| Growing high-tech oranges in Nghia Dan district. Photo: PV |
According to agricultural experts in Nghe An, the original variety of Vinh orange is mainly Xa Doai orange. Up to now, Xa Doai orange is no longer limited to Xa Doai area (Nghi Loc), but it has been brought to grow in many other localities inside and outside the province thanks to the asexual propagation method. Nghe An and Ha Tinh alone have famous delicious orange growing areas today such as: Son Tay orange (Huong Son - Ha Tinh); Bai Phu orange (Con Cuong); Minh Thanh, Thinh Thanh, Dong Thanh orange (Yen Thanh); Xuan Thanh, 3/2 orange (Quy Hop)... All of these orange growing areas are grown with seedlings grafted with Xa Doai orange grafts and are grown on land with a thick arable layer around limestone mountains. Therefore, oranges in these places are fragrant, delicious and always sold at a higher price than other orange growing areas. However, the breeding work is also very spontaneous, Quy Hop takes from Xa Doai, Con Cuong takes from Quy Hop...
Currently, the total orange area of the province is 5,096 hectares, of which more than 2,500 hectares are commercial oranges for harvest. Of the above orange area, 70-75% are oranges grown by grafting Xa Doai oranges, the rest are V2 oranges and Van Du oranges. Particularly, V2 oranges (Valencia) have characteristics of trunk, branches, leaves, fruit shape, fruit color, fruit flesh color, flowering time, fruit ripening time and quality - orange flavor similar to Xa Doai oranges.
But the most worrying thing now is that in the original orange region of Xa Doai, the birthplace of the Vinh orange brand, orange growers feel that the orange trees are getting old and stunted, the number of fruits on each tree is also decreasing over time, the fruits are small, and there are many seeds.
This is a biological degeneration phenomenon. Any type of plant, planted for a long time, if not restored, will gradually develop a degeneration phenomenon that is clearly expressed in both growth and development. With orange trees, the most obvious manifestation is from having no seeds or very few seeds, gradually becoming oranges with more and more seeds, the fruit becomes smaller, the peel becomes thicker and the quality of the fruit also gradually decreases in both sweetness and aroma.
The issue that farmers in Xa Doai in particular and Nghe An orange growers in general are most concerned about today is how to have high orange productivity while maintaining the quality and brand of Vinh oranges in the national market and moving towards becoming a major export product of the province. This is a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed by the business community, scientists, and the State.
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| One of the spontaneous orange tree nurseries in Van Loi commune, Quy Hop district. Photo: PV |
Urgent need for new production process
Dr. Nguyen Huu Hien - Head of the Department of Plant Science, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Vinh University, said: Currently, people in the orange-producing areas self-propagate a lot, only observing with their eyes to see many fruits, good growth, they choose to make the parent tree, but cannot check for diseases by science, so the quality of the seedlings is poor, the orange trees after planting are susceptible to diseases, and productivity decreases rapidly. The reality shows that the orange areas in Quy Hop and Nghia Dan have many diseases, especially scab. To manage orange varieties well, for seed production facilities that do not ensure quality, functional sectors need to regularly inspect and have sanctions. Moreover, localities need to propagate to people not to buy orange varieties floating on the market to plant. Nghe An needs to soon build centers to produce disease-free, good-quality orange varieties, with warranties for producers.Dr. Nguyen Huu Hien also said: According to the principle, seedlings must be propagated in a quarantine garden for 18 - 24 months, then selected right in the garden before planting. Therefore, to have a good source of orange seedlings, the locality needs to build a high-tech breeding center to ensure quality. At that time, the parent trees have passed the inspection for pests and diseases, and the new source of seedlings ensures quality. Discussing this with Mr. Hoang Nghia Hieu - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, it is known that: The agricultural sector has also recognized this inadequacy and has advised the province to amend Decision 87/2014 of the Provincial People's Committee on a number of policies for agricultural and rural development in the area. Accordingly, for new varieties of orange and tangerine trees, new disease-free orange and tangerine seedlings will be supported at a rate of 10,000 VND/tree; support for new land preparation for planting new varieties of orange and tangerine trees at a rate of 5 million VND/ha.
The good news is that some businesses are preparing to invest in centers for producing disease-free orange seedlings. Currently, in Nghia Dan district, there are a few units growing disease-free oranges according to VietGAP procedures. They buy seedlings from the Fruit and Vegetable Agriculture Institute in Hanoi and hire engineers to take care of them. The 19/5 Fruit Tree Service Cooperative has 30 hectares of oranges, with a total investment of 15 billion VND. According to Mr. Tran Cong Ninh - Director of this Cooperative, the Cooperative must buy seedlings from Hanoi and hire engineers to take care of them. The price of seedlings is 30,000 VND/pot, 3 times higher than the variety in the area. They must learn about the orange line, check it from planting to maturity and get a warranty.
Thus, first of all, there must be a source of orange seeds that is managed and monitored by the State and has its quality inspected by reputable centers, with clear warranties. Second, orange production must follow a clean process. Currently, Vinh oranges have been stamped with traceability labels. Although the number of oranges with the label is still small, they are gardens certified to produce according to VietGAP standards. That shows that although it is also a Vinh orange region, the State has not dared to stamp all gardens, not to mention the delicious orange regions outside the Vinh orange geographical indication that have not been stamped. This stamp is not only a geographical indication, but also a State certification of the quality of Vinh oranges so that consumers can use them with peace of mind.
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| Orange varieties grafted in Nghia Dan district. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
The Institutes of Science and the Institute of Soil Chemistry also need to work with the people of Nghe An in particular to see what nutrients are needed for growing oranges, what nutrients are in excess, what nutrients are lacking, not that everywhere can grow oranges and fertilize and care for them the same way. Clean oranges need to apply high technology in some stages such as watering according to Israeli technology, drip irrigation combined with fertilizer to water and fertilize directly at the base of the tree. If possible, use a greenhouse to grow oranges to prevent butterflies and other insects from harming the orange trees. If you do not have the conditions to build a greenhouse to grow oranges, you must regularly check for early detection of pests and diseases for timely prevention. Try to minimize the use of pesticides on orange trees, especially in the period before harvest of about 1 month, absolutely do not spray any pesticides.
The current method of grafting oranges and tangerines is T-grafting or piece-shaped grafting. After grafting, seedlings need to be well cared for, preferably kept in a greenhouse to prevent insects and pests such as whiteflies, leafminers, scar diseases, and ulcers. Seedlings in the nursery need to be pinched to create a canopy. When the tree has 2-3 primary branches, the main stem is 40-60 cm high, and is growing well and not affected by yellow leaf disease, then it can be planted.