Cam Quy Hop is out of its prime.

Orange garden covered with sugarcane and corn

To the key area of ​​Vinh orangeQuy Hop districtOn a mid-November day, the bustling scene of traders buying and selling oranges is completely gone. The orange farms of tens of hectares, laden with fruit a few years ago, are now replaced by sugarcane fields and rows of biomass corn ready for harvest. Along the main roads of the orange region, occasionally you can see a few orange gardens, but no one cares, because the quality of the oranges is too poor, tasting sour.

Mr. Hau's orange garden in Tho Thanh hamlet, Minh Hop commune is no longer invested in and cared for as before. Photo: Quang An

Visiting the orange garden of Mr. Hau and Ms. Huyen in Tho Thanh hamlet, Minh Hop commune, the whole orange garden still has about 150 yellow-heart Xa Doai orange trees. Mr. Hau said that all the orange trees were infected with pests and diseases, so they did not invest in care anymore, leaving them to grow on their own. Therefore, the oranges were harvested but only a little bigger than lemons, without the characteristic sweetness and aroma as before, traders only bought them for 3,000 - 4,000 VND/kg, and they could not even be sold, leaving them all over the garden.

“Many families in the neighborhood have destroyed their orange trees and switched to growing short-term crops that provide a steady income. Therefore, the family will soon dig up all of these orange trees and switch to growing corn or sugarcane to improve the soil. After 4-5 years, they will consider replanting orange trees,” Mr. Hau shared.

Oranges are heavily infected with pests and diseases, productivity has decreased sharply. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Nguyen Cong Bien - owner of an orange farm of more than 1 hectare belonging to Xuan Thanh Agricultural One Member Co., Ltd. said that his family's orange farm has been harvested since 2019, the peak of the 2020 orange season brought in hundreds of millions of VND/ha, but in 2021, the orange garden seriously deteriorated. When the size of a lemon begins to fall off in large numbers, by harvest time only about 20% of the fruit remains, but the quality is poor, leading to losses. Therefore, at the end of 2021, the family decided to destroy the entire orange farm to grow biomass corn, leaving only a few dozen PQ tangerine trees.

“Growing corn three times a year brings in over 100 million VND in income. But more importantly, we can improve the land, let it rest, and control pests. Later, we can switch to growing oranges and regain the Vinh orange brand; however, it will take at least 4-5 years,” said Mr. Bien.

Mr. Bien's orange garden has now been replaced by biomass corn fields, in the distance are PQ tangerine and orange trees that have been completely cut down. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Our observations also show that on Highway 48, through Minh Hop commune, there are a few places selling Quy Hop oranges, but the quantity is small, the oranges are not eye-catching. The most beautiful type costs 30,000 VND/kg, the lowest is 10,000 VND/kg, the number of buyers can be counted on the fingers.

Traders said that, like previous years, this November, every day they buy tons of oranges from local people to ship to customers near and far, but now, every day they only buy a few hundred kilos, bring them to retail on Highway 48, but it is difficult to sell because the oranges are not as beautiful and delicious as before. Because the quantity sold is small, orange garden owners do not have packaging for oranges with information about the orange farm printed on it like before. This is also the reason why many customers doubt the origin of the oranges.

Oranges for sale along Highway 48 are no longer as bustling as before. According to research, some orange stalls get their goods from the northern provinces, because in reality, Quy Hop oranges are not much left, and there are no labels to prove their origin. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Restore the orange area at the appropriate time

According to data from Xuan Thanh Agricultural One Member Co., Ltd., in the past, the unit had nearly 1,000 hectares of oranges of all kinds and PQ tangerines at its peak. Therefore, from the end of October, it was the orange harvest season, traders drove cars to buy dozens of tons every day to sell everywhere, orange growers therefore had high income. But later, oranges were infected with many diseases, the quality was poor, so the orange area decreased sharply. Like last year, the orange area decreased rapidly, currently there are only about 96 hectares of citrus trees. Of which, oranges are about 30 hectares, the rest are PQ tangerines.

Many remaining orange gardens in Quy Hop district also had fallen fruit all over the garden. Photo: Quang An

A representative of Xuan Thanh Agriculture One Member Co., Ltd. said that due to poor quality oranges, households have harvested almost all of them since mid-October, with very low prices of 3,000 - 7,000 VND/kg; by mid-November, the key area of ​​Vinh oranges has been deserted by traders. Therefore, by the end of this year, Quy Hop oranges will not be available to supply the market during Tet like before.

Mr. Quan Vi Giang - Vice Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee said: Previously, Quy Hop was the capital of Vinh oranges, because of its large area and high productivity, guaranteed quality, and was favored by customers. However, due to the outbreak of disease on orange trees, the orange area has decreased sharply, from 3,000 hectares in 2020 to 1,500 hectares in 2021, to this point, only about 200 hectares. The reduction of Quy Hop's orange area is also the locality's orientation, aiming to rotate to other crops to improve the soil and eradicate pests. At a certain stage, when the orange area can be restored, orange growers are advised to choose orange varieties with clear origin and disease-free to plant.

“Currently, the orange groves that have been cleared have been converted to growing corn, sugarcane, tea, etc. instead of leaving the land fallow. Therefore, people still have income, although not as high as before, but this is the most feasible solution at this time,” said Mr. Quan Vi Giang.

Not only Quy Hop district but also many other orange areas in the province have also degenerated due to disease. The situation of oranges falling off and poor quality oranges is widespread, causing growers to lose interest as before, switching to other crops.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, the orange degeneration started in Nghia Dan district, then in Quy Hop and Tan Ky districts... therefore, the orange acreage in the localities has shrunk, and the number of quality orange farms in these localities is very small.

“There is no other way, the infected orange areas need to be destroyed to limit the disease, and switch to other crop rotation. When the technical factors are guaranteed, people can replant orange trees according to the recommendations of professional agencies. However, in the province, there are still some well-cared and well-invested orange farms such as in Anh Son, Yen Thanh, Con Cuong, Thanh Chuong districts... that can supply the market in the coming time,” Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc emphasized.