Finding the cause of Nghe An oranges dropping fruit en masse

Many orange gardens lost fruit en masse, the amount of fruit lost accounted for 80% of the output. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The harvest season is almost here, but the 500-tree orange garden of Mr. Nguyen Duc Than's family (Lien Tra village, Bong Khe commune, Con Cuong)fruit drop, there are trees that have fallen completely, no fruit left.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Than said: “The whole orange garden has lost fruit. About 60-70% of the fruit has fallen, some trees have lost all their fruit, leaving no fruit at all. It’s almost harvest time, but there are no more fruits to sell.”

Oranges fall and rot in piles in orange gardens. Photo: Thanh Phuc

At this time, thoseorange garden in Tan Phu commune(Tan Ky) Fruits fell in large numbers at the base of the trees, piled up in the corners of the gardens. Although not ripe enough, orange growers in Tan Phu commune have not opened farms to sell, but most of the orange gardens have already lost their fruit, with only small fruits and bare branches left on the branches.

Mr. Truong Phu Tuan's household in Tan Yen hamlet, Tan Phu commune (Tan Ky) has been growing 1.2 hectares of oranges since 2013, and has only harvested 4 seasons of fruit, but this season, they have lost everything. Mr. Tuan said: "Last year, we harvested 15 tons, but this year they all fell off, and the remaining fruit on the tree is useless. If we harvest the whole garden, we will only get 5 tons of fruit. We will lose hundreds of millions of dong."

In the same situation, 168 hectares of orange trees belonging to people in Dong Van, Tan An, Tan Phu, Tan Long, Nghia Phuc (Tan Ky) communes also fell. The cause is said to be long-term rain, stagnant water on the fruit stalks, combined with fungus and root rot causing the fruit to fall.

Although not yet open for sale, the orange garden of Mr. Truong Phu Tuan (Tan Phu, Tan Ky) has lost all its fruit due to falling. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Cong Trung - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Ky district said: "This year,Orange growers suffered heavy losses.. Most of the gardens have lost up to 80% of their fruit, many households have lost everything. The exact cause has not yet been found because many gardens have just harvested the first or second crop, the trees are still healthy and green but the fruit has all fallen. Farmers are frustrated and no longer interested in orange trees. We hope that experts and relevant agencies will soon find the cause and a solution, helping people to stabilize production soon."

Currently, the whole province has about 5,300 hectares of oranges, of which nearly 3,500 hectares are ready for harvest. Although the harvest season is approaching, orange growers in Yen Thanh, Con Cuong, Tan Ky, Anh Son, Quy Hop, Nghia Dan districts... are not happy because their oranges are losing fruit en masse. Some households have lost about 50% of their output, many have lost everything.

The remaining fruit on the tree has bad appearance and poor quality. Photo: Thanh Phuc

It is worth mentioning that the number of oranges left on the tree is quite small, the appearance is bad and the quality is much worse than previous years.

Mr. Phan Duy Hai - Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection said: "The phenomenonOrange fruit drop is due to many reasons.n. In addition to the unfavorable weather factors, hot and rainy weather causing heat shock to orange trees, many areas of long-term orange plantations have degraded soil, degraded orange varieties, and undeveloped roots, leading to pests and diseases. The most common diseases are yellow leaf green veins, fungi; fruit flies, leaf miners, red spiders, leafhoppers... attack oranges. In addition, improper orange tree care causes nutritional imbalance in the tree.

Therefore, in addition to improving the quality of orange varieties, farmers need to rotate other crops and improve the soil for a while before restoring the orange trees. At the same time, apply integrated pest management (IPM); thoroughly treat fungi and have measures to care for and restore the health of oranges after harvest properly...

Farmers in Tan Phu commune (Tan Ky) compost organic fertilizer for oranges after harvest. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Currently, localities are coordinating with authorities to conduct field surveys to find the cause of the mass orange fall, helping people find solutions.

In the immediate future, garden owners need to drain water, not let the trees get waterlogged; not fertilize immediately after it rains and at the same time follow proper techniques for caring for orange trees after harvest, ensuring balanced nutrition...