Nghe An: Applying science and technology to save orange trees.

It's heartbreaking to have to cut down the orange tree.

From 2018 to the present, in Nghe An province alone, the area of ​​orange trees cut down due to poor growth and development has reached over 1,340 hectares. According to inspections and assessments by the agricultural sector, across these areas...orange farming areaIn Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Con Cuong..., over 80% of the area of ​​commercially grown oranges and over 50% of the area of ​​oranges under basic development shows signs of degradation, with declining fruit quality. Of these, more than 6% of the area in the development stage is at risk of being removed before entering commercial production; 15.8% of commercially grown oranges are at risk of being cut down in the next 1-2 years.

In Con Cuong district, many households are facing significant difficulties because their orange trees are not thriving. Some areas are still healthy but are not bearing fruit, or if they do, the fruit is very weak. Mr. Tran Van Kinh, from Pha village, Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong district), has been growing 300 Xa Doai orange trees for the past 5 years. However, after 4 years of development and one harvest yielding 10 tons of fruit, the trees are gradually degenerating, and productivity is decreasing. Currently, Mr. Kinh is extremely anxious and worried that the orange trees his family has invested in are at risk of being cut down.

Improper planting and care techniques have resulted in many orange orchards becoming "dormant," with tall trees that either don't bear fruit or produce low yields. Photo: Tien Dong

In Minh Hop commune, one of the major orange-growing areas in Quy Hop district, the problem of orange orchard degradation is currently causing significant economic losses. In the orange-growing area of ​​Team 2 of the 3/2 Agricultural and Industrial Joint Stock Company, we witnessed 10 hectares of planted trees of the same variety.Xã Đoài orangesThe trees in this unit have been damaged, even though they were only planted 3 years ago. Although they haven't yielded any harvest yet, these 10 hectares of orange trees are at risk of being cut down.

Mr. Nguyen Nam Thuyen - Director of 3/2 Agricultural and Industrial Joint Stock Company: The cost spent on 1 hectare of oranges over the past 3 years is more than 150 million VND. Although before planting, the company carefully selected seedlings and strictly applied technical measures, we still don't understand why the orange trees are not developing but remain stunted and have yellow leaves. With this situation, there is a risk of losing nearly 2 billion VND.

According to statistics, in Quy Hop district, the area planted with oranges is mainly concentrated in 5 communes: Minh Hop, Nghia Xuan, Chau Dinh, Van Loi, and Ha Son. While before 2018 the total area of ​​orange orchards in the district reached over 2,500 hectares, it has now decreased to only about 1,600 hectares, due to many orchards degrading, being affected by pests and diseases, and being cleared by farmers to plant other crops.

Many orange orchards have only yielded one harvest season, or even haven't yielded a harvest yet, but they have already deteriorated. Cutting them down would pose a significant economic loss. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Quy Hop district, said: there are many reasons leading to the degeneration of orange trees, pest and disease problems, and low yields. The main reasons include soil contamination, weather effects, red spider mites, fruit flies, and even the purchase of poor-quality seedlings by farmers.

Mr. Hung also added that, given the reality of significant orange tree degradation in the district, the district has repeatedly taken soil and tree samples for testing, and even invited experts to inspect the area. However, it is impossible to address the problem completely due to the vast area. Some experts have advised improving the soil through crop rotation. However, the most important thing is that people need to carefully select seedlings from reputable sources. At the same time, they need to strictly apply scientific and technical methods in planting and caring for orange trees, avoiding the overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers that can have long-term negative effects on the trees.

Pruning and shaping the orange tree. Photo: Tien Dong

Rehabilitating degraded orange trees using technical methods.

We met Dr. Do Van Chung, an expert in plant nutrition from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, while he was implementing measures to support people in renovating and restoring their orange orchards in Con Cuong district.

Mr. Chung stated that, through research on the climate and soil in Nghe An province, along with the production practices of the local people, it has been observed that many households are currently growing oranges based on experience rather than scientific standards. Therefore, the risk of premature degradation or failure of orange orchards is very high, causing losses for growers.

Dr. Do Van Chung is pruning branches to rehabilitate a degraded orange orchard in Con Cuong district. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Chung believes that orange trees are very finicky and sensitive crops, so the yield varies from region to region. Currently, people are choosing varieties based on personal preference and word-of-mouth recommendations, rather than researching the soil and climate of each region to select the most suitable variety. Furthermore, many varieties are of poor quality and of questionable origin, resulting in low yields. In addition, the overuse of fertilizers and chemical pesticides to accelerate growth and shorten the harvesting cycle quickly exhausts the trees.

Dr. Do Van Chung - an expert in plant nutrition at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology: Normally, a harvesting cycle of an orange tree, if applied according to scientific and technical standards, can last from 25-30 years. However, with the haphazard planting and care methods currently used by people, the harvesting cycle of an orange tree only lasts from 10-15 years, and in some cases, it has already deteriorated by the 5th year.

After pruning, the cuts are disinfected to prevent infection and damage to the orange tree. Photo: Tien Dong

Currently, according to our research, some orange orchards in Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong district) and Dong Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) are experiencing degeneration and have required intervention using scientific and technical methods. After studying the condition of the orange orchards, scientists quickly proceeded to improve the root system, reshape branches, disperse foliage, and fertilize the trees, helping them recover.

Mr. Truong Van Bien, from Dong Trung hamlet, Dong Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), owns a 5-hectare orange orchard. His family started planting oranges 7 years ago, but shortly after planting, the trees produced poor yields. Therefore, he decided to invite scientists to research, inspect, and improve the trees. After a year of improvement, the trees recovered and gradually began to yield high productivity. In the 2021 harvest alone, his family's orchard achieved a yield of 30 tons per hectare.

After renovation, Mr. Bien's family's orange orchard has yielded a higher harvest than before. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to Mr. Ngo Hoang Linh, Director of the Center for Application of Advanced Science and Technology in Nghe An, the current control of plant quality and origin is challenging.orange varietyMany difficulties remain. No local supplier can meet the demand for large-scale, high-quality seedlings, forcing farmers to source them themselves. Furthermore, farmers are cultivating oranges based on experience, resulting in limited intensive farming techniques. They lack knowledge of proper pruning, shaping, and fertilization. This leads to inconsistent yields, uneven quality, and a lack of market demand for the fruit. The continuous cultivation of orange orchards without crop rotation leads to rapid degradation, disease infestation, and negatively impacts the growth and development of the trees. Moreover, the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers has resulted in pesticide resistance, making diseases like citrus greening, yellowing leaves, root rot, canker, and scarring incurable.

Given the situation where many orange orchards are deteriorating and at risk of being cut down, in order to minimize losses for farmers and simultaneously increase the value of orange trees in the area, the unit is developing a pilot project to renovate and restore some orange orchards in the area. If successful, they will guide people to apply the project on a larger scale.

Mr. Ngo Hoang Linh - Director of the Center for Application of Advanced Science and Technology in Nghe An