Nghe An: Many 'royal' orange gardens worry about losing Tet

Golden-heart Cam Xa Doai in Nghi Dien commune,Nghi Loc districtis the most expensive orange variety in Nghe An. With its characteristic delicious flavor and scarce output on the market, the price of this royal orange during harvest season can reach 70,000 - 80,000 VND/fruit and is always in a state of "out of stock", especially during Tet.

Many orange gardens in Nghi Dien commune, Nghi Loc district lost fruit en masse after recent rains. Photo: QA

Despite owning expensive orange gardens, most orange growers in Nghi Dien commune, Nghi Loc district are not happy at this time. The reason is that after the recent floods, the Xa Doai orange gardens have lost fruit in large numbers, many households are worried about losing Tet after a year of hard work.

Mr. Pham Minh Tien's family in Phuong Son hamlet, Nghi Dien commune has 70 Xa Doai orange trees with golden hearts that have begun to be harvested. Many customers in the localities have contacted him to place orders for Tet since early December, however, he does not dare to promise to supply enough oranges for customers like previous years.

The number of oranges of Mr. Tien's family is currently only 50% compared to previous years. Photo: QA

Mr. Tien sighed: The rains in October and November were so heavy that my orange garden was flooded for many days and the water receded slowly. After about 2 weeks, the oranges started to show signs of falling. Up to now, many trees have lost up to 50% of their fruit. Some trees that used to produce 200-300 fruits a year now only produce about 50-70. Never before has an orange garden suffered such heavy damage...

Not far away, Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong's family also had a "headache" because there was no way to stop the fruit from falling. Mr. Cuong said that the characteristic of orange trees is that the roots cannot withstand flooding; the family had carefully calculated a drainage plan for the orange garden, but during the recent heavy rains, the water could not drain in time because everywhere was flooded. After the water receded, the family also actively cleaned, fertilized, spread lime... but it was ineffective, the number of fallen fruits was more than the ones still hanging on the trees.

Orange trees are whitewashed to prevent insects and pests after rain. Photo: QA

That is also the common situation of dozens of orange growing households in Nghi Dien commune at this time. Mr. Phan Cong Duong - Chairman of Nghi Dien commune People's Committee said: The whole commune has about 30 hectares of Xa Doai oranges, planted scattered in hamlets, concentrated in Phuong Son and Quyet Thang hamlets... According to a local survey, currently up to 60% of the orange area in the area has lost fruit en masse after floods, the amount of oranges supplied to the market this year certainly cannot be equal to previous years.

"It is worth mentioning that the quality of oranges has also decreased compared to previous years. The locality has also sent a report to the district and other units to find solutions to improve the orange gardens, especially as Tet is approaching..." - Mr. Duong emphasized.

Currently, people are focusing all their efforts on taking care of the orange trees that are still able to grow; focusing on whitewashing the tree trunks to prevent mold, wrapping the fruit to limit insects, and minimizing the possibility of falling. At the same time, they are proactively preventing diseases that often appear after floods such as ulcers, stem canker or yellow leaf and root rot...

For the remaining oranges, people are focusing on wrapping and taking care of them so they can keep them for sale during the upcoming Tet holiday. Photo: QA

Currently, not only Xa Doai oranges in Nghi Dien commune but also other orange growing areas in the province have been severely affected by the recent floods, so it is expected that this year's supply will decrease sharply, and the price of oranges will therefore also increase compared to previous years, partially compensating for the damage.