People are devastated because oranges fell in disarray after the flood.

(Baonghean.vn) - Orange gardens full of fruit that are about to be harvested are deeply submerged in water, causing people in Quy Hop (Nghe An) to fall into a state of despair because of the mass fall of oranges.

From October 9 to 13, heavy rains over a large area in Nghe An province isolated many areas and villages, causing heavy damage to people and property. In the mountainous district of Quy Hop, many areas were isolated by floodwaters, including the orange orchard at Xuan Thanh farm, Minh Hop commune, which was also deeply submerged in floodwaters.

Many hectares of orange trees, which were about to be harvested, were flooded, causing most of the fruit to fall off, leaving people penniless. Photo: Phan Nguyen

“At the highest water level, the orange garden was flooded up to 1 meter. We could only stand and watch, not knowing what to do to save the oranges. It would have been about a month before we could harvest them, but now there is nothing left…”, an orange garden owner in Minh Hop commune, Quy Hop district lamented.

This season, the oranges are very fruitful, with some orange trees estimated to yield more than 100 kg. With the selling price ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 VND/kg, depending on the quality, each orange tree promises to yield about 3-4 million VND. However, before people could be happy, the flood came. The entire orange growing area in Minh Hop commune was flooded, at least 0.5m, lower gardens were flooded from 1-1.2m...

Oranges fell down and piled up. Photo: Phan Nguyen

“After the flood, when I visited the garden, I couldn’t help but feel sad. The oranges were scattered everywhere. The ones that had fallen earlier were swept away by the floodwaters and piled up in the ditches. The fruits on the trees suffered the same fate, just shaking them made them fall,” said Mr. Phan Thanh Tham in Minh Ho hamlet, Minh Hop commune.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Que, also residing in Minh Ho hamlet, Minh Hop commune, said: His family has about 3 hectares of oranges, mainly growing Xa Doai oranges. Orange trees take about 4 years to bear fruit, in addition to initial costs such as land preparation, seeds, etc., each first year requires an investment of about 100 million VND/ha. During the recent floods, many of his family's orange acreage were flooded, more than half of the oranges on the trees have fallen, the rest are still falling.

Nowadays, many trees only need a slight shake to cause the oranges to continue falling. Many orange garden owners are facing losses due to a failed orange crop. Photo: Phan Nguyen

Quy Hop district has 2,200 hectares of oranges, of which 1,200 hectares have been harvested, mainly growing orange varieties such as Xa Doai, Van Du, VI, V2... Only about 1 month to harvest but on the branches of the trees there are only a few fruits left. Looking at the thick amount of oranges falling under the tree roots, the farmers are extremely heartbroken.

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture of Quy Hop district, during the recent flood, about 288 hectares of fruit trees were flooded, mainly oranges, tangerines, lemons and grapefruits... The number of fruit trees is about to reach harvest time so the damage is very heavy.

Phan Nguyen