People are devastated as oranges fall off the trees in droves after the floods.

(Baonghean.vn) - Orange orchards laden with fruit, almost ready for harvest, have been submerged in water, leaving people in Quy Hop (Nghe An) in dire straits as oranges are falling off the trees en masse.

From October 9th to 13th, heavy rains across Nghe An province caused widespread flooding, isolating many areas and villages, resulting in significant loss of life and property. In the mountainous district of Quy Hop, many areas were cut off by floodwaters, including the orange orchard at Xuan Thanh farm in Minh Hop commune, which was also deeply submerged.

Many hectares of orange groves, nearing harvest time, were flooded, causing almost all the fruit to fall off, leaving farmers penniless. Photo: Phan Nguyen

“At the highest water level, the orange orchards were flooded up to 1 meter, and all we could do was stand and watch, not knowing how to save the trees. We were supposed to be able to harvest them in about a month, but now there’s nothing left…”, lamented an orange orchard owner in Minh Hop commune, Quy Hop district.

This year, the orange trees are bearing a lot of fruit, with some trees estimated to yield over 100 kg. With selling prices ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 VND/kg, depending on quality, each tree promises to yield around 3-4 million VND. However, before the people could even celebrate, floods struck. The entire orange-growing area in Minh Hop commune was submerged, with water levels reaching at least 0.5m, and lower-lying orchards flooded to 1-1.2m…

Oranges fell and piled up. Photo: Phan Nguyen

“After the flood, when I visited my orchard, I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. Oranges had fallen everywhere. Those that had fallen earlier were swept into the ditches by the floodwaters and piled up. The oranges on the trees shared the same fate; they would fall off with just a slight shake,” said Mr. Phan Thanh Tham from Minh Ho hamlet, Minh Hop commune.

Nguyen Huu Que, also residing in Minh Ho hamlet, Minh Hop commune, said: His family owns about 3 hectares of orange trees, mainly planted with the Xa Doai variety. Orange trees bear fruit after about 4 years. Besides initial costs such as land preparation and seedlings, the first year requires an investment of about 100 million VND per hectare. During the recent floods, many of his family's orange trees were submerged, and more than half of the oranges on the trees have fallen, with the rest still continuing to drop.

Currently, many trees are so damaged that oranges continue to fall off with just a slight shake. Many orange orchard owners are facing losses due to crop failure. Photo: Phan Nguyen

Quỳ Hợp district has 2,200 hectares of orange groves, of which 1,200 hectares are already producing fruit, mainly planted with varieties such as Xã Đoài, Vân Du, VI, V2… Harvest is only about a month away, but only a few scattered oranges remain on the branches. Seeing the large number of fallen oranges under the trees, the farmers feel immense sorrow.

According to statistics from the Quy Hop District Department of Agriculture, approximately 288 hectares of fruit trees were submerged during the recent floods, mainly oranges, tangerines, lemons, and pomelos… Many of these fruit trees were nearing harvest time, resulting in significant damage.

Phan Nguyen