People worry because peach blossoms bloom early

(Baonghean) - There are still more than 2 weeks left until Lunar New Year, but currently, peach gardens of people in Kim Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district have more than 80% of their area in full bloom, making people worried and restless.

The consecutive unusual floods in 2013 have greatly affected the growth and development of the peach garden of Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Toi's family - Dong Ban hamlet - Kim Thanh commune - Yen Thanh. Although after the floods, his family has made efforts and devoted time to fertilizing, the peach garden has gradually stabilized and developed well, he planned to keep the peach trees, using measures to force them to bloom to sell them in time for Tet. However, all efforts were wasted when the erratic rainy and sunny weather caused his family's peach garden to bloom not as expected. Mr. Toi said: Peach growers work hard all year long to take care of them in the hope of having more income at the end of the year, and a more fulfilling Tet, but this year the peach trees bloomed too early, my family and the neighbors suffered great losses. All the effort to care for the trees but no harvest, everyone is very discouraged.

Peach blossoms bloom early, Kim Thanh people lose crops on Lunar New Year occasion.

Not only Mr. Thanh's family but also more than 140 peach growing households in Dong Ban hamlet, Kim Thanh commune are facing the risk of losing the peach crop. According to the people here, the cause of this phenomenon is due to the erratic weather, at the beginning of the rainy season it is still hot and dry, but in the middle of the season there is too much rain causing the roots of the trees to be waterlogged, disrupting the biological rhythm of the peach trees, so they bloom early. Mr. Phan Tat Thanh - Dong Ban hamlet, Kim Thanh commune, said: Every year, around December 15, the peach trees lose their leaves, then bud and bloom, and we can cut them down and sell them during Tet. But this year, it has rained too much, and the peach trees are not suitable for water, so at the beginning of December, the peach trees have lost their leaves, bud and bloom, and people are very worried. Many households have also used all measures but cannot limit it, they can only helplessly watch the flowers bloom with their hearts in turmoil.

Since 2005, realizing that people's interest in playing with peach trees for Tet is increasing, farmers in Dong Ban hamlet have boldly propagated native peach trees and developed planting on 5 hectares of hill gardens, with households planting a few hundred trees, and many up to 1 hectare (equivalent to about 1,200 trees). On average, each branch costs 200,000 VND, so each year, people earn about 50 million VND, many households earn up to hundreds of millions VND, not to mention that there are trees with beautiful shapes, many buds and flowers that can be sold for millions of VND/tree. Kim Thanh peach trees have many beauties, because they are natural peach trees, pink in color, small petals, when blooming intertwined with each other, hiding a noble and charming look.

Therefore, Kim Thanh peach blossoms have gradually conquered peach players inside and outside the district, even reaching out to the provinces. Every year, around December 20, the whole village is bustling with buyers, sellers, motorbikes, cars from Nghi Loc district; Cua Lo; Vinh city to buy peach blossoms. However, this year the peach blossoms bloomed early, making people restless, many households with many years of experience in growing peach blossoms, but could only helplessly watch the peach blossoms bloom, feeling heartbroken. Mr. Nguyen Van Quan - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Kim Thanh commune - Yen Thanh said: Growing peach blossoms is a very effective profession... bringing in a huge income for farmers compared to some other types of trees. The annual revenue from peach blossoms in Kim Thanh is up to 400 - 500 million VND, contributing greatly to the local socio-economic development. But this year, the peach blossoms bloomed early, people were very sad, affecting their income during Tet, it was a difficult year for a poor mountainous commune like Kim Thanh.

This year, peach blossoms in Kim Thanh bloom earlier than usual. If this situation continues, by around December 25, there will be no peaches to sell, and people will suffer great losses. This is also a lesson for peach growers to gain more experience, especially mastering technical and biological factors to apply in practice.

Article and photos:Anh Tuan - Thai Hong

(Yen Thanh Radio Station)