Orange gardens with mosquito nets full of fruit in Nghe An

Visitorange gardenVisiting the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, Hamlet 1, Thanh Duc Commune (Thanh Chuong) in the first days of the new year, we were surprised by the orange trees laden with fruit, shiny yellow, many of which were covered by a large layer of net. This measure of protecting oranges by hanging nets has been applied by Ms. Huong in recent years, bringing about clear results.

Ms. Huong said: Orange is a difficult tree, requires a lot of care, especially because orange has a fragrant, sweet taste, so many insects come to bore into the fruit. If using pesticides to kill insects, it will affect the quality of oranges and is not safe for consumers. Therefore, she decided to groworganic oranges, take care of with biological products, especially with insects and pests, she covers and wraps the fruit to protect it.

With 2,200 Xa Doai orange trees that are now 7 years old, Ms. Huong has experimented with using mosquito nets to prevent pests and diseases on about 500 orange trees. Although the cost is not cheap, to produce quality orange products, investment is required.

“On average, each screen will cover an orange tree, the market price is 250,000 VND/screen. The cost of the screen alone is more than 120 million VND, which is not cheap. However, in return, the oranges are well protected, the number of fallen fruits has decreased significantly, and my family no longer needs to use pesticides…”, Ms. Huong confided.

In addition to the 500 orange trees covered with mosquito nets, Ms. Huong also wrapped each fruit in paper bags for the remaining trees. This method is less expensive, each paper bag costs 500 VND. Up to now, the oranges are still growing well and are popular in the market.

The practice of covering oranges with nets has also been applied by orange growers in Anh Son district in recent years. Mr. Tran Minh Dinh, Dinh Son commune has 250 Xa Doai orange trees with golden hearts. This is the third year his family has applied the practice of covering oranges with nets after seeing clear results in previous years.

“The pests that damage oranges are fruit flies and stink bugs. These two insects come to bore into the fruit every fruiting season. If these insects sting oranges, they will leave bruises on the fruit, which will then spread outwards, rot, and fall off very quickly. Therefore, covering the oranges with a screen to prevent them from entering is the most feasible solution…”, Mr. Dinh said.

In May, when the oranges begin to bear fruit, Mr. Dinh’s family begins to hang mosquito nets. When the cold winter comes, these insects disappear, and it is time for him to take down the nets to prepare for the harvest season.

Although each screen costs from 200,000 to 300,000 VND, if you buy a good one, you can use it for 2-3 crops, which also helps people save money and effort compared to spraying pesticides like before. In particular, oranges covered with screen always have an eye-catching appearance, beautiful skin, no insect bites, and are popular in the market.

Currently, Nghe An province has 1,820 hectares of oranges, a sharp decrease compared to before (nearly 6,000 hectares at peak). However, of the current area, up to 50% of the orange area is still degraded. The area of ​​quality oranges is currently only concentrated in some areas such as Thanh Chuong, Nghi Loc, Anh Son, Con Cuong, Yen Thanh... The key orange areas in the past such as Quy Hop, Nghia Dan, Tan Ky... are now almost gone.

Therefore, organic farming, ensuring safe development for orange trees and avoiding degradation is a must to maintainVinh orange specialty, and using mosquito nets for oranges is also an effective method that needs to be widely replicated./.