Anh Son farmers save tea after the rain

(Baonghean.vn) - After the severe heat wave, heavy rain has continuously occurred in Anh Son district over the past few days. These golden rains have helped hundreds of hectares of tea avoid drying out due to drought, while also providing additional irrigation water to help many burnt tea areas recover.

After the rain, we arrived at the tea hills of Team 29, Long Son Commune, Anh Son. Some tea hills were completely green, while others were just sprouting.

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Lien in tea team 29, Long Son takes care of tea.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Nhu Lien in tea team 29, Long Son commune, Anh Son has more than 1 hectare of industrial tea. The recent heat wave caused more than half of his family's tea area to die, the rest was also severely burned. The estimated damage is up to 60-70 million VND. Thanks to the long rains in the past few days, his family's tea field has been somewhat saved. After the rain, new tea buds have begun to sprout, replacing the black color of the newly burned tea branches.

Many tea areas were rescued after the golden rains.

Mr. Lien shared. "The golden rains are precious, but if the rains come about half a month earlier, more tea areas can be saved." He also added: To take care of the burnt tea area, my family has prepared 6 tons of fertilizer, and when the soil dries in a few days, we will add fertilizer to help the tea plants recover quickly.

However, not all tea areas have recovered after the rain. Nguyen Thi Lieu’s family in Team 29, Long Son Commune has 0.5 hectares of tea with only a few tea trees remaining that can withstand the prolonged drought.

However, many tea areas cannot be restored due to severe damage.

Ms. Lieu sadly said: “It rained heavily but because the tea area was dead, it could not recover, so my family lost this year's tea crop. Losing our source of income, we don't know where we will get the money to replant new tea. Meanwhile, growing tea requires money for seeds, fertilizers and even digging trenches. And 3 years later, if there is no drought, the tea area will be harvested."

Mr. Nguyen Cong The - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Anh Son district said: During the recent drought, 300 hectares of tea died, mainly newly planted tea areas in 2013 and 2014. The affected commercial tea area was 1,500 hectares. Immediately after the rain, Anh Son district directed the district's Department of Agriculture to inspect the actual situation in the tea areas, instructing people to focus on care, nitrogen fertilizer, and repair the damaged tea areas. For the dead tea areas, people were instructed to continue planting new tea to ensure the raw material area in the area.

Heavy rains have helped cool down many tea areas in Anh Son district, however, the area of ​​dead tea is still very large. Anh Son people hope that authorities at all levels will have a support mechanism to help them replant the tea areas that died after the drought.

Huyen Trang

Anh Son