Nghe An farmers put 'armor' to protect grapefruit from the sun

All 7,000 grapefruits in the garden of Mr. Dau Tien Sy and his wife in Thanh Binh hamlet, Tan An commune are covered with "armor" to protect them from the sun. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Old farmer Dau Tien Sy in Thanh Binh hamlet, Tan An commune, Tan Ky district is experienced in developing garden economy. Therefore, in his garden there are many types of fruit trees such as: grapefruit, tangerine, guava... On these long hot days, entering his grapefruit garden, you can feel the green color of the branches and leaves, each fruit is covered with a pure white "armor".

Mr. Dau Tien Sy said that each "armor" to cover a grapefruit costs 1,500 VND. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Old farmer Dau Tien Sy said that his family's grapefruit garden has 120 grapefruit trees of Quang Tien pink grapefruit and green-skin grapefruit varieties. When the grapefruit is as big as a chicken egg, it must be covered with "armor". The cost for each "armor" is 1,500 VND/piece, with 7,000 grapefruits, he invested over 10 million VND.

“This type of fruit packaging is very cheap but helps prevent the fruit from drying out due to the intense heat, and also helps prevent some harmful insects. During the hot season, almost every orchard owner uses this method to protect their fruit,” said old farmer Dau Tien Sy.

Each grapefruit is covered with a white "armor", creating a beautiful picture in the grapefruit garden. Photo: Xuan Hoang

He added that to ensure the grapefruit garden stays green during the harsh drought, the family uses organic fertilizer made from bean powder and regularly pumps water to irrigate, thus maintaining high humidity and helping the grapefruit trees grow well.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Trung - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Ky district said that the whole district currently has 90 hectares of grapefruit and 190 hectares of orange. To protect the trees and fruits from being affected by the heat, people find many ways to water them and especially for grapefruit, they use cloth bags to cover them, with two purposes: to prevent insects from invading and damaging them and to avoid sunburn on extremely hot days.

Currently, in Tan Ky area, there are nearly 90 hectares of green-skinned grapefruit, Phuc Trach grapefruit and Quang Tien pink grapefruit, all of which are well cared for by the people. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Not only grapefruit, gardeners in Tan Ky, Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Con Cuong... also invest in "armor" cages for guava to prevent insects, worms and direct sunlight from damaging the guava.