Thanh Chuong farmers "put up mosquito nets" to protect oranges

Mr. Truong Xuan Duong's family in Suong hamlet, Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong) has 3 hectares of oranges ready for harvest. All the oranges that have produced fruit are covered by large curtains from top to bottom. According to Mr. Duong, the time to hang the curtains for the oranges is when they are almost ripe and give off a fragrant smell. At that time, many types of insects and worms gather in the orange garden to "sting".

"Previously, when the harvest season was near, insects would sting and rot the oranges, making it very difficult for us because we had to use pesticides and work all night to kill and repel the insects. However, since we started using mosquito nets on the oranges, the efficiency has improved significantly. The oranges not only retain their flavor but are also clean because there are no pesticide residues," added Mr. Duong.

Many orange growing areas in Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong) are covered with mosquito nets to prevent damage from insects. Photo: Huu Thinh

Just like Mr. Truong Xuan Duong's family, to protect more than 1,000 orange trees from pests, Mr. Vo Van Hoan's family in Suong hamlet, Thanh Duc commune, also spent tens of millions of dong to "put up mosquito nets" for the oranges. Mr. Hoan said: To prevent the oranges from rotting and spoiling without having to use pesticides, my family spent 70 million dong to buy mosquito nets to cover the entire area.

The act of covering the oranges with nets initially caught the attention of many people in the commune. Everyone found it strange because up until now, people only killed insects to protect the oranges by shaking hands, spraying pesticides, using light bulbs, covering the fruit with plastic bags... but no one had ever "put nets" on the oranges.

But after a year of implementation, people can see the effectiveness of the net covering. Although the initial investment is a bit high, especially the cost of buying nets and hiring people to cover the oranges, the effect is very good, 100% of the orange area is protected safely. No need to use pesticides but the oranges are still not damaged by insect stings.

Therefore, Mr. Duong and Mr. Hoan are just two of many households that have boldly invested in orange protection equipment in Thanh Duc commune. Because in order to develop the local orange material area and gradually create a brand in the market, households all focus on increasing the productivity and output of orange trees in a clean direction from planting to harvesting.

Thanks to being covered with nets, 100% of the orange area is safely protected from insects. Photo: Huu Thinh

Up to now, Thanh Duc commune has over 100 hectares of oranges of all kinds. In which all households with large orange acreage have implemented the "netting" model for oranges; because in reality, this is a crop that brings high economic efficiency to the people. Thanks to orange trees, people's lives are stable and improve every year.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Son - Vice Chairman of Thanh Duc Commune People's Committee, Thanh Chuong District said: In addition to strengthening training, we guide people to properly implement the care process, especially when the oranges have fruit, absolutely do not use pesticides to ensure the product is clean, with the motto of growing oranges associated with the health of consumers. Only then can Tong Doi oranges expand their market throughout the country.

Mr. Tran Phi Hung - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Thanh Chuong district affirmed:Covering orange trees with nets is a new solution applied in Thanh Chuong district with high efficiency. In the coming time, we will instruct communes in the orange and grapefruit growing areas to learn and replicate it.