Nghe An: Prolonged hot weather causes dragon fruit and grapefruit to dry up and wither.
(Baonghean.vn) - Due to the extremely hot and continuous weather, many areas of dragon fruit, grapefruit, oranges... in Nghe An cannot bear fruit or the fruit is withered on the trees.
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| Mr. Nguyen Van Thai in Da Bia hamlet, Thanh Mai commune (Thanh Chuong) was heartbroken in front of his dragon fruit garden that was burnt by the heat. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
Mr. Nguyen Van Thai’s family in Da Bia hamlet, Thanh Mai commune, Thanh Chuong district has 800 red-fleshed dragon fruit pillars that have been planted for 4 years. The continuous heat in recent months has caused most of Mr. Thai’s dragon fruit pillars to dry out, the flowers to wither, and even if they bear fruit, they will not develop.
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| The prolonged hot weather makes it difficult for dragon fruit to bear fruit, or if it does, it won't grow. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
"Previous years were also hot, but this year the heat was higher and lasted for months, so most of the dragon fruit trees withered. Although the family tried their best to pump water, it was still not enough, the dragon fruit trees still withered, the yield of this crop was only about 40%."
Tam Quang Commune, Tuong Duong District is considered the "fire pan" of Nghe An, so many fruit trees have been damaged by the heat. Mr. Tong Van Chien in Bai So village, Tam Quang commune said that his family has 700 dragon fruit trees. Although he tried to take advantage of the well water source to pump water regularly, the dragon fruit still withered because the heat was too harsh.
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| Dragon fruit gardens are severely withered due to the heat. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
"This is the time when my family should harvest the second dragon fruit crop of the year, but due to the hot weather, the fruit cannot develop, so the season is extended, and the yield will decrease a lot compared to the first crop," Mr. Tong Van Chien shared.
Ms. Kha Thi Hien - Chairman of Tam Quang Commune People's Committee said that the locality has nearly 7 hectares of dragon fruit, the hot weather has caused the entire area of dragon fruit to wither, the yield of this second crop will decrease significantly. In addition to dragon fruit, other crops in the commune such as vegetables, beans, corn... have also been seriously affected.
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| The grapefruit garden of Ms. Giang Thi Tinh's family in Lang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district has withered due to the prolonged heat. Photo: Xuan Hoang |
Not only dragon fruit, many grapefruit, guava, orange gardens... in Thanh Chuong, Yen Thanh, Tan Ky... also withered due to the intense heat, some fruits even dried right on the branches.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection said: Nghe An currently has 22,831 hectares of fruit trees of all kinds, including 8,900 hectares of citrus trees. The severe heat and high temperatures in recent months have caused about 6,000 hectares of fruit trees of all kinds to suffer from severe drought and wither, affecting the growth and productivity of the trees. The most severely damaged trees are oranges, grapefruits, guavas, dragon fruits, especially in areas where irrigation water is not available. If the hot weather continues in the coming time, many areas of fruit trees will die.
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| Many guava areas in Nghia Dan and Quy Hop cannot avoid drying out due to the hot weather. If the hot weather continues, many guava trees will dry up and die. Photo: Xuan Hoang |