Melons in greenhouses in Nghe An die due to 'heat shock'
After the flood receded and the sun was strong, thousands of melon plants suffered heat shock and wilted, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage.
The heavy rains at the end of September caused many areas of crops to be flooded, including many areas of greenhouses. After the water receded, the strong sunlight caused heat shock, thousands of melon plants died, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage.
Mr. Nguyen Kim Nam’s household (Nam Anh commune, Nam Dan district) rented land in Hung Tien commune (Nam Dan district) to build a greenhouse to grow melons. During the flood in September, his 2,000m2 greenhouse was flooded, leaving 2,500 melon plants submerged in water.
Of which, half of the area had been harvested in advance, while the remaining 1,000 square meters were heavily flooded. After the water receded, the strong sunlight shocked the melon plants, causing their leaves to gradually wilt, their stems to turn yellow, and then they died.
Mr. Nam said: “Due to the sudden temperature difference and heavy rain, the melon plants withered and died. Meanwhile, the melons were only about 80% ripe and not yet sweet and flavorful. But the melon plants had died at the roots, forcing the greenhouse to harvest them quickly, not only reducing productivity and output but also sharply reducing prices.”
Currently, Mr. Nam is mobilizing workers to harvest the melons, the market price is 25,000 VND/kg, only half of the previous price. "Nearly 3 tons of melons, many fruits fell, productivity decreased and now the selling price has decreased by half, the estimated loss is nearly 100 million VND", Mr. Nam sadly said.
Mr. Nam's wish is that authorities at all levels have practical and timely support policies, such as providing preferential loan packages with low interest rates, supporting debt rescheduling, and reducing interest rates for current loans to restore production after natural disasters.