After the rain, dozens of hectares of guava trees in Nghia Dan suffered massive fruit drop.

Ms. Phan Thi Huyen, residing in Dong Dai hamlet, Nghia Khanh commune, said that this rain caused her nearly 20 million VND in losses. Photo: Minh Thai

During the prolonged rainfall in recent days, many guava orchards in Nghia Dan district have experienced mass guava fruit drop, especially in the communes of Nghia Lam, Nghia Son, Nghia Yen, Nghia Khanh, etc.

Visiting the guava orchard of Ms. Phan Thi Huyen's family in Dong Dai hamlet, Nghia Khanh commune, is heartbreaking. Nearly 1 hectare of her family's guava trees, intercropped with oranges, have been almost completely destroyed, with guavas falling from the trees and rotting.

Ms. Huyen said that her guava orchard has nearly 500 trees, with the smallest yielding over 30kg of fruit and the largest over 50kg. When it started raining, her family tried to harvest the guavas, but many were damaged, and they could only salvage about one-third of the trees. The total loss from this rain is estimated at nearly 20 million VND.

Taking advantage of the dry weather, Mr. Lo Van Thieu from Nghia Lam commune is selling off his entire guava orchard to cover the cost of plastic wrap for the guavas. Photo: Dinh Thuy

Following the recent prolonged heavy rains, many guava trees have started to wither, and the fruit is falling all over the orchards. Even a slight shake of the tree causes dozens of fruits to fall. Many guava growers in Nghia Dan are facing the dilemma of not being able to sell their fruit, especially at a time when many other fruits are also in season.

The family of Mr. Lo Van Thieu in Hamlet 13, Nghia Lam Commune, owns 4 sao (approximately 0.4 hectares) of guava trees. The recent rains have caused the guavas, which were ready for harvest, to become spongy and fall off. Currently, his family is trying to harvest them to salvage some of their labor and investment.

Mr. Thieu shared: "The heavy rain not only makes the guavas spongy but also reduces their sweetness; many wrapped guavas still spoil and fall off. No one buys them when it rains, so we take advantage of the sunny days to harvest and sell them, but there are few buyers because the guavas aren't as good. Compared to other guava orchards, our family's guavas are still sweeter, but we can only sell them for 5,000 VND/kg. Growing guavas requires a lot of labor, and since we don't use pesticides, we only have one person in the family dedicated to caring for and wrapping the guavas. However, the poor quality and low price don't compensate for the labor and the cost of the wrapping bags."

Farmers only manage to earn 1 to 2 million VND per sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of guava trees. Photo by Dinh Thuy.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hue's family in Nam Lam hamlet, Nghia Lam commune, said that they planted more than 1 sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of pink-fleshed guava. A month ago, the whole family focused on watering the trees because of the prolonged dry spell. This month, however, the long rainy days prevented them from harvesting the ripe guavas. Fortunately, they managed to harvest and sell them all during the sunny days, but the price was only 3,000 VND/kg, which is only 1/10 of the price at the end of last year.

Nghia Son commune is the first and also the main guava growing area in Nghia Dan district, with an area of ​​43 hectares. Therefore, farmers here have much more experience in growing guavas than in other places. However, according to the locals, no matter what they do, guavas in July are still of poor quality. This year is even more difficult due to early and prolonged rains, resulting in guavas that are not sweet and are more susceptible to pests and diseases. Guava orchards with a large quantity of ripe fruit in July are "crying" because the prices are too low.

Agricultural officials in Nghia Son commune (Nghia Dan district) instruct guava growers on proper fruit setting techniques. Photo: Dinh Thuy

Mr. Tran Quoc Hong, Chairman of the Nghia Son Commune Farmers' Association, said: "Guavas harvested in July are always cheaper than those in other seasons. Therefore, to minimize losses, farmers should harvest and discard the unripe fruits 2 to 3 months before they start to appear, leaving only a few fruits on the tree so that another crop of guavas, ripening around September or October, will have better quality and a higher selling price."

"According to experienced guava growers, the amount of fruit and the ripening time can be regulated by removing unripe fruit to encourage the next crop. This is also a technique that helps people minimize losses and avoid having too much fruit in July and August. We have also advised guava growers not to let too much fruit ripen during this season to minimize losses," added Mr. Tran Quoc Hong.

According to many guava orchard owners, given the current weather conditions, the guava fruit drop will continue in the coming days if it continues to rain, meaning even greater losses will occur.