New rubber varieties adapted to storms will be planted in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - In the past 7 years, rubber growers in Nghe An have suffered 2 storms, hundreds of hectares of rubber trees have been damaged; there is a need for new rubber tree varieties that can adapt to storms to limit damage to people.

Mr. Dang Van Thanh sadly stands in front of his rubber garden destroyed by storm No. 2. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Standing in front of a rubber plantation that had just collapsed after storm No. 2, Mr. Dang Van Thanh, Tan Thai hamlet, Tan Phu commune (Tan Ky) was sad: After 7 years of planting and caring for it, his family thought they had a stable income from 1.1 hectares of rubber, but unexpectedly, after just 1 night of wind and storm, almost all of the nearly 600 rubber trees collapsed, with no chance of recovery.

Seven years ago, this same rubber plantation was completely destroyed by a storm in 2010. His family invested in replanting it, but who would have thought it would be destroyed by the storm again. Now, all they can do is cut it down and sell it for firewood, but no customers have come to buy it yet so they haven't cut it down yet.

Rubber trees over 7 years old in Tan Phu commune, Tan Ky district were uprooted by storm No. 2. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to Mr. Thanh, Song Con Agricultural Company Limited needs to find a solution to switch to other crops, instead of planting rubber again, for fear of another storm. To plant 1 hectare of rubber, people invest about 30 million VND, and after 5-6 years they can exploit it, and if a storm hits, they will be left with nothing. Mr. Thanh believes that the company needs to find a new rubber variety that can withstand storms so that people can feel secure in planting rubber.

Next to it is the 12-year-old rubber plantation of Mrs. Phan Thi Lien's family, which also had many trees broken. Mrs. Lien said: After checking, the rate of broken trees accounted for over 50% of the total number of trees, the family will ask the company to liquidate the entire rubber plantation. As for what trees to plant instead, we will wait for the agreement between the company and the people.

Ms. Le Thi Thuy, Yen Thai team, Tan Phu commune, has 2 hectares of rubber trees. The first year of tapping, 1.3 hectares were broken by the storm. The small trees that fell were cut down for firewood, the big trees were sold to traders for timber, the trees that could be restored were cut down, and the branches were used to prop them up. However, the restored trees will have reduced productivity because their root systems are unstable.

Mrs. Le Thi Thuy and her husband were heartbroken when they had to cut branches to restore rubber trees that had been blown over by storm winds. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Pham Ngoc Minh, team leader of Thai Yen team (Song Con Agricultural Company Limited) shared: After the storm, he and the rubber garden owners counted the damage specifically for each family, reported to the Company's leaders to find solutions. Thai Yen team has 24.5 hectares of rubber trees in exploitation and 67 hectares of rubber trees in the construction phase, in general, all gardens were damaged, depending on the level.

According to data from Song Con Agricultural Company Limited, the unit has more than 215 thousand commercial rubber trees/537.59 ha and 336 ha of basic rubber construction with 151 thousand trees. Of which, more than 86 thousand tall trees during business were broken, uprooted (equivalent to about 200 ha) and more than 60 thousand basic rubber construction trees were broken (equivalent to 150 ha).

Mr. Phan Thanh Hung - Director of Song Con Agricultural Company Limited said: The company will liquidate areas with 50% or more of damaged trees, initially helping sugarcane growers stabilize their lives; areas with less than 50% of broken trees will be guided to restore. However, to ensure the provincial People's Committee's planning of 1,000 hectares of rubber, the company will continue to have policies to encourage and motivate people to plant new rubber trees on other land.

Mr. Hung said: To cope with storms, the company will find new rubber varieties that are adapted to storms and supply them to farmers. Currently, some southern provinces have planted rubber varieties that can withstand storms and are effective.

According to the report of Tan Ky District People's Committee, the recent storm No. 2 caused 897 hectares of rubber trees in the district to collapse at a rate of 30 - 70%.

X.Hoang - Quang An