Due to unfavorable weather, Quang Tien pink grapefruit (Nghe An) output decreased by about 50%.
(Baonghean) - At this time, households growing Quang Tien pink grapefruit in Thai Hoa are in the grapefruit harvest season. However, this year due to unfavorable weather, the fruit set rate is low, the output has decreased to 40 to 50% compared to previous years.
Mrs. Tran Thi Ly’s family in Doc Cao block, Quang Tien ward, Thai Hoa town has 50 Quang Tien pink grapefruit trees entering the fourth year of business. If last year the whole garden brought in 60 million VND, this year that number has dropped to only 15 to 20 million VND.
The reason for the decrease in grapefruit yield is due to acid rain during flowering, and drought during fruit setting, so grapefruit yield has decreased significantly. Mrs. Ly said: There has never been a year with a bad harvest like this year, in previous years there were a lot of fruits, but this year each tree has a few dozen fruits. Looking at the garden makes me sad, growers like us face many difficulties because our income depends a lot on growing grapefruit.
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| Ms. Tran Thi Ly in Doc Cao block, Quang Tien ward, Thai Hoa town harvests grapefruit. Photo: Quang Huy |
Mr. Truong Quang Viet's family in Trung Nghia block, Quang Tien ward, Thai Hoa town has been attached to pink grapefruit trees since 1993. Mr. Viet "holds" the experience of planting and caring for this plant variety in the palm of his hand.
However, this year, unfavorable weather has also caused the family's grapefruit yield to decrease by 50%. If in previous years, nearly 160 Quang Tien pink grapefruit trees yielded 3,000 - 3,500 fruits, earning nearly 100 million VND, this year it is estimated to only yield 40 - 50 million VND.
The family's grapefruit tree care process strictly follows the techniques and practical experience from many years ago, but due to unfavorable weather, this year's grapefruit yield has decreased sharply, the amount of fruit on the tree has only reached 50% compared to previous years.
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| Grapefruit productivity of households in Thai Hoa town only reached about 45% compared to previous years. Photo: QH |
The entire Thai Hoa town currently has nearly 100 hectares of Quang Tien pink grapefruit in the commercial period, planted mainly in Quang Tien ward, Nghia Tien commune, and Nghia Thuan commune. The grapefruit harvest time takes place from early August to late September.
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| This year's grapefruits are smaller and fewer than previous years. Photo: Quang Huy |
If in previous years the output of Quang Tien pink grapefruit reached 18 - 20 tons/ha, with an average selling price of 25 thousand VND/kg, this year's grapefruit crop is estimated to yield only about 8 tons per hectare. Thus, compared to previous years, grapefruit farmers in Thai Hoa town lost billions of VND, which greatly affected the income of growers of this specialty crop.
