Caring for coffee plants for the new season.

a1(2).jpg — Farmers begin a new coffee season.

Coffee is one of the main crops of Lam Dong province. Thanks to coffee, many farmers in Lam Dong have become wealthy, building houses, buying cars, and providing for their children's education. Also thanks to this crop, many families who were previously struggling economically have now escaped poverty and risen to legitimate wealth on their own land. “In the 2025 coffee crop, the harvest was both bountiful and the prices were good, my family is very happy. Hopefully, with this early care, the coffee prices will remain high and stable in the 2026 crop so that we farmers don't waste our efforts in tending the coffee plantations,” shared Mr. Pham Van Nam, a farmer in Bao Lam 4 commune. Mr. Nam's family owns 1.2 hectares of coffee. Mr. Nam said that early care of the coffee plantation has many benefits. First of all, the plants recover their growth quickly. Furthermore, farmers save on fertilizer costs because diseased branches and branches that are no longer capable of flowering or bearing fruit in the next season have been pruned, so the coffee plants don't have to divert fertilizer to nourish these branches. In addition, early removal of diseased or unproductive branches helps to keep the coffee plantation airy, allowing for even light distribution, which facilitates photosynthesis. Moreover, sterilizing the soil, eliminating fungal diseases, fertilizing, composting, watering, and controlling pests and diseases in the early flowering stage are also easier and more convenient.

Another coffee farmer, Ms. Huynh Thi Mai from Ninh Gia commune, shared: "At the beginning of the dry season, water resources are abundant, making irrigation for the coffee plants very convenient." According to Ms. Mai, after harvesting, coffee plants need careful care. Unlike some other crops, this plant requires meticulous care to ensure a good harvest, high yields, and a bountiful season. Therefore, immediately after the 2025 harvest, Ms. Mai's family promptly began caring for their coffee plantation. Ms. Mai explained that each growth stage of the coffee plant requires a suitable care process. In the early stages of the dry season, coffee plants need sufficient nutrients and water to enter the period of flower bud differentiation, flowering, and nurturing young fruit. “After harvesting, my family usually uses bio-fertilizers, organic fertilizers, and well-rotted manure to fertilize the coffee plants, helping them recover quickly. Applying these fertilizers also increases soil aeration, enhances beneficial microorganisms in the soil, and limits harmful pathogens, helping the coffee plants absorb nutrients better,” Ms. Mai said.

According to Mr. Le Duy Hung, a coffee farmer in Gia Hiep commune, caring for and preventing pests and diseases in coffee plants before they flower is crucial. It determines the yield of the following season. “Coffee plants are very finicky. Careful and thorough care leads to high yields. Careless care results in low yields. Therefore, caring for the plants immediately after harvest is decisive,” Mr. Hung explained.

With aging coffee plantations, farmers in Lam Dong province are also carrying out land improvement to replant new coffee fields. Mr. K'Ton, a coffee farmer in Son Dien commune, said that the wage for one hour of tilling the land to improve the coffee plantation is 400,000 VND. “After improving the land, we will wait for the rainy season to come, then we will plant coffee. With the grafted coffee varieties we have now, after two years from planting, the coffee trees will start yielding a harvest,” Mr. K'Ton added.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/cham-ca-phe-cho-mua-vu-moi-422675.html