The atmosphere of 'early Tet' (Vietnamese New Year) on the peach and kumquat orchards in An Duong.

These days, across the peach and kumquat orchards in An Duong (now An Duong and An Hai wards), farmers are busily working in the peak season to cultivate beautiful gardens to meet the demand for Tet (Lunar New Year).

Peach growers in An Duong are diligently tending to their trees to meet the demand during the Tet holiday.

Meticulous, like taking care of a newborn baby.

In the Dong Du peach orchards (An Duong ward), the atmosphere is much busier these days. Farmers are concentrating on the fields during the peak season, tending to their trees in preparation for selling them during Tet (Lunar New Year).

Examining each peach tree and checking for pests and diseases, Mr. Nguyen The Vinh, a peach tree grower here, said that this year his family cultivated 6 sao (approximately 0.6 hectares) with over 150 peach trees, aged 5-10 years, and nearly 200 peach trees for cuttings. At this time, the work of caring for the trees is becoming busier. Almost every day, Mr. Vinh is out in the fields checking for pests and diseases and pumping water for irrigation. The peach trees have just finished the pruning process and are ready for leaf stripping.

In the neighboring field, Mr. Do Chinh has over 30 years of experience in growing ornamental peach trees. Mr. Chinh shared that this is the crucial stage for having a beautiful peach orchard that blooms just in time for Tet (Lunar New Year). Peach trees are sensitive to weather conditions, so growers must constantly monitor and understand the weather to plan the appropriate leaf-pruning schedule. The weather from the beginning of winter until now has been quite stable. Warm sunshine during the day and cool nights are very suitable for peach tree growth, promising a successful year of production.

Mr. Do Chinh inspects peach orchards for Tet (Lunar New Year) in Dong Du field.

Normally at this time of year, peach tree growers in An Duong begin stripping the leaves so that the trees can "concentrate their energy" to sprout buds and bloom in time for Tet. However, this year's leap year extends the period by an extra month, so the leaf-stripping is expected to begin around the middle of next month.

Wishing you a successful farming year.

Besides being famous for peach blossom cultivation, kumquat trees are also a strong crop for the people of An Duong. This is also a time for special care for the kumquat orchards.

Listening to the news on a cassette player placed at the edge of his rice field, Mr. Vu Van Hung from Minh Kha residential area (An Hai ward) busily pruned, tied branches, and shaped the kumquat trees. This year, his family planted more than 200 kumquat trees. He was delighted because the kumquat trees in his field were bearing fruit evenly and had green leaves.

Mr. Vu Van Hung's kumquat orchards are all thriving.

Currently, Mr. Hung is focusing on pruning away undesirable fruits, reducing the number of fruits on the tree so that the remaining fruits are large, round, and glossy. At the points where the fruits are pruned, new shoots will sprout, flower, and bear fruit. By the time Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches, the tree will have ripe, green, and newly emerging fruits, along with white flowers, meeting the standards of a "four-season kumquat." In addition, he also sprays fungicides and insecticides, waters the tree appropriately, and fertilizes it to keep the leaves green and the fruit beautiful.

In An Duong, there are currently over 350 hectares dedicated to growing flowers and ornamental plants, mainly begonia, camellia, bougainvillea, peach blossoms, kumquat trees, gladioli, lilies, roses, chrysanthemums, etc. Among these, peach blossoms and kumquat trees are the strongest crops, well-known in the market for their many outstanding advantages over imported products from other places during Tet.

At this point, most of the peach and kumquat orchards in An Duong are thriving. In 2024, due to the impact of Typhoon Yagi , many households growing peach and kumquat trees in An Duong were left empty-handed as their orchards were destroyed by strong winds and withered due to flooding.

"This year, the growers are secretly rejoicing, hoping for favorable weather from now until Tet, with rain and wind, so that the flowers bloom at the right time to sell at a good price, making all the year's hard work worthwhile. On average, for each plot of land planted with peach and kumquat trees, if the harvest is good and prices are favorable, the farmers can earn several hundred million dong," shared Ms. Nguyen Thi Xe, a peach grower in Van Phong residential area (An Hai ward).

The peach orchard of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Xe's family in An Hai ward.

Along with its renowned quality, the An Duong flower-growing region has recently seen significant investment in infrastructure supporting production. Many flower and ornamental plant growers have boldly pooled their resources and labor to build concrete roads and extend electricity lines to their fields, better serving production needs.

Therefore, in many fields in An Duong today, buyers of peach and kumquat trees can drive directly to the fields to view, select, and transport the trees. More attention is being paid to promoting and introducing the products to further expand the brand of An Duong's ornamental peach and kumquat growing region.

NGOC LAN

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/khong-khi-tet-som-tren-dong-dao-quat-o-an-duong-529305.html