Farmers lose income as guava trees die en masse

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyet's family in An Thanh Nhat commune, Cu Lao Dung district ( Soc Trang province) cultivates 8,000 square meters of 8-year-old queen guava. The guava garden grew very well, but from the beginning of the dry season 2023 - 2024, the trees began to dry up and die. Up to now, the number has reached 80% of the area. The remaining trees are also in a weakened state, showing signs of disease.

“Before, the tree was not sick, on average, we harvested 1.5 - 1.8 tons of fruit every 7 days. Now, it is less than 500kg, making it very difficult for our family to earn a living,” said Mr. Quyet.

Mr. Quyet said that despite all the treatments, the guava tree still died. He had to cut it down to plant other crops. It is expected that it will be another year before his family will have an income from the new crops.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyet cut down dead guava trees to plant new ones. Photo: Phuong Anh

Not far away, 6,000 square meters of queen guava trees of Mr. Nguyen Minh Luan in An Thanh Nhat commune, Cu Lao Dung district (Soc Trang province) are also infected with disease and dying.

“After only two harvests, the guava trees showed signs of disease. I bought many types of pesticides to spray on the trees and fertilized the roots, but they were ineffective. The trees gradually dried up and died. I cut down all the dead trees, so now there are no guava trees left in the garden,” said Mr. Luan.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cu Lao Dung district (Soc Trang province), the whole district has over 210 hectares of guava. According to preliminary statistics, over 80 hectares are infected with yellow leaf disease and tree death, which is common on the Queen guava variety. Of which, the infected area

Sick plants show poor growth, yellow leaves, some leaves have brown patches that dry out, and poor root development. Severe disease causes plants to be stunted, lose leaves gradually, and slowly die. Initially, infected plants often appear sporadically and then spread throughout the garden.

The disease appears on the leaves with brown spots that then dry and fall off gradually. Photo: Phuong Anh

Mr. Nguyen Van Dac - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cu Lao Dung district (Soc Trang province) said - The district's agricultural sector has also coordinated with the School of Agriculture ( Can Tho University) to take related samples on trees and soil for early testing to find the cause and come up with effective prevention and treatment methods, helping gardeners feel secure in their cultivation. At the same time, support gardeners in implementing technical solutions to prevent and control diseases on guava.

The district’s Department of Agriculture also recommends that when planting new trees on diseased guava land, people need to use disease-free seeds with clear origin. Absolutely do not use guava seeds of unknown origin or graft branches from diseased guava gardens to sell.

Roots of an infected guava tree. Photo: Phuong Anh — The root system of an infected guava tree. Photo: Phuong Anh

In addition to Cu Lao Dung district, guava tree deaths were also recorded in Ke Sach and Long Phu districts (Soc Trang province) with a total area of over 100 hectares.

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