In Bu Gia Map district, where the cashew growing area is nearly 25 thousand hectares, people are worried, there are only a few fruits on the trees even though this is the time to enter the main season.
Good price, bad harvest
This year, cashew prices are high, reaching 36,000 VND/kg at the beginning of the season. Farmers are excited and expect a warm cashew crop. However, at this point, although it is just the beginning of the main season, many gardeners share the same opinion that this year farmers are facing a failed cashew crop.
4- hectare cashew garden of Ms. Be Thi Tuyen's family In Cau Sat village, Bu Gia Map commune, Bu Gia Map district, the fruit set rate is very low.
The 4-hectare cashew garden of Ms. Be Thi Tuyen's family in Cau Sat hamlet, Bu Gia Map commune, Bu Gia Map district is likely to not be able to cover expenses this year. Up to this point, the amount of seeds harvested is insignificant, while the fruits on the trees are only scattered, many trees have almost no fruit. Ms. Tuyen said that during the Lunar New Year, the cashew garden bloomed beautifully, but after Tet, there were consecutive unseasonal rains accompanied by pests and diseases such as caterpillars, mosquito bugs, thrips, etc. attacking, causing the flowers to dry out and young fruits to fall all over the ground.
“Visiting the garden and seeing the trees with dry flowers and falling fruit, I felt so sorry. My husband and I tried everything to save the trees, even spraying pesticides four times, but it still didn’t work. This year, we probably won’t be able to make enough money to cover expenses,” Ms. Tuyen lamented.
While harvesting and cleaning up the cashew garden, Mr. Dieu Hiep in Hamlet 4, Dak O Commune, Bu Gia Map District regretted his family's grafted cashew garden. Mr. Hiep said: With the amount of flowers and young fruits like before Tet, it is estimated that his family's cashew garden would yield at least 2 tons/ha. However, after just a few rains, the flowers dried up and the young fruits almost all fell off. When visiting the garden, my wife and I were extremely sad.
Although it is the main crop season, the cashew garden of Mr. Dieu Hiep in village 4, Dak O commune, Bu Gia Map district does not yield much income. In the photo : Mr. Hiep takes advantage of the opportunity to clean the garden to facilitate harvesting as well as prevent fires during the dry season.
“From old low-yield cashew trees, my family switched to grafted cashew trees. Every year, we take care of them and fertilize them, and when they flower and bear fruit, we spray them with chemicals 3-4 times. This year, at the beginning of the season, we saw that the cashew prices were higher, but before we could be happy, we had a bad harvest…”, Mr. Hiep shared.
According to local people, this year the cashew trees bloomed beautifully at the beginning of the season, with many young fruits, so everyone expected a bumper crop. However, after Tet, the province experienced consecutive unseasonal rains, causing the cashew flowers to dry out and the young fruits to fall. According to the reporter's observations, many cashew gardens were deserted, with not a single person in sight. There were only a few ripe fruits on the trees, even though this was the main season.
According to agricultural experts, the situation of dry cashew orchards and fruit loss is partly due to unfavorable weather, the main cause is pests such as: mosquito bugs, aphids, thrips, and fruit borers.
Mr. Phan Van Ha, Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Bu Gia Map District, said: Cashew gardens have dry flowers and fruit drop partly due to unfavorable weather, the main cause is pests such as: mosquito bugs, aphids, thrips, fruit borers. To limit the phenomenon of dry flowers and young fruit drop, farmers need to regularly visit the garden, detect pests early to have timely prevention measures.
According to Mr. Ha, people should spray pesticides to prevent pests and diseases on cashew trees at least 2-3 times during the flowering and fruiting period. The spraying process should be carried out in the early morning or cool afternoon. At the same time, combine with foliar fertilizer to enhance the ability to flower and fruit, limit the phenomenon of flower and young fruit falling.
Struggling to find a solution
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam's 6-hectare cashew garden in Thac Dai hamlet, Phu Van commune, Bu Gia Map district has almost lost everything this year. After the district's agricultural department directly inspected the garden, it was discovered that, in addition to unseasonal rains, thrips were the cause of the cashew garden's dry flowers and fruit loss.
According to Mr. Nam, his family's cashew garden has had a poor harvest for many years, even though he fertilizes, trims, and sprays pesticides every year. For example, this year, he hired someone to spray pesticides five times but still couldn't save it. "Now, switching to other crops means waiting five years for a harvest. Not to mention, if you want to switch, you need capital, choose crops suitable for the soil, and know the techniques for planting and caring for them. In general, it's very difficult!" - Mr. Nam confided.
Director of Bu Gia Map District Agricultural Service Center Phan Van Ha shared: Currently, the district's cashew growing area is nearly 25 thousand hectares. Last year's crop, the cashew yield here fluctuated from 1-1.2 tons/ha, the average selling price was about 24 thousand VND/kg. This year, the price improved but people fell into a crop failure.
According to Mr. Ha, with the refrain of "good price, bad harvest, good harvest, bad price", even bad harvest and falling prices often occur, causing many households to switch from cashew trees to other crops with higher economic efficiency. Through preliminary information, in 2024, people have converted about 600 hectares of cashew trees to grow fruit trees, gourd trees and some other crops.
“In changing the crop structure, in addition to paying attention to suitable soil quality and ensuring water sources, people need to pay attention to techniques. The application of science and technology must be ensured in the direction of safety and quality. The production process needs to be responsive to market demands, signing contracts with businesses to ensure product output, avoiding the old mistake of “planting tightly, planting tightly” - Mr. Ha advised.
Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/4/170397/thap-thom-mua-dieu
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