Quy Hop orange orchard now grows sugarcane and corn

Clip: Van Truong

Coming to Vinh orange area in Quy Hop district at the end of September, there are no longer scenes of orange gardens laden with fruit, but instead, there are vast fields of sugarcane, corn and other crops. Here and there, there are still some orange gardens that are not taken care of by anyone, overgrown with grass, the fruit is only slightly larger than a lemon, and tastes sour.

bna_van truong 5.JPG — In the orange growing area of Minh Hop commune (Quy Hop), there are now only a few scattered orange gardens left. Photo: Van Truong

Driving along the winding asphalt road to the sugarcane fields, we saw many farmers hoeing and tending to the sugarcane. Ms. Nguyen Lan - a resident of Minh Hop commune - showed us the hills that used to be vast orange growing land, but have now become hills for growing short-term crops such as sugarcane and biomass corn.

“If we continue to maintain 2 hectares of orange orchards, the annual cost of fertilization will be hundreds of millions of VND, not enough to recover the capital, so switching to growing sugarcane to both improve the soil and generate additional income is the right direction. Thanks to introducing new varieties and proper technical care, sugarcane has a high yield, reaching over 85 tons/ha…”, Ms. Lan shared.

bna_van truong 1.JPG — Oranges in Quy Hop are degenerating and getting smaller day by day. Photo: Van Truong

In addition to growing sugarcane, people in the orange growing area of Minh Hop commune also grow biomass corn, custard apples, tea and some other crops. A representative of Xuan Thanh Agricultural One Member Co., Ltd. said: Previously, at its peak, the unit had nearly 900 hectares of various oranges and PQ tangerines. Due to the increasing incidence of pests and diseases in oranges, the unit has gradually switched to other crops.

Specifically, in 2021, the unit converted from oranges to sugarcane and corn 192 hectares, in 2022 it was 350 hectares and in 2023 it was 199 hectares, the total converted area was 712 hectares, currently there are about 40 hectares of oranges and tangerines that people are continuing to convert. From 2022, the unit also boldly converted to experimental planting of 4 hectares of high-yield tea variety PH8. 18 months after planting, this tea variety will yield 10 - 12 tons of tea buds/ha/year.

Some people in the orange growing area of Minh Hop commune (Quy Hop) confided: In difficult times, oranges are dying, but corn and sugarcane have stable productivity and output, which is very good.

bna_van truong mnbv.jpeg — Farmers in Minh Hop commune, converting land from orange trees to sugarcane. Photo: Phan Giang

Also in Minh Hop commune, 3/2 Agriculture Joint Stock Company, which previously had over 750 hectares of oranges, has since 2020 converted to growing over 700 hectares of sugarcane. Thanks to introducing new varieties and applying the correct technical process, sugarcane has achieved a fairly high yield of over 80 tons/ha.

Mr. Quan Vi Giang - Vice Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee said: At its peak, Quy Hop district's orange area had over 3,000 hectares, but due to orange degradation, the orange area was converted to sugarcane and corn, now there are only about 80 hectares of oranges. Most of the remaining orange areas are of poor quality, and the district is directing people to convert to other crops.

bna_van truong 4.JPG — Quy Hop orange area is also converted to grow biomass corn. Photo: Van Truong

The purpose of converting from growing oranges to growing short-term crops is to improve the soil, eradicate pests and diseases, and in about 4-5 years, the orange growing area can be restored.

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