Grapefruit garden increased 20% yield, beautiful, sweet fruit, reduced costs thanks to weaver ants

THANH HOA Since raising weaver ants, Mr. Mao's grapefruit garden is very clean of harmful organisms, no longer has to spray pesticides, grapefruit productivity has increased, the fruit is beautiful and delicious.

THANH HOA Since raising weaver ants, Mr. Mao's grapefruit garden is very clean of harmful organisms, no longer has to spray pesticides, grapefruit productivity has increased, the fruit is beautiful and delicious.

In today’s market, the demand for delicious and safe fruits grown organically is increasing. This poses a significant challenge for farmers in applying effective pest control measures without affecting the health of crops and the quality of post-harvest products.

One of the measures being applied by many Thanh Hoa farmers to protect crops and improve product quality and productivity is raising weaver ants to control certain pests.

Mr. Mao's grapefruit garden is full of fruit thanks to the "bodyguard" weaver ants. Photo: Quoc Toan.

Mr. Trinh Dinh Mao (born in 1987 in Trinh Xa 1 village, Yen Ninh commune, Yen Dinh district, Thanh Hoa province) is quite young but is ranked as a big farmer in Thanh Hoa. In addition to 10 hectares of rice, Mr. Mao also owns a 1.5-hectare Dien grapefruit garden that is in harvest season.

Like many farmers in the commune, Mr. Mao used to mainly use chemical fertilizers to fertilize his crops. Mr. Mao calculated: "Every year, my family spends about 30 million VND to buy fertilizers and input materials to take care of the grapefruit garden. In addition, the use of toxic chemicals also poses a risk to human health, the environment and product quality."

In early 2024, Mr. Mao coordinated with the Plant Protection Center of Region IV (Plant Protection Department) and the Agricultural Service Center of Yen Dinh District (Thanh Hoa) to deploy a model of breeding and using weaver ants to prevent pests on grapefruit trees. According to the garden owner, this is not a new model, but to be effective, farmers must follow the correct procedures and techniques for caring for ants to ensure the number of colonies in the garden.

After a period of raising, Mr. Mao's grapefruit garden now has hundreds of yellow ant nests, estimated at millions. The grapefruit trees are connected to each other with thin plastic ropes for the ants to move back and forth. In the garden, Mr. Mao uses many plastic shells containing food and places them on the tree trunks (chicken intestines, fish heads, etc.) for the ants to supplement their nutrition. In particular, for fallen grapefruit, Mr. Mao cuts off the outer shell and leaves it at the base for the ants to add water when necessary, and composts the rest to fertilize the plants.

“Weaver ants are easy to raise, do not require much time, effort, or care, but the breeder must understand the habits of this species. For example, do not feed the ants too much, to avoid the phenomenon of ants being full and lazy to hunt. Or if not supplemented with enough food, the ants will leave and the breeder will lose time to rebuild the colony,” Mao noted.

The model of breeding and using weaver ants to prevent pests on grapefruit trees is showing clear effectiveness, contributing to increasing the productivity and quality of fruit trees.

After a period of experimenting with raising yellow ants in the grapefruit garden, Mr. Mao realized that this beneficial natural enemy can destroy many harmful organisms such as stink bugs, aphids, leafminers, mealybugs, stink ants, etc. Therefore, on grapefruit trees where yellow ants live, there are almost no harmful insects.

In addition, when raising weaver ants, farmers do not have to use pesticides or spray pesticides. This helps balance the ecosystem, protect the environment, and reduce investment costs.

“Previously, my family’s grapefruit garden was often damaged by insects that caused young fruit to fall or slow fruit growth. After implementing this method, the grapefruit garden lost less fruit because the weaver ants controlled and destroyed the harmful insects. In addition, the weaver ants also help farmers warn of the phenomenon of crop water shortage so that they can replenish it in time,” said Mr. Mao.

Weaver ants become important "bodyguards" for citrus fruit trees. Photo: Quoc Toan.

Mr. Mao noted that during the implementation of the model, farmers absolutely do not use chemicals or pesticides to avoid loss of the herd and affect the health of the weaver ants.

According to Mr. Mao, the only downside to raising yellow ants in the garden is that harvesting is a bit difficult because if you are not careful, you will get bitten by the ants. “If you do not wear protective gear, you will be bitten by the ants and it will be very painful. Therefore, before harvesting, you need to water the ant nest just enough to limit them from going outside.”

Thanks to the systematic implementation of raising weaver ants in the grapefruit garden, up to now, the model has brought double benefits, both helping Mr. Mao's grapefruit garden produce sweeter fruit because it is not attacked by insects, and helping the tree grow well. This year's grapefruit crop is expected to harvest about 10 tons of grapefruit, a yield 20% higher than in 2023. With a 1.5ha grapefruit garden and 10ha of rice, each year Mr. Mao's family earns about 300 million VND after deducting expenses.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/vuon-buoi-tang-20-san-luong-qua-dep-ngot-ngon-chi-phi-giam-nho-kien-vang-d409391.html