Off-season durian prices are twice as high as normal, but many gardeners still lose revenue due to extreme weather, with the fruit yield rate reaching about 30%.
In mid-November, the durian capital of more than 21,000 hectares in Tien Giang is in the off-season harvest season, concentrated mainly in Cai Be and Cai Lay districts. Along the roads from Phu Quy commune (Cai Lay town) to My Loi A commune (Cai Be district), instead of seeing convoys of trucks of traders busy coming to the garden to buy durian like every year, it is now deserted.
Sitting next to a durian garden of more than 1.2 hectares, about 7 years old, just recovering after losing all its flowers in My Loi A commune (Cai Be), Mr. Nguyen Van Dang, 50 years old, said that in the past, farmers in the area Durian planting starts in November and harvests after 6 months. Investment costs are low but prices are not high and profits are low.
In recent years, many gardeners have chosen to do the off-season, starting from April to June to get ahead of the time when the market is scarce, durian prices are more than 200,000 VND per kg, double the normal price. This year, Mr. Dang and many gardeners in the area handle off-season flowering from the beginning of the 7th lunar month.
After being processed for about a month, the durian tree, while in full bloom, constantly encountered unusual weather changes that caused most of the flowers to fall off. “I impatiently bought medicine to spray to save the garden, but within two nights all the flowers fell one by one, an estimated loss of about 200 million VND.“, Mr. Dang recounted, saying that there has never been a year when durian growers have lost revenue like now, even when the weather is most extreme.
60 km away, Mr. Luong Van Han in Phu Quy commune, Cai Lay town, also said that due to extreme weather, this year out of 10 gardeners handling off-season flowering, only 3 gardens were successful. “My garden is 2,000 square meters with more than 30 durian trees. Last year I processed 3 tons of fruit, but this year I only had a few hundred kilograms, which is considered a loss,” Mr. Han said.
According to people, each durian tree from planting to harvest takes at least 5 years, costing from 8 to 10 million VND. On average, a gardener’s initial investment for one hectare of durian is about 2 billion VND. If the first crop fails to flower, it will make reinvestment more difficult.
After an unsatisfactory crop, Mr. Dang decided to continue taking care of the garden so that the trees bloom according to the favorable season, while many others agreed to abandon the garden and nurture the trees to continue working in the off-season early next year.
Cai Be district’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said the whole district has more than 9,300 hectares of durian, of which about 6,000 hectares are producing fruit. This year, the area treated for off-season flowering accounts for 40%, about 2,400 hectares. Of these, only about 30% of the treated area produced flowers, the rest lost flowers and fruits.
Mr. Vo Van Men, Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection of Tien Giang province, said that the province currently has about 15,000 hectares of durian fruit, with the off-season harvest starting from November to early next year with an area of about 6,000 hectares.
This year, most farmers have experience and handling techniques, so the reason for the poor flowering rate is mainly due to extreme weather, prolonged rainstorms combined with intense sunlight, causing heat shock and cotton loss. “We have recommended many times, but some gardeners are impatient with high prices to flower early, so the plants do not have time to recover, leading to a failed harvest.“, Mr. Men said.
Pham Minh Tung’s off-season durian garden. Image: Hoang Nam
Among the few garden owners who successfully handle off-season durian, Mr. Pham Minh Tung, 20 years old, in Loi Tuong hamlet, My Loi A commune (Cai Be), said that when dealing with off-season flowering, it should depend on the situation. tree condition. After harvesting, growers need to let the plants recover and have healthy buds before proceeding with flowering treatment.
“Especially on rainy days, you need to monitor the garden closely, because when the flowers appear to drop, you must spray within a few hours, because after the golden hour it will be very difficult to save.“, Mr. Tung said.
By early 2024, the durian area of the Mekong Delta will increase from more than 12,000 hectares to 33,000 hectares, with an estimated output of about 330,000 tons. Durian area is concentrated mainly in Tien Giang with more than 21,000 hectares, other provinces such as Can Tho, Dong Thap, and Ben Tre each have about more than 2,000 hectares.
