Careful care
Thanh Ha lychee area is quiet this year, different from previous years. Most of the orchards that did not produce fruit have sprouted. It took us a long time to reach the garden of Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien's family in Thanh Lanh village, Thanh Quang commune. There are few lychee gardens with as many people picking as here. The garden is full of red, ripe lychee. At the base of a tree, there are 5 people harvesting, bundling and weighing lychees. "Compared to many other lychee gardens, my garden has a good harvest this year. Besides luck, there are many other factors," Ms. Lien said. Ms. Lien's family's lychee garden of more than 2 hectares still produces about 7 tons of fruit this year.
In Thanh Ha, this year, a family harvested 2-3 tons of lychee, which is considered a lot. Mr. Vu Dac Ren's family in Vinh Xa village, Thanh Cuong commune harvested about 2.5 tons of early lychee, down about 50% compared to last year but the selling price was high. As for white egg lychee, his family harvested 1 ton of fruit, the average selling price was 80,000 VND/kg, an increase of 20,000 VND/kg compared to the same period last year. In addition, pink and hybrid lychee sold for 35,000 VND/kg, the market consumed quickly, bringing in a profit of more than 100 million VND.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien, the characteristic of lychee is that it is an "every other day" tree, meaning it bears fruit one year and loses the other. If you want lychee to bear fruit every year, the grower must take good care of it. Ms. Lien's family's lychee garden has hundreds of trees, but the lychee trees are not too tall. Immediately after harvesting, her family trims the low branches to the same level as the tree, so that even though the tree is old, it does not look old. The low trees also make harvesting and fertilizing easier and more regular. She observes very carefully at important times of the lychee tree such as winter buds, flower buds, and blooming to take care of the tree properly. She has researched a lot of information from the internet, applied the instructions of professional agencies, and learned from experience to take good care of the trees. This year, most of her family's lychee acreage bears fruit, although not as much as in previous years.
“The weather is getting more and more extreme, it is easy to spoil. Therefore, when the lychee tree sprouts, my family does not let it sprout a second batch of buds,” said Mr. Vu Dac Ren. After harvesting, Mr. Ren cuts the branches and fertilizes them so that in the sixth lunar month the tree will sprout its first batch of buds. He calculates enough so that in August the tree will sprout its second batch of buds, not letting it sprout a third batch. In September, he lightly rings the tree trunk. In October, if the weather is warm and the lychee leaves are still young, he rings them again to control the buds. Therefore, his family has never had a complete crop failure.
Bad harvest, good price
"Bad harvest, good price" is the correct assessment for this lychee season. This year, Thanh Ha district harvested about 22,000 tons of lychee, mainly early lychee, down about 50% compared to 2023. Because there is little lychee, the price is high and stable. Lychee teas are harvested one after another, the price of white u trung lychee is 120,000 VND/kg, followed by u gai lychee at 50,000 VND/kg, tau lai at 40,000 VND/kg, u hong at 35,000 VND/kg. The prices of all types of lychee are higher than the same period last year by 10,000-15,000 VND/kg, remaining stable throughout the harvest season. Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong in Thanh Lanh village, Thanh Quang commune said that the high price makes everyone who has lychee excited, it is worth the effort to take care of it.
With experience in gardening and taking care of lychees, many Thanh Ha farmers have earned high profits from lychees. After harvest, garden owners prune branches to create canopy, prevent pests and diseases, and protect the first shoots. This is also the shoot that determines the yield and quality of the next crop of lychees. Households also actively clean the garden, limit the development of pests and diseases, and increase fertilization to compensate for the nutrients lost during harvest, creating conditions for the trees to grow well and have enough strength to withstand extreme weather.
By May 29, Thanh Ha district had harvested about 13,000 tons of lychee, reaching more than 55% of the total lychee output in 2024. The harvested lychee teas include: white egg lychee and spiny lychee. Farmers are focusing on harvesting hybrid lychee and pink lychee.
Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Quang commune, the place with the earliest lychee harvest in Thanh Ha district, said that this year, not many households earned a profit of 100 million VND or more from lychee.
MINH NGUYENSource
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