Storm No. 3 (Yagi) has caused severe damage to the economic life of many households in Quang Yen town, including households growing custard apples in Tien An commune. Over 100 hectares of custard apple trees in the commune were damaged from 70% to 80%. To overcome the consequences of the storm, these days, many households in Tien An commune are focusing on renovating, cleaning up their gardens and gradually regenerating their custard apple gardens.
Having been attached to the custard apple garden for more than 16 years, seeing the custard apple trees that his family had painstakingly cared for and grown damaged, uprooted, and broken by the storm, Mr. Pham Hong Ngu, in Vuon Chay hamlet, Tien An commune, could not help but feel heartbroken. Many trees were bearing fruit and in just about 2 months his family would be able to harvest the custard apples and off-season custard apples, but now all the fruit has fallen off, and the remaining fruit on the trees has also dried up and died.
Taking the initiative to restore with the hope that the custard apple trees will grow and develop again, in recent days, Mr. Ngu has been mounding, planting and supporting the fallen trees. With his efforts, the young shoots are sprouting and growing again. However, Mr. Ngu also clearly determined that the productivity and fruit yield in the next few seasons will be affected, so he must consider a long-term solution to regenerate the custard apple garden.
Mr. Pham Hong Ngu shared: “My family has more than 6,000 m2 of garden land growing custard apples, with more than 1,300 mature trees that have yielded fruit. However, the third storm has caused severe impacts, and now only about 20% - 30% of the custard apple trees can recover. No matter how difficult it is, I will try not to abandon the custard apple trees, but will sow seeds, clean the garden and prepare to plant new custard apple trees to replace those that died due to the storm.”
Not only Pham Hong Ngu's family but all custard apple growing households in Tien An commune suffered damage due to storm No. 3. Each household suffered different levels of damage, but all families did not expect support from the State but shared the determination to proactively care for and regenerate the custard apple growing area; focused on mobilizing human resources to support, cultivate and care for young trees, and at the same time prepare for propagation and replanting dead trees that could not be recovered.
The family of Mr. Vu Van Dat, in Vuon Chay neighborhood, is one of the few households growing custard apples in Tien An commune that has just started growing custard apple seedlings for more than 2 months. He is also lucky because the newly planted custard apple area was less affected by the storm. Mr. Dat added: “My family has over 5,000 m2 of custard apple trees , of which 30% of the area planted with custard apple seedlings is likely to recover, because these custard apple trees are short, not much affected by storms and winds, and the tree roots are still stable. I am increasing the application of organic fertilizers to help these trees grow and develop better. However, for large custard apple trees that have been harvested for 7 to 10 years, they are almost impossible to recover. My family will cut down all damaged and uprooted trees; at the same time, prepare a nursery, sow seeds, and propagate seedlings to replace them with new trees. However, we determined that it would take a lot of care and time for the custard apple tree to bear fruit, about 5 years after planting the sapling.
Discussing the recovery from the consequences of storm No. 3 and the continued development of custard apple trees in the commune, Ms. Bui Thi Huyen, Chairwoman of the Farmers' Association of Tien An Commune, said: “Tien An Commune has more than 200 households growing custard apples, with an area of nearly 100 hectares. Through review, storm No. 3 has damaged more than 80% of the custard apple growing area of households in the commune. People are trying to repair and revive the custard apple trees. However, the custard apple trees are very difficult to recover, because the roots are dry, brittle, and many trees have yellow leaves. Only households with new custard apple trees planted since the beginning of 2024 can revive them. For households whose custard apple trees have been damaged by up to 80%, the Farmers' Association of the commune has proposed to the Social Policy Bank to create conditions for people to borrow capital from the "Farmer Support Fund" to replant their family's custard apple gardens, creating jobs for rural workers. At the same time, we hope that banks will implement policies to support interest rate reduction for farmers when borrowing capital for gardening or job creation. In addition, we will also connect with the TX Science and Technology Service Center to train and transfer techniques for renovating and caring for custard apple trees for farmers in the commune."
Tien An custard apple is a native crop, preserved and developed by many generations of people in Tien An commune by manual methods. Based on the long-term experience of growing custard apples, proactively providing seedlings, especially in recent years, custard apple growers have also mastered the techniques of caring for custard apple trees according to each growth stage; prioritizing the use of organic fertilizers to enhance soil nutrition, minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers, Tien An custard apple has a more sustainable development direction. Farmers in Tien An commune, Quang Yen town, are determined to overcome the consequences of storm No. 3; regenerating and bringing back the local traditional custard apple trees to cover the damaged areas.
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