People in Khanh Son district (Khanh Hoa) said that the durian area that has been flowering and producing young fruit for about a week now has all lost its young fruit, with some gardens losing up to 2/3 of their fruit.

According to records, the hot weather in the area has been severe recently, the temperature difference between day and night is quite large, the daytime temperature is up to 37-38 degrees Celsius, while at night it is only 20-22 degrees Celsius, especially in the early morning it is very cold. This is unfavorable for durian trees in the flowering and fruiting period. As a result, durian trees in the area have dropped fruit en masse due to heat shock.

Mr. Nguyen Van Long, a durian grower in Son Binh commune, Khanh Son district, said that his family has 2 hectares of durian, of which about 1 hectare has lost about 50% of its fruit. Meanwhile, the weather continues to be extremely hot, the upstream irrigation water source is lacking, there is a risk that the durian garden will continue to lose fruit, affecting productivity.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Khanh Son district, durian gardens that have produced young fruit since mid-April have all been affected by heat shock. Based on preliminary information, about 30% of the district's 1,500 hectares of durian in the commercial period have lost their young fruit. Orchards that are cultivated properly, flower and bear fruit early are less affected.

According to Mr. Do Nhi Huy, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Khanh Son district, the whole district has 3,500 hectares of fruit trees, of which about 2,645 hectares are durian. The area of ​​durian without proactive irrigation water, affected by drought accounts for about 30%, equivalent to about 800 hectares. If the hot weather continues for the next 30 days, the area of ​​durian without enough irrigation water will reach about 50% of the total area, equivalent to about 1,300 hectares.

Faced with the above situation, to proactively prevent drought, Khanh Son District People's Committee has directed relevant agencies and People's Committees of communes and towns to review areas at risk of drought to discuss support and remedial solutions.

At the same time, deploy non-structural and structural solutions such as instructing and recommending people to apply water-saving irrigation systems, cover with straw and ground cover, increase the use of organic fertilizers, convert crops and not plant in areas far from water sources or without proactive water sources.

In addition, the district will support funding for installing field pumps to pump water from the main river into dams that have lost their water source or areas at high risk of being affected by drought.

WORKER