Dong Thap (VNS/VNA) - Farmers in Dong Thap province’sLai Vung district are expected to supply 80 percent less pinkmandarin, a specialty fruit for Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, comparedto the previous last Tet. 

Huynh Van Ton, deputy head of the district’s Bureau ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said the output of the district’s pinkmandarin had declined dramatically to about 3,500-4,000tonnes because of the impact of yellow leaf and root rot disease on citrus.

Only 190ha out of the district’s 802ha of pink mandarincan produce fruit now, with an average yield of 20 tonnes per hectare, hesaid.

However, the quality of pink mandarin for the coming Tet isgood.

Lai Vung, which is the largest pink mandarin producer in the MekongDelta, is well known for the fruit which is used on most family altars in thesouth during Tet.

Many farmers have also planted pink mandarin trees asornamental plant pots to sell for Tet decoration.

These pots are expected to sell for 1.5 – 6million VND (65 – 260 USD) each for Tet, according to farmers.  

It takes about 30 months to grow an ornamental pink mandarinpot.

In the district, pink mandarin trees are cultivatedmostly in Vinh Thoi, Tan Thanh, Tan Phuoc and Long Hau communes because ofthe area's soil. 

Traders are buying pink mandarin fruit in orchards at aprice of 50,000 VND (2.1 USD) a kilogramme. The price could increase to 70,000– 80,000 VND (3 – 3.5 USD) a kilogramme for a few days before Tet,said farmers.

Nguyen Van Day, who has planted pink mandarin in Long Hau communefor 20 years, said the price has increased by 30 percent againstthe same period last year.   
However, the output is small, he said. His 10ha pinkmandarin orchard is estimated to produce 7 tonnes for the coming Tet, downby 60 percent against last Tet, he said.

He is using every technique that he knows to treatthe disease to revive his orchard for the next crop.

Many farmers are also struggling to recover their orchards fromdisease which has occurred in the district in recent years and has not beentreated thoroughly.  

Nguyen Van Sua has used many techniques to treat the diseasefor his 5,000 sq.m pink mandarin orchard in Long Hau commune, but has not beensuccessful.

“My orchard has had almost no harvests for Tet inthe past two years,” he said.

The bureau is helping farmers find solutions torecover their pink mandarin orchards. It has beenworking with agencies and scientists on techniques that canprevent disease on citrus fruits./.