The Crop Production Department holds a seminar in HCM City to discuss measures to develop the cashew sector in a sustainable manner (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - The cashew industry has achievedimpressive growth in the past years with increasing exports, but unfavourableweather due to the impact of climate change and an increase of diseases andpests threaten its continued development, delegates told a recent seminar in HoChi Minh City.
Le Van Duc, Deputy Director of the Crop Production Department,said Vietnam’s average cashew output last year was 10.8 quintals per hectare, areduction of 16.67 percent from 2015 due to lower rainfall than the previousyear, which caused severe drought at the blossom period of cashew trees.
This year, average output reduced further to only 7.55 quintalsper ha, mainly due to unseasonal rains occurring at the blossom period of thetrees, he said.
“Unseasonal rains had seriously affected the pollination of thetrees and at the same time created ideal conditions for diseases, such ascolletotrichum gloeosporioides and pests such as helopeltis theivora, todevelop on young buds and fruits, affecting the trees’ productivity andquality,” he said.
In Binh Phuoc province, the country’s largest cashew cultivationarea, its productivity in 82,893 ha out of a total of 173,920 ha under cashewcultivation fell this year mainly due to insects.
Le Thi Anh Tuyet, Director of the Agriculture Extension Centre ofBinh Phuoc province, said since last month the province has establishedtechnical teams to help farmers, especially the poor and ethnic minority, inthe six main cashew cultivation districts to control pests, as well as instructthem to identify diseases and pests on cashew.
“The move aims to limit a further productivity drop in the nextcrop, but if it continues raining, it will be hard to combat the insects,” shesaid.
Similarly, Nguyen Thi Tuyet from the Lam Dong Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said the province has 29,688 ha under cashewcultivation, with average productivity at only 2.8 quintals per ha this yearcompared to 8.8 quintals per ha last year.
Tuyet said 90 percent of the province’s cashew cultivation areawas affected by insects, while 27,834 ha was infected by colletotrichumgloeosporioides disease, causing the province’s total productivity to fall by62.8 percent from last year.
The diseases have gotten under control now and the trees are inthe process of recovery, she said.
At the seminar, representatives from other provinces, including DongNai and Binh Thuan, also reported the current situation of cashew farming intheir localities as well as suggested measures to recover disease-infectedcashew farms.
Duc said aged cashew trees and a lack of investment in nurturingnew trees were among other reasons that led to low productivity, and the localcashew industry planned to replant 45,000 ha and transplant 15,000 ha of cashewfarms in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Gia Lai and Binh Dinh by 2020.
The sector also plans to enhance intensive farming in the comingyears since “reality proved that applying intensive farming techniques willpush up cashew productivity by 24-63 percent, and at the same time, help cashewfarms adapt to climate change as well as limit the impact of unseasonal rains.”
Tuyet said the province has set a target to replant or transplant8,880 ha of cashew trees by 2020 in an effort to raise the province’s averagecashew productivity to 12 quintals per ha by then.
She, as well as other delegates, suggested that the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development direct research institutes and centres todevelop new seedlings that have high productivity and quality and are resistantto diseases and adaptive to climate changes.
The agricultural sector needed to re-evaluate the efficiency ofcashew transplanting models to make a suitable recommendation for localities(expanding the model or temporarily stopping it to shift the focus toreplanting new trees), she said.
Localities also suggested the Crop Production Department come upwith a cashew farming technique package that is suitable to the currentsituation of climate change.
Many cashew farmers also shared their farming experiences thathelped them secure productivity amid unfavourable weather and diseases.
At the seminar, 89 cashew farmers in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, LamDong, Binh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau were awarded certificates of merits fortheir outstanding achievement in cashew production by the Vietnam CashewAssociation.
Vietnam has 301,738 ha under cashew cultivation this year,yielding 241,363 tonnes, a reduction of 94,906 tonnes over last year.-VNA
Le Van Duc, Deputy Director of the Crop Production Department,said Vietnam’s average cashew output last year was 10.8 quintals per hectare, areduction of 16.67 percent from 2015 due to lower rainfall than the previousyear, which caused severe drought at the blossom period of cashew trees.
This year, average output reduced further to only 7.55 quintalsper ha, mainly due to unseasonal rains occurring at the blossom period of thetrees, he said.
“Unseasonal rains had seriously affected the pollination of thetrees and at the same time created ideal conditions for diseases, such ascolletotrichum gloeosporioides and pests such as helopeltis theivora, todevelop on young buds and fruits, affecting the trees’ productivity andquality,” he said.
In Binh Phuoc province, the country’s largest cashew cultivationarea, its productivity in 82,893 ha out of a total of 173,920 ha under cashewcultivation fell this year mainly due to insects.
Le Thi Anh Tuyet, Director of the Agriculture Extension Centre ofBinh Phuoc province, said since last month the province has establishedtechnical teams to help farmers, especially the poor and ethnic minority, inthe six main cashew cultivation districts to control pests, as well as instructthem to identify diseases and pests on cashew.
“The move aims to limit a further productivity drop in the nextcrop, but if it continues raining, it will be hard to combat the insects,” shesaid.
Similarly, Nguyen Thi Tuyet from the Lam Dong Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said the province has 29,688 ha under cashewcultivation, with average productivity at only 2.8 quintals per ha this yearcompared to 8.8 quintals per ha last year.
Tuyet said 90 percent of the province’s cashew cultivation areawas affected by insects, while 27,834 ha was infected by colletotrichumgloeosporioides disease, causing the province’s total productivity to fall by62.8 percent from last year.
The diseases have gotten under control now and the trees are inthe process of recovery, she said.
At the seminar, representatives from other provinces, including DongNai and Binh Thuan, also reported the current situation of cashew farming intheir localities as well as suggested measures to recover disease-infectedcashew farms.
Duc said aged cashew trees and a lack of investment in nurturingnew trees were among other reasons that led to low productivity, and the localcashew industry planned to replant 45,000 ha and transplant 15,000 ha of cashewfarms in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Gia Lai and Binh Dinh by 2020.
The sector also plans to enhance intensive farming in the comingyears since “reality proved that applying intensive farming techniques willpush up cashew productivity by 24-63 percent, and at the same time, help cashewfarms adapt to climate change as well as limit the impact of unseasonal rains.”
Tuyet said the province has set a target to replant or transplant8,880 ha of cashew trees by 2020 in an effort to raise the province’s averagecashew productivity to 12 quintals per ha by then.
She, as well as other delegates, suggested that the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development direct research institutes and centres todevelop new seedlings that have high productivity and quality and are resistantto diseases and adaptive to climate changes.
The agricultural sector needed to re-evaluate the efficiency ofcashew transplanting models to make a suitable recommendation for localities(expanding the model or temporarily stopping it to shift the focus toreplanting new trees), she said.
Localities also suggested the Crop Production Department come upwith a cashew farming technique package that is suitable to the currentsituation of climate change.
Many cashew farmers also shared their farming experiences thathelped them secure productivity amid unfavourable weather and diseases.
At the seminar, 89 cashew farmers in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, LamDong, Binh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau were awarded certificates of merits fortheir outstanding achievement in cashew production by the Vietnam CashewAssociation.
Vietnam has 301,738 ha under cashew cultivation this year,yielding 241,363 tonnes, a reduction of 94,906 tonnes over last year.-VNA
VNA
