VietNamNet Bridge – Floodwater from recent typhoons have damaged thousands of one-to-four-year-old peach blossom trees in Tam Diep City in Dong Son Commune in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

Thousands of peach blossom trees in Dong Son Commune, Tam Hiep District have died after flooding. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Duc

The trees were being prepared for the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival which falls in mid-February, but have wilted and died, creating big losses for local farmers.

There is a large area of peach-blossom trees in Tam Diep City. This is the time of year when farmers enthusiastically get ready for the Tet holiday. However, the trees were submerged in flood water for a week last month, destroying 43ha out of 150ha.

Pham Dinh Thao, a farmer in Village No 7, said that this year his family planted more than 130 peach blossom trees.

Before the typhoon, the trees grew well and maintained beautiful postures which were expected to bring high profits, he said.

But during the typhoons, more than 100 trees died, and the remainder are starting to wilt.

Thao’s family estimates it lost hundreds of millions of dong (VND100 million equals US$4,400).

Another grower, Ninh Van Manh, a senior planter in the commune, said peach-blossom trees were very dependent on climate, so they were easily affected in the typhoons.

More than 50 trees of Manh’s family were submerged. 

To limit losses, Manh’s family is putting great effort into caring for the remaining trees.

According to preliminary statistics of the Dong Son Commune People’s Committee, more than 4,000 peach blossom trees died since last month.

Chairman of the commune Farmers’ Association, Le Van Sy, said peach-blossom trees were a famous product of the commune.

Sy said that in the short term, local authorities and the association advised farmers to replace the dead trees with new ones.

They also suggested that farmers should dig drainage ditches and earth-up the trees more to cope with the abnormal weather.

With the remainder of the trees, Sy said farmers should give them more fertiliser so they would develop roots. 

As well as destroying peach blossom trees, the prolonged typhoon last month also caused serious landslides in Tam Diep City, affecting more than 30 households.

Pham Dinh Cu, chairman of the Dong Son Commune People’s Committee, said that in the past, peach blossom trees had been the most valuable plant in the commune. On average, local farmers sell 4,000-10,000 trees per year at prices of at least VND300,000 ($13) per tree. The trees are sold in nearby provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh.

Last year, the total income from selling peach blossom trees in the commune reached VND10 billion ($444,400).

The trees create work for nearly 800 households with nearly 1,000 people in the commune.

Head of the Tam Diep City Economy Division, Dinh Huy Hieu, said that to develop the tree industry, since 2015, city authorities had supported local farmers with capital and technical guidance. 

Source: VNS