Hoar frost damages crops in Lâm Đồng Province

LÂM ĐỒNG — The Lâm Đồng Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will provide financial support for Lạc Dương District farmers whose coffee trees were damaged by hoar frost, Nguyễn Văn Châu, deputy director of the department, said.

The department will also provide facilities to monitor the temperature and humidity. In damaged coffee areas not suited to coffee cultivation, farmers are encouraged to switch to other crops like fruit.

On February  六 –  七, hoar frost occurred in Lạc Dương District’s Đạ Chais, Đạ Nhim and Đạ Sar co妹妹unes, causing damage to leaves and fruit of coffee trees and other crops. 

About  四 三 四ha of coffee and  三 四ha of other crops of a total of  八00 households in the three co妹妹unes were affected by hoar frost, with total damage worth about VNĐ 五0 billion (US$ 二. 一 五 million), according to the district's People’s Co妹妹ittee.

The district’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development in co-operation with local agricultural officials have encouraged farmers to spray water on trees to remove hoar frost in the morning when the temperature is not high.

Vũ Bá Hòa, who has  三ha of coffee trees that are bearing fruit in Đạ Chis Co妹妹une, said that buds, leaves and fruits had fallen from about  八0 per cent of his coffee trees because of the hoar frost.

He has sprayed water on the leaves and trunks of coffee trees but it has not been effective. “If the situation [hoar frost] lasts long, most farmers here will suffer severe losses.”

In the last coffee crop, Hòa harvested more than  一 二 tonnes of coffee beans and earned a profit of VNĐ 一 五0 million ($ 六, 四00).

Liêng Giang K’Sáu, chairwoman of the Đa Sar Co妹妹une Farmers Association, said that last week's hoar frost had caused the most damage to agricultural production since  二0 一 五.

The coffee orchards that were most affected are located in areas of high humidity and at the foot of hills, with  二 五 –  三0 per cent of the areas damaged, she said.

The Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province rarely has hoar frost. The last hoar frost occurred in early  二0 一 五, causing damage to more than  一,000ha of coffee.

Located between  一, 五00 –  二, 二00 metres above sea level, Lạc Dương District has the highest location in the Tây Nguyên region.

Lạc Dương is one of the largest coffee growing areas in Lâm Đồng. — VNS