1,000 hectares of Ben Tre coconuts damaged by blackhead worms
From two small outbreaks after nearly two years, about 1,000 hectares of coconuts in Ben Tre have been damaged by pests, many coconut gardens have died and been cut down by people.
Many coconut gardens in Chau Thanh were cut down by local people. Video: Hoang Nam
On the morning of mid-April, Mr. Nguyen Long Ho (50 years old) and his wife sat sad by a 1,600 m2 coconut garden in Huu Nhon hamlet, Huu Dinh commune (Chau Thanh district). Since the blackhead worm epidemic hit nearly two years ago, there was no worker at home, so he was supported by the locality to spray insecticides many times and change many types of drugs.
However, the coconut garden from green is now mostly gray, with many leaves withered, broken, and the fruit falling off. The remaining trees that are not completely dead are also stunted and difficult to recover. Unfortunately, the nearly 20-year-old coconut garden gives an income of more than one million dong per month, but the husband and wife have to call workers to cut down the coconut garden.
Coconut trees of 4 m or more are purchased by workers for 50,000 VND each to make piles for construction, the rest of the trees are used as firewood by the gardener. In the morning, Mr. and Mrs. Ho sold and salvaged less than a million dong of coconut wood. Under the sawed coconut trees, he replanted the green Siamese coconut, which is expected to bear fruit in three years.
Tho is cutting down coconut trees damaged by blackhead worms. Image: Hoang Nam
Next to Mr. Ho’s coconut garden, the 1,500 m2 coconut garden of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, 56, is also noisy with the sound of chainsaws. Coconut trees over 10 years old are scattered around the garden. Previously, each month, Mrs. Hoa earned nearly two million dong from selling coconuts, temporarily enough for her two children to go to school. After the coconut garden is damaged by pests, each month only has an income of 500,000-600,000 VND.
Huu Dinh commune has over 860 hectares of coconuts, the first place in Ben Tre where blackhead worms appeared, after nearly two years more than 170 hectares were damaged, more than 22 hectares were cut down. Ben Tre province with more than 70,000 hectares of coconuts (accounting for 80% of the western coconut area) currently records about 1,000 hectares of coconuts damaged by blackhead worms. The most damaged localities are Cho Lach, Chau Thanh, Mo Cay Nam, Mo Cay Bac, Binh Dai and Ben Tre city.
Blackhead worm has a scientific name Opisina arenasella Walker, Native to India and Sri Lanka. Worldwide, the insect species has been recorded in 16 countries. Due to the age of the young caterpillars up to 40 days compared with 10-30 days in other pests, when they are in any place, they will eat all that place, causing mass death of the tree.
Blackhead caterpillars destroy coconuts in Ben Tre. Image: Hoang Nam
According to Mr. Vo Van Nam, Director of the Ben Tre Plant Protection and Cultivation Sub-Department, the prevention of blackhead moth in the province is quite effective. The agricultural sector is coordinating with institutes and schools to continue to study the growth habits of this worm to come up with a specific treatment process.
However, recently, the Economic and Budget Department, the People’s Council of Ben Tre province, conducted a field survey of some coconut gardens in the area. This board said that the solutions applied to kill the coconut blackhead worm in the past time have not been effective.
“In 2020, only two small outbreaks appeared in Huu Dinh commune, Chau Thanh district, but the current epidemic of blackhead worms harms coconuts on a large scale,” said the representative of this board, and said that one of the reasons for the prevention and treatment of this disease is to Blackheads have not been effective due to limited funding.
Hoang Nam
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
