In recent weeks, persistent heavy rains and limited care have led to a widespread phenomenon of coffee trees shedding their fruit across the Central Highlands. Below is a report from Nhân Dân Online in Đắk Nông Province.
On the morning of September 22, Hoàng Ngọc Duyên, Head of the Technical Department at the Đắk Nông Plant Protection Sub-Department, said that since early August the agency, together with local plant protection stations, has inspected and recorded about 11,675 hectares of coffee across the province experiencing abnormal, large-scale fruit drop.
The districts most affected include: Đắk Song with 5,473 ha; Đắk R’lấp with 2,385 ha; Krông Nô with 2,380 ha; Đắk Mil with 2,000 ha; and Tuy Đức with 1,225 ha.
According to the agency, the primary causes of the mass fruit drop are:
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Physiological disorders leading to nutrient imbalance and sudden changes in humidity, which create an abscission layer at the fruit stem, causing an average drop of 1–2% of fruit.
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Sap-sucking insects such as leafhoppers and mealybugs, responsible for around 2,090 ha of damage, with average losses of 1–3% of fruit.
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Fungal infection (Colletotrichum coffeanum) causing peduncle rot on nearly 2,000 ha, with average fruit loss of 3–5%, and in some gardens up to 10–15%.
However, farmers in Đắk Mil and Đắk R’lấp report that in many coffee gardens, the fruit drop rate has reached 30–40%, and in some cases up to 45%.
The Đắk Nông Plant Protection Sub-Department notes that the province currently has 75,946 ha of coffee, most of it in the commercial production stage, with an average yield of 1.9 tons of coffee beans per hectare.
With less than two months left before the 2011–2012 coffee harvest, the continued widespread fruit drop threatens to sharply reduce yields and total output, leaving farmers deeply worried.