Peach Blossoms

The whole commune of Xuan Du currently has 125 hectares of peach cultivation. Peach
cultivation here has a long history, many families thanks to peach farming have escaped
poverty and got rich quickly. But this year, due to erratic weather, there is a leap month,
so peaches bloom early, not in time for the Lunar New Year. By the end of January,
about 70-80% of peach stumps in Xuan Du commune were blooming, unable to sell on
Tet.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh said her family has about 300 peach roots, but around mid-
January, all the peach orchards bloom. "Peaches bloom too early, like this, this year's
Lunar New Year will no longer have clouds of flowers, traders and peach players who
buy also pay cheap, or don’t buy it."
Mr. Hoang Khac Loi said: "My family has nearly 500 peach roots planted for 3 years,
also planning to sell this Tet for money to repair the house, but did not expect peaches to
bloom so early. I guess there won't be many trees sold near Tet."
According to Mr. Loi, although peach cultivation is a traditional occupation, it is very
difficult to take care of and "control" peaches to bloom at will, everything depends on the
weather.
Many long-time peach growers in this peach "capital" said that about 10 years ago, there
were early blooming trees every year, but never saw as many blooms as this year.
Standing in the middle of the peach orchard that had fallen flowers, Mr. Nguyen Xuan
Binh was sullen: "There were also some people who came to ask to buy peaches, but
when they saw that peaches bloomed too brightly, flowers fell all over the garden, so they
hesitated to answer whether to buy or not. It's like every year that a lot of traders and
diggers have come to order, but this year has been empty." Hoang Ngoc Son, Vice
Chairman of Xuan Du Commune People's Committee, said local peach growers will lose
their harvest this year because up to now, about 70-80% of peaches have bloomed.
"Many families wait 3-4 years to have old peach orchards to sell for Tet spending money
and make ends meet. But this year peaches bloom early, some sell cheaply, or leave until
next year, how many houses planned after selling peaches are postponed because peaches
bloom unusually early? We also recommend that people, even if peaches bloom early,
they can choose which trees can be sold, and those that are too cheap, wait for next year,
or produce fruit to take as seeds," Mr. Son said.

Source: Knowledge Today