Ben Tre (VNA) - Saltwater intrusionhas affected many fruit growing areas in the Mekong Delta as local farmersstruggle to secure irrigation water for their orchards.

The Mekong Delta, the country’s largest fruitproducer, is facing severe saltwater intrusion in the ongoing dry season, whichhas exceeded the record set in the 2015- 2016 dry season.

In Cho Lach district, which has the largestfruit growing area in Ben Tre province, saltwater is threatening 20,000ha offruits and 1,300ha of plant seedlings, flowers and ornamental plants, accordingto the district’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Bui Thanh Liem, head of the bureau, saidfarmers have carried out measures like closing sluices and building temporarydams, using huge plastic bags to store irrigation water for fruit trees.

They also have been using barges, boats andvehicles to transport irrigation from other places to the district.

However, many fruit trees have been damagedbecause of saltwater intrusion which could increase if saltwater intrusioncontinues a long time.

In Tien Giang, which is the delta’s largestfruit growing province, more than 36,000ha of fruits, including 12,000ha ofdurian in Cai Be, Cai Lay and Chau Thanh districts and Cai Lay township, arefacing water shortage, according to the provincial Department of Agricultureand Rural Development.

Many farmers in Tien Giang have to buy waterat a high price to irrigate orchards, mostly for durian which has high economicvalue.

To help durian farmers, the provincialPeople’s Committee has hired barges to transport irrigation water. The watersupply will last until the end of next month.

Tran Huu Phong, Vice Chairman of the Chau ThanhDistrict People’s Committee in Tien Giang, said the district has set up threesites to provide irrigation water for fruit orchards.

The district has mobilised vehicles totransport water to fruit orchards.

Before the 2019- 2020 dry season,authorities and farmers in the delta carried out measures to mitigate theimpact of saltwater intrusion to rice, fruits and other crops, includingchanging rice farming schedules, building irrigation works and storing freshwater.

Under the instruction of authorities, mostfarmers in the delta sowed the 2019-2020 winter-spring rice crop one monthearly.

Therefore, rice farmers have nearly completedharvesting a bumper crop. 

However, because of severe saltwaterintrusion, many fruit growing areas in the delta have still been affected.

The ongoing saltwater intrusion could affect130,000ha of the delta 300,000ha of fruits in the 2019 – 20 dry season,according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Water with a salinity of 4 grammes per litreis expected to enter 45 - 95 km deep into the delta’s main rivers like Vam CoDong, Vam Co Tay, Ham Luong, Co Chien, Hau and Cai Lon rivers between March 16– 20, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting. 

Vo Huu Thoai, Deputy Director of the SouthernHorticultural Research Institute, said each type of fruit has a different salttolerance and farmers should be careful in using irrigation water on theirfruit trees./.