Previous Page Table of Contents


Avocado Production in Vietnam - Nguyen Minh Chau & Vo The Truyen*

* Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI ), Long Dinh, Chau Thanh, Tien Giang, Vietnam.
1. INTRODUCTION

The avocado (Persea americana Miller) was first introduced into the Lam Dong province of Vietnam in 1940 by the French. The first introduction was reported to have been greatly successful since trees performed well and gave high yields. During the 1960s some avocado varieties given by the Philippines government were tested in some provinces in the Central Highlands around Blao, Hung Loc and Buon Ma Thuoc. About 93 different exotic varieties were listed at that time and it was also said that avocado growers gained good income due to high demand from consumers, mostly foreigners living in the country at that time (Quyen N.H., 1967).

At present about 400,000 hectares are under fruit cultivation in Vietnam, and it is expected to expand up to one million hectares by 2010 (Chau N.M., 1998). Nowadays, avocados are widely grown in Vietnam including the provinces of Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Lam Dong, Dac Lac and Phu Tho. A four-year national project to improve the fruit industry in Vietnam has been launched for seven important fruits crops which include avocado. The project is being executed by the Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI), in collaboration with various government horticultural research institutes and universities, under the national research network.

2. PRESENT SITUATION OF AVOCADO CULTIVATION

Although no statistical figures are available on the area and production of avocado, the tree is widely grown in the upland parts of the country i.e. in the provinces of Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Lam Dong and Dac Lac in the south, and Phu Tho in the north of Vietnam. Twenty-eight different varieties are now maintained by horticultural institutions in these areas (Table 1). Well-distributed in private farms, their original names have been lost, so they are called by various local names given to them according to their fruit shape and quality. The commonest propagation method is by seed. The six varieties which are preferred by Vietnamese consumers are presented in Table 2. To improve the situation, SOFRI introduced recently the Hass variety from Australia into the south, and Hass, Reed, Ettinger and Sharwil into the north of Vietnam.

Table 1. Avocado Varieties Recorded in Southeastern Provinces of Vietnam (SOFRI, 1998)

No.

Variety Name

Popularity

Distribution

1

Sap qua dai vo xanh

+++

Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

2

Sap qua dai vo tim

+++

Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

3

Sap qua tron vo xanh

+++

Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

4

Sap qua tron vo tim

+

Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

5

Sap da san vo xanh

+

Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

6

Sap da san vo tim

+

Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

7

Sap da lang

+

Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

8

Sap hat nho

+

Lam Dong

9

Sap vo vang

+

Lam Dong

10

Bo tim

+

Lam Dong

11

Bo bong

+

Dong Nai

12

Bo day

+

Dong Nai

13

Bo oi

+

Lam Dong

14

Bo khoai

+

Lam Dong

15

Bo xanh

+

Dong Nai

16

Bo nep vo xanh

+

Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

17

Bo nep vo tim

+

Dong Nai

18

19*

+

Dong Nai

19

21*

+

Dong Nai

20

23*

+

Dong Nai

21

26*

+

Dong Nai

22

27*

+

Dong Nai

23

28*

+

Dong Nai

24

29*

+

Dong Nai

25

31*

+

Dong Nai

26

35*

+

Dong Nai

27

Bo nuoc qua tron

+

Dong Nai, Lam Dong

28

Bo nuoc qua dai

+

Dong Nai, Lam Dong

+++ more popular
* Collected and maintained by Hung Loc Agriculture Research Center
Table 2. Promising Local Varieties

No.

Variety Name

Given Codes

Location

1

Bo sap qua dai

BSLD1

Lam Dong

2

Bo sap qua dai

BSDN3

Dong Nai

3

Bo sap qua dai

BSBRVT5

Ba Ria-Vung Tau

4

Bo sap qua tron

BSDN2

Dong Nai

5

Bo nep

BNDN4

Dong Nai

6

Bo bong

BBLD6

Lam Dong

Source: SOFRI, 1998
Though avocado was introduced into the country a long time ago, its production is still small compared to other tropical fruits such as mango, longan, rambutan and durian, due to various reasons. At present, the avocado is not grown in monoculture and it is rarely found grown under intensive care on an orchard scale. It is observed to be used increasingly as an intercrop or as a shade tree for coffee, other than in mixed culture in fruit plantations, or as a backyard crop, primarily for domestic use .

Because it is not considered a main crop, cultural techniques are often neglected. There has been no varietal improvement work reported since 1967 except a collection of avocado varieties that are maintained at Hung Loc Agriculture Research Center, Dong Nai province, by Professor V.C. Hau. The harvesting and handling techniques are poor, fruits are often picked prematurely and do not give their best quality. Thus, avocado fruit prices are not stable and often are very low compared to other tropical fruits.

However, the avocado has recently received the attention and interest of the government agricultural departments as well of the research institutions, primarily due to its high nutritive value. A research network under the collaboration of various horticultural research institutions, which is coordinated by SOFRI, has been set up to focus on surveys and clonal selection which includes avocado, durian, longan, mango, pommelo, grape and lychee.

3. PRODUCTION OF PLANTING MATERIAL

Seedlings are the most popular type of planting material used in the country. Farmers sow the seeds which are selected from good mother trees . The seedlings prepared by the farmers for their own use are sometimes exchanged among local farmers. As a result, the tree and fruit characters are highly variable in the local avocado population. Seedlings also have a further disadvantage as the avocado is polyembryonic and could produce plants from genetic embryos which are always heterogeneous, causing more variability.

Some Vietnamese documents describe the advanced propagation methods on avocado which are currently practised only in horticultural research stations for research purposes. Since the advanced methods of plant propagation have been well and widely practised in the country to produce millions of plants for other fruit crops, it can be explained that the problem in avocado planting material production is not due to technical problems but to other constraints such as the low price for the fruit.

4. ESTABLISHMENT OF ORCHARDS

Most avocado orchards are in the highlands of southern Vietnam where the natural conditions are favourable for its performance. However, water sources for irrigation are scarce and rainfall is not well-distributed throughout the year. To support the development of young plants, often the planting season starts from the onset of monsoon rains during the months of June and July. At one time, the few monocrop avocado orchards were planted with a density of 160 - 200 trees/hectare at the spacing of 6 x 10 metres or 6 x 8 metres. But when avocado was no longer considered as the main crop, the original density was later reduced by thinning to allow for the development of a main crop like coffee, durian, mulberry, rambutan, etc. Most of the present avocado orchards have a density of 50-80 trees/ hectare (Truyen V.T., 1999).

To establish a new orchard, the plot is first cleaned before laying out the planting system to locate the pit positions. The pits, sized 0.6 x 0.6 x 0.6 metres are prepared, then filled with 20-25 kg manure, 0.5-1kg lime and 0.3-0.5 kg superphosphate about 1-2 months before planting. Among the home produced seedlings, selection was done to chose the healthy ones. However, the A or B type varieties based on their flower opening and closing habit are not well-known to the growers, thus mixing the two types to obtain good fruit set usually has not been carried out. As a result, fruit set and yield of most avocado trees are not satisfactory.

After establishment, the young plants are shaded by bamboo sheet, banana leaves, etc. Tree basins are mulched by dried weed and straw during the next dry season. The water sources are streams and wells which are taken for irrigation during the dry season. Generally, establishing a windbreak system is not practised. On the other hand, to limit the erosion on sloping land and to collect water from rainfall, water traps are made surrounding the tree basins. The shallow, triangular path connecting to the tree pit is dug with its open mouth on the reverse slope direction to collect rainwater.

5. CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF AVOCADO TREES

Since the present avocado crop is not very profitable to the grower because of its low price, it is planted as a shade tree in the orchards of other high value crops, or as border row to separate orchards, and around homes for domestic consumption. Hence, care and management of the trees are not carried out properly.

5.1 Training and pruning of plants

The young avocado plants are normally headed back to promote lateral shoot growth. Pruning for mature avocado trees is not carried out to improve fruit yield and quality but to regulate branch-spreading. Disease-infected and broken branches are pruned to avoid the transmission of diseases or to prevent mechanical damage to the main crop. However, sometimes root pruning is carried out on avocado trees to minimize their nutrient competition with the main crop. Avocado trees enjoy better growing conditions when they are used as shade trees in coffee plantations where fertilizers and irrigation are well-provided to support the high-value main crop.

5.2 Application of manures and fertilizers

Avocado trees benefit indirectly from the cultural practises applied to the main crop. Thus, fertilizer application, weeding and irrigation regimes for avocado trees are practices to be varied from orchard to orchard, depending on what main crop is grown in mixed orchards (Table 3).

Table 3. Rate of Fertilizer Use in Various Cropping Systems (Truyen, 1999)

No.

Cropping System

N-P2O5-K2O
(Kg/ha/annum)

Location

1

Coffee-avocado

230-160-110

Lam Dong, Dac Lac

2

Durian-avocado

115-160-110

Lam Dong

3

Jackfruit-avocado

92-80-55

Lam Dong, Dac Lac

4

Monocultivated avocado

nil

Lam Dong, Dac Lac


5.3 Weeding and mulching

Earlier, weed control was accomplished mostly by hand and the weed residue was used as mulching material. Recently, herbicides such as glyphosan and glyphosate have been used for weed control . When the coffee-avocado orchard is well-established, the shoots of coffee overlap and weed control is no longer considered necessary, both for the host and for intercrop plants. Also, avocado trees are removed gradually, when the shading for the main crop is no longer needed.

5.4 Supplementary irrigation

Ground water is the main source for irrigation in the highland areas. Therefore, wells can be found in most farms. Moreover, to limit the water loss through evaporation during the four to six months of dry season, the tree basins are mulched with weed residue, banana leaves, straw, etc.

5.5 Control of pests and diseases

The important pests and diseases affecting avocado trees in the country are Phythopthora root rot, mealybug and leaf-eating caterpillar. Some other pests and diseases affecting the fruit have been recorded also but are not as serious.

The fact that avocado is very sensitive to waterlogging, which predisposes trees to Phythopthora root rot disease, is the reason why it is not widely growing in the Mekong Delta where floods appear once in 3-4 years. However, trees in the highlands of Vietnam are also facing the hazardous Phythopthora disease. Also, the disease was reported to be transmitted from avocado to other crops like durian, papaya and cacao. In practice, usually the disease can be eliminated by applying Ridomil, Alliette or copper oxychloride as a paste. Otherwise, the trees in decline are cut down when the infection is severe. Cercospora spot, stem-end rot and anthracnose can also affect fruit after harvest.

When mealy bug is found to be severe during the dry season, it is controlled by pruning the affected branches and combining with chemical sprays such as Hopsan and Hinosan, while a systemic pesticide like Basudin is also applied. Leaf-eating caterpillar causes the most severe damage on avocado trees in the country. It is often found in the months of February and March. During that period, many avocado trees have been observed with severely damaged foliage due to this problem. However, it has been found that the insect causes damage only on avocado and banana but not on other crops such as mango, durian, persimon, tea and coffee standing in the same orchard. It can be controlled rather easily by the use of a pesticide spray or pesticide-soaked cloth wrapped around the tree trunk when the pest is still in the larva stage and moves from tree to tree. Stem borers and crickets causing damage to trunk and roots have been recorded also.

6. HARVESTING OF FRUIT AND YIELD

As mentioned earlier, avocado is grown in the Central Highlands, far away from main cities where the fruit could be consumed on a large scale. Fruits are harvested when they are still immature in order to prolong their shelf-life during long distance transportation, often under poor packaging and handling techniques. Fruits are picked manually and usually the fruit maturity index is determined by the pickers, who decide on the harvesting time based on their own experience. Up to the present time, very few investigations have been carried out on productivity and no statistical information has been given officially. Therefore, under the current situation, low and unstable productivity and poor fruit quality are the main concerns of the avocado production development programmes in the country.

7. MARKETING

Avocado fruits are available in Vietnam from February to August, but the main fruiting season is from May to July. The price of avocado fruit is very low compared to other fruits (Table 4).

Table 4. Average Farm Price of Some Fruits in South Vietnam (Feb.1999)

No.

Fruit

Price (VND*/Kg)

Place

1

Water apple

1,200-1,500

Tien Giang

2

Sapodilla

5,000-7,000

Tien Giang, Can Tho

3

Guava

1,000-1,200

Tien Giang

4

Star apple

4,000-6,000

Tien Giang

5

Mandarin

6,500-7,500

Tien Giang

6

Mango

12,000-18,000

Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Thap

7

Longan

15,000-19,000

Tien Giang, Vinh Long

8

Soursop

9,000-13,000

Tien Giang, Long An

9

Banana

500-2,000

Tien Giang

10

Pineapple

1,200-1,500

Tien Giang, Long An

11

Papaya

1,000-1,200

Tien Giang, Dong Thap

12

Water melon

4,000-6,000

Tien Giang, Long An, Can Tho

13

Avocado

300-1,000

Lam Dong, Dac Lac

1US$ = 13,900 VND
Source: SOFRI, 1999
Vietnamese people rarely enjoy avocado fruit with its natural taste whereas they do in the case of other fruits. Avocado is usually mixed in fruit cocktails, ice cream or in salads. Therefore, it is consumed not as much as other fruits in the country but just in small amounts. The growers send their fruits directly to local markets or to local wholesalers without grading. To avoid partly the post-harvest losses due to transportation damage, fruits are picked always when they are still green, without good maturity indication. Bamboo containers are mostly used to pack the fruits. From farmhouse to market, the fruits are transported by whatever means that the farmer can manage, i.e. on foot, buffalo-pulled cart, tractor, etc. From the wholesaler to markets in other cities and towns, the common means for fruit transportation are the goods-carrier trucks. Avocado fruits can be seen available not only at their production places but also in many cities and town markets in the southern part of Vietnam. The current price is about US$40 - 100/tonne at the farm-gate while in the local market it costs about US$200 - 300/tonne. The price is much lower than for other fruits and varies according to the season, variety and place.

8. POTENTIAL, CONSTRAINTS AND GOVERNMENT POLICIES FOR AVOCADO PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT IN THE COUNTRY

Since the achievement of national food security, the fruit industry, due to its high profitability to growers, is strongly supported by the government. It is currently recording a fast expansion growth rate of 3.4% per annum.

The Mekong Delta is currently the main source of fruit supply to Vietnamese consumers, but it is predicted that the upland part of Vietnam, including the southeastern and central highland provinces will play an important role in future fruit production activities. It will take a significant share of the fruit industry of the country, both in terms of area and production. The farmers now grow not only traditional fruits like bananas, mangoes, citrus, etc. but also other fruits. Avocado will gradually assume an important position when consumers are made aware of its high nutritive value.

However, to promote the development of avocado production further, the following constraints must be properly addressed. The natural taste of avocado fruit is not preferable to Vietnamese consumers when compared to other tropical fruits. This may be due to the lack of a varietal improvement programme that could attempt to improve its palatability. Avocado fruits cannot gain any price advantage in the market, which makes the avocado crop unprofitable to the growers. In addition, poor handling techniques cause a high post-harvest loss and shorten the shelf-life of fruits.

To solve the above problems, some support has been provided by the government in recent years. Work is being carried out by different horticultural research institutions, coordinated by SOFRI, to evaluate the present genetic resource base of avocado in the country. Furthermore, new promising varieties are being introduced to improve the fruit yield and quality. Some studies are also being carried out by the Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI) on the A and B type avocado varieties, to upgrade present cultural practices and improve the harvesting and handling techniques. Avocado is now considered by the State planners as one of the seven most important fruit crops in the country, due to its high nutritive value and potential export market. Under this support programme, part of the ADB loan will be shared to promote the avocado culture in the country.

9. CONCLUSIONS

Though the first introduction of avocado was reported to have been a great success, its production is still limited due to various reasons. The technical and other constraints (poor propagation methods, unsatisfactory cultural and handling practices, lack of good varieties, and low prices) which are adversely affecting the development of this crop can be overcome. However, the avocado crop in the country needs more attention and investment to exploit its potential fully. The suggested support schemes include: a) long- term loans to the farmers to rehabilitate their multiple-crop orchards, b) more extension support to promote the application of advanced production techniques, c) introduction of new and promising varieties, etc. If avocado culture is better organized along these lines, a positive impact on avocado production can be expected in a few years time.

REFERENCES

Chau, N.M. 1998. Evaluation of the potential of fruit trees in the Mekong delta: Prospects for the domestic and export markets. Paper presented in the workshop 'Commercialization of tropical fruits in South Vietnam'. SOFRI.

FAO. 1998. Crop diversification and export promotion project, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Hau, V.C. 1996. Fruit crop cultivation in Vietnam. Agricultural Publisher, Hanoi, Vietnam, p. 489.

Quyen, N.H. 1967. Avocado cultivation on the highlands of South Vietnam.

SOFRI. 1998. Annual report. Vietnam.

SOFRI. 1998. Preliminary results of investigations on avocado in South-East Vietnam, p. 1-11.

SOFRI. 1999. Monthly fruit marketing report 2/1999. Vietnam.

Truyen, V.T. 1999. Avocado cultivation in Southern Vietnam. SOFRI.


Previous Page Top of Page