Macadamia planting is like 'taking a gamble'

Farmers move on as macadamia trees produce fruit

There are no official statistics regarding the area, output, or efficiency of macadamia plantations in Nghe An.

Macadamia trees have been planted throughout the districts of Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong, Nghia Dan, and Quy Hop for the past ten years, covering a total area of 103 ha. Macadamia trees in the region grow as robustly as forest trees and generate blooms during each blooming season. However, the number of fruits produced is dependent on location, climate, and soil conditions.

In July, the western region of Nghe An continues to experience extreme temperatures. Thai Ba Phuong was not home when we arrived at his macadamia forest, so his older brother, Thai Ba Quy led us through the forest.

Quy stated, "I have been cultivating macadamia nuts with Phuong for years. The macadamia plantation is over 1 ha in size and was cultivated for four to five years. The seedlings were transported from the south. They produced numerous fruits and generated over 100 million VND per ha at the end of the harvest season last year. Macadamia fruits were separated and dried before being packaged and delivered to restaurants, who were willing to consume all the quantity.“

Checking the garden, we discovered that all trees produced fruit, although some trees weighed only 3 - 4 kg, bringing the total tree with fruits weight to 5 - 7 kg.

Due to this year's heat, macadamia trees produces fewer fruits than in previous years, according to Quy. However, developing macadamia on hilly soil generates more profits than other forest trees because it requires fewer investments and less care. This year, Phuong has decided to cultivate an additional 3 ha of macadamia.

In Nghia Dan district, many households in Nghia Lam, Nghia Lac, and Nghia Loi communes have planted macadamia trees for many years. Ms. Truong Thi Mau from Nghia Lac commune stated that her family purchased 130 macadamia seedlings to plant in Dak Lak in 2015 after observing that the media communicated macadamia effectively. Three years later, the tree produced fruit that predicted the future, and four to five years later, every tree would bear fruit, although some trees bear fruit early and others bear fruit late.

As a result of the unevenness of seedlings, tree yields are also variable, with some trees producing 10 kg of fruit and others producing only 5 to 7 kg. Due to the sweltering conditions, it is estimated that 130 macadamia trees of Mau's garden will only produce 700 to 800 kg of fruit this year. The price of macadamia nuts (fresh fruit that has been peeled) is currently 80,000 VND/kg, while the price of dried seeds is 200,000 VND/kg.

Macadamia tree garden containing only leaves and branches

I arrived at Phan Dinh Lien's macadamia garden after traveling to Nghia Lam commune, Nghia Dan district bordering Nhu Xuan district (Thanh Hoa), asking for directions and even renting a vehicle for a few more forest roads.

I spent the entire afternoon wading through this ancient macadamia garden to determine whether or not the number of crops was high. This garden is expansive and lush with vegetation. Taking a closer look, I noticed that a couple of trees also had a few meager fruits. The remainder of these vast macadamia plantations were barren. Between the two rows of macadamia trees there was a row of pomelo trees. Their slender yellow branches swaying with two or three small fruits, it was as if they were wild trees. 

When I left this macadamia garden, I was extremely pessimistic, but the owner of the garden was optimistic. Lien stated, "In the past, I traveled to Thanh My commune, Thach Thanh district (Thanh Hoa) to study the model of forest economic development, discovered that the macadamia tree there was productive, and consequently traveled to Dak Lak in 2015 to purchase 200 seedlings for sowing.

"My macadamia garden is currently eight years old. After three years of planting macadamias, I began to receive fortune-telling fruits, followed by regular harvests each year, with some trees yielding more than 10 kg. When I harvest macadamias at home, I create my own by removing the shell. When 10 kg of fruit is peeled, only 5kg of fresh seeds remains, which can be purchased for 90,000 VND per kilogram. Therefore, if the macadamias are in season, one tree will yield more than 400,000 VND".

Lien abruptly lowered his voice and heaved a lengthy sigh as he exclaimed, "However, as you are aware, my macadamia garden has not produced fruit since last year."

"How can there be fruit if you let the macadamia garden grow so abundantly", I asked. Lien conceded, "That's correct, but I believe the most significant reason why the macadamia hasn't produced fruit in the past two years is that the weather has been so hot."

Lien determined, based on his own research and many years of experience, that macadamia trees bloom during the Lunar New Year and produce an abundance of fruit in the spring when the weather is favorable. Additionally, there are numerous varieties of macadamia, each of which is appropriate for cultivation in a specific region. "On the other hand, if you want to force plants to bloom sooner or later, there are a variety of scientific techniques available today. But whatever you do, if the weather does not permit it, it would still be a waste of time".

I inquired, "So your macadamia garden has been barren for two years; what are your thoughts now?" Lien gave out another sigh, "According to scientific documents, macadamia trees love light, but in my garden, there are many trees planted in open spaces, not interacting with any other trees, but it still bears no fruit. This year, I'll cut the canopy and plant branches throughout the entire garden. If it fails to produce fruit the following year, I will remove all the branches and replant new seeds, just as people start to plant new".