Torrential downpours give flower farmers in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region the heebie-jeebies as their flowers are nearing the harvest season for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet.

They worry that the quality and output of flowers will be affected by pests that flourish when it rains. 

Over the past few days, Tran Van Dua, a 60-year-old resident of Ben Tre Province, has taken advantage of sunny days to gather pots of Dutch daisies together.

Dua said that a few months back, he seeded his farm with Dutch daisies, but bad weather killed hundreds of his flowers.

The rest are being looked after for sale before and during the Tet celebration in February.

This year has seen much rain, while rainwater is harmful to flowers, he said.

“If it rains today, plants will surely get weaker a day later, and their leaves will turn yellow and droopy rapidly,” Dua said.

At several flower farms in the province, chrysanthemum trees have seen their leaves start to turn yellow.

Due to an unease about a decline in flower consumption this year, most flower farmers cut their growing areas.

However, bad weather is expected to lessen their yield of flowers, worrying growers as they will not have enough flowers to hand over to traders.

Tran Huu Nghi, deputy head of the division of agriculture and rural development in Cho Lach District under Ben Tre Province, said that the unit has teamed up with the provincial seed and ornamental flower center to instruct flower growers how to produce flowers based on certain procedures to minimize losses.

Over the past few months, rains, paired with high tides, and surging temperatures have put flower farmers in trouble as plant diseases, mainly fungi, spread.

“We have advised farmers to prevent the disease and cure fungi-infected plants by using fungus-killing chemicals, and regularly sanitizing their fields,” said Nghi.

In Ben Tre, some 15 million flower products will be put up for sale during Tet.

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