The Inspection Office of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai Province has recently issued conclusions on the sudden inspection of fertilizer production and business activities in the area.
Prior to that, in January 2024, some banana farmers in Cay Giao, Thanh Binh, and Song Trau communes (Trang Bom District, Dong Nai Province) reported to the authorities that over 10 hectares of tissue-cultured bananas suddenly withered and died after using fertilizer.
Dong Nai farmers complain that bananas suddenly wither and die, possibly due to fertilizer. (Photo: Duy Phuong)
Upon receiving the information, the inspection team of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai Province worked with Mr. Nguyen Duc Hung (Thanh Binh Commune, Trang Bom District) who submitted a complaint to the relevant authorities. Mr. Hung believed that the fertilizer purchased at Thanh Tuoi Agricultural Supplies Store did not meet the required quality, resulting in the banana plants showing symptoms of root rot and leaf burn.
Inspecting Thanh Tuoi Agricultural Supplies Store, the authorities found that the company complied with the legal regulations for fertilizer business. The test result of HPH-NPK 20-20-15 fertilizer met the quality standards. Therefore, the inspection team concluded that Mr. Hung’s complaint was unsubstantiated.
The inspection team also collected soil and banana samples from farmers to be analyzed at the Institute of Biotechnology and Environment Research, University of Agriculture and Forestry Ho Chi Minh City. The results showed that the pathogens causing the disease were Fusarium spp fungus, Bipolaris spp fungus, and Erwinia spp bacteria.
According to the Inspection Office of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai Province, from 2019 to 2022, the price of bananas in Trang Bom District has always been high. Due to the high profitability, farmers did not practice crop rotation, making it easy for the disease to spread through different crop cycles. Particularly, Fusarium spp fungus causing Panama disease is a common disease in banana plants.
