There were 12 papers presenting methods around the production of safe and high quality fruit at the workshop: "Application of advanced measures to produce safe fruit" by the committee. Director of the Vegetable, Flower and Fruit Development Program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the Vietnam Fruit Association, the Southern Fruit Research Institute, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang province office. However, most of the proposed methods are still not complete enough for gardeners to safely apply. Therefore, the question arises: Which of the above methods is highly effective, suitable for the current actual situation to guide gardeners into application.Khi con kiến vàng “lên tiếng”

If the method of "application of bio-organic fertilizers and harvesting of fruits in the rainy season in safe fruit production" of Dr. Nguyen Dang Nghia (Southern Institute of Science and Technology) is of interest to many gardeners. , but there is still a bit of hesitation due to the type of bags: nylon, oil paper... can't be used in the rainy season but must use Taiwanese bags, which is a bit expensive, the method of using weaver ants on citrus trees of Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc (Can Tho University) was able to reassure the most demanding gardeners.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dieu, a gardener in Dong Hung commune, Chau Thanh district (Tien Giang), with 20 years of experience in releasing weaver ants, said: “When using weaver ants, I do not use nitrogen, phosphorus or spray pesticides. No pesticides, but the tree still produces a lot of fruit, there are no charmworms, mealybugs, harmful spiders… However, at that time I did not dare to say that using weaver ants is more effective than other types. or not. But after a while of silently watching, now I can say out loud that, using weaver ants, the quantity and quality of fruit is much higher, and I have concluded for myself a sentence: "Weaver ants a farmer's friend."

Weaver ants are not only used effectively on fruit trees, but also very effective in controlling mulberry leaf-eating insects that are currently being applied in strawberry growing households in Thuan An (Binh Duong). Mr. Nguyen Van Ba (Plant Protection Station of Thuan An district) said: "During 14 weeks of monitoring weaver ant stocking, there were two waves of worms that developed but the level of damage was mild, no need for intervention with pesticides. object. That proves that when there is the presence of weaver ants on the tree, the pests cause damage at the allowable level, do not affect the growth and development of the tree (due to the density of the worms reduced from 90 to 95%).

This method has been applied for a long time in gardeners, but for different reasons, the number of gardeners using this method has decreased significantly. According to GS. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc, in the early 1990s, the majority of orange and tangerine growers in the Mekong Delta provinces used weaver ants, many farmers have good experience in raising and developing weaver ants as a supplier. food, creating a place for ants to nest, moving from tree to tree and measures to help ants survive the attack of the stink ant Dolichodorus thoracius, an insect that causes the fruit to become calloused, hard...

However, in recent years, many gardeners believe that using ants in the garden will make it difficult to care for and harvest. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc said that this is only due to the fear of ants biting by many people, but the care of weaver ants, the problems caused by ant bites are insignificant, because weaver ants do not bite. Anything toxic, if bitten a few times then it will feel very normal.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of weaver ants, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc made a very specific comparison previously tested between plants using weaver ants and plants not using weaver ants. She said: “Mandarin fruits on the tree have more shiny yellow ants, and the sweetness is also higher. On honey orange trees, grapefruit trees, it is the difference in succulent levels on trees with taller ants. Especially in terms of appearance, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits ... when there are weaver ants, they are all more beautiful."

… And weaver ants are very adaptable in the Mekong Delta

Golden Ant (Oecophylla Smaragdina) is an insect that is present frequently in orchards such as: plum, mango, custard apple, rambutan... has existed for a long time. “The Mekong Delta provinces are very favorable places for the use of weaver ants because the ants are available in the wild in both the dry and rainy seasons, have very high hunting ability, density and reproductive ability. On the other hand, gardeners in the Mekong Delta have had a lot of experience in using weaver ants, building and developing weaver ants on orange and tangerine orchards," said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc.

According to the survey results in three provinces of Can Tho, Dong Thap and Tien Giang in 2004, weaver ants grew easily on orange and tangerine orchards or on many other crops present in the garden in the past year. farming conditions of the Mekong Delta. In addition, weaver ants can also nest easily on many other annual plants such as cotton, quao, bowl, cassava, custard apple, cocoa, coffee, lekima, milkweed, mulberry, bamboo shoots truncated trees, rambutans... and some ornamental plants such as laurel, octopus, hibiscus... During the division season, weaver ants also nest on banana and acacia trees in the period of young leaves and cotton buds.

According to Mr. Ho Van Chien, Director of the Southern Plant Protection Sub-Department: “Although weaver ants can settle and nest on many different types of trees (when the tree is not stirred, not sprayed and no stink ants), but weaver ants like to nest and grow, live year-round on trees that do not lose their leaves in mass and are often present in the presence of sweet nectar hoppers.

Also according to the survey results on 166 orange and tangerine orchards in the three provinces mentioned above, the presence of weaver ants was 78.9%, only 21% of the orchards did not have weaver ants. In particular, many gardens are not cared for, but weaver ants are still present, these gardens also account for a fairly high percentage, nearly 40%.

Currently, three types of orchards in the Mekong Delta: monoculture, intercropping, and mixed gardens also have the presence of weaver ants. It is quite interesting that Ms. Cuc said that most of the monoculture (orange or tangerine) gardens, or intercropping of oranges and tangerines in the Mekong Delta with weaver ants present, are planted with plums, mangoes, toads and bowls in other areas. garden ditch.

That's why Mrs. Cuc gives advice: To create ideal conditions for weaver ants to settle down and grow long-term on citrus trees, gardeners should use pitcher plants planted around the garden, and add a little mango or toad tree in the garden. Once again, we confirm that the cultivation conditions of oranges and tangerines in the Mekong Delta are very suitable for the development of weaver ants.

However, in order for weaver ants to have good development conditions, intercropping with some plants that ants prefer to nest, limiting the use of pesticides is a prerequisite for weaver ants to develop. At that time, gardeners can be assured of the sustainable and long-term development of weaver ants on their orchards.

You can buy the fruits of the Golden Ant Brand, these are the fruits that are cultivated in the direction of the epidemic, specifically using weaver ants to destroy harmful insects, limiting the use of drugs. chemistry, protect the ecosystem.