Khanh Hoa mango growers reap sweet returns with IPHM adoption

Breaking with old habits

Visiting the Tu Quy mango-growing zone in Tan Xuong 2 hamlet, Suoi Dau Commune, Khanh Hoa province, one is immediately struck by the dense canopies heavy with blossoms and young fruit. Gone is the haphazard application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that once defined these gardens. Under IPHM management, the trees display deep green, vigorous foliage with virtually no visible signs of pest or disease damage, a transformation rooted in farmers' deliberate decision to abandon old production habits in favor of a philosophy centered on soil nourishment and ecosystem protection.

At the three-hectare orchard of veteran farmer Nguyen Thanh Trinh, mango trees ranging from five to ten years old stand with well-shaped, open canopies. As he carefully inspected clusters of young fruit at the tips of branches, Trinh recounted the fundamental shift in how his family now farms. In the past, he said, the orchard was perpetually beset by problems, leaves blackened and sticky, with thrips, anthracnose, and leaf blight inflicting repeated and severe damage under conventional cultivation.

The turning point came when he enrolled in an IPHM training course and began rigorously applying its principles. He learned to care for his trees systematically and scientifically, from variety selection and fertilization to post-harvest handling. Rather than spraying chemical pesticides on a fixed schedule or out of habit, Trinh now regularly walks his orchard to monitor pest populations and identify beneficial natural enemies. When thrips or leafhoppers appear, he applies biological pesticides at the correct dosage, in the correct manner, and at the correct moment.

Before heavy rainfall, he monitors weather forecasts closely and applies fungicide preventively. On the nutrition side, immediately after each harvest he works in well-composted cattle manure mixed with soil at a ratio of 40 percent manure to 60 percent soil, supplementing with only minimal NPK fertilizer once the fruit has set firmly. The results are consistently strong flowering and fruit set, maintained stably year after year.

At the neighboring 5,000-square-meter orchard of Truong Ngoc Hung, home to more than 200 mango trees, a modest banana-stalk shredder sitting in the corner of the yard tells a story of resourceful self-sufficiency. Hung purchased the machine for 2.7 million dong to chop diseased or damaged banana trunks, which he then combines with pig and chicken manure from his own livestock before composting the mixture for use on his mango trees. This approach has allowed his family to cut spending on chemical fertilizers and pesticides by 60 to 70 percent. Beyond the economics, drastically reducing exposure to toxic agrochemicals has improved the health of everyone working the land, and the air around the property, once heavy with the smell of chemical sprays, is now clean.

Superior economic returns

On-the-ground observation across these orchards confirms that IPHM adoption not only strengthens the trees but delivers measurable economic gains. Lower input costs combined with higher quality and yield have translated into clearly improved incomes for Suoi Dau mango growers on the same land area.

At Truong Ngoc Hung's orchard, output that once peaked at roughly seven tonnes per season has climbed to ten tonnes, a 30 percent increase, as healthier soil produces more vigorous trees. The fruit's skin is noticeably brighter and more attractive, and the flesh ripens with a richer sweetness that traders respond to readily. In the most recent season, Hung sold his mangoes at a stable price of 9,000 to 10,000 dong per kilogram. With the harvest still underway and a fresh flush of flowering and fruit set already developing, the family has already cleared roughly 50 million dong, and Hung estimates total revenue will exceed 100 million dong by season's end, well above the 70 million dong achieved in previous years.

At the more established orchard of Nguyen Thanh Trinh, the returns are even more striking. Average yield now reaches 250 kilograms of fruit per tree, pushing whole-orchard productivity to between 30 and 35 tonnes per hectare per year, approximately 20 percent higher than under traditional methods. With consistent yield and uniform fruit quality, and provided market prices hold at 12,000 to 15,000 dong per kilogram, each IPHM-managed hectare can generate a profit of 200 to 220 million dong per season, giving growers the confidence to reinvest and scale up.

Tran Quoc Khanh, Acting Head of the Quarantine and Input Management Division at the Khanh Hoa Sub-Department of Plant Production and Protection, said that in 2025 the sub-department partnered with the People's Committee of Suoi Cat Commune, now Suoi Dau, to successfully deliver an IPHM training course focused on mango cultivation. The highly practical course comprehensively improved farmers' understanding across the full range of IPHM disciplines, from protecting natural enemies and managing pest populations to the safe use of fertilizers and pesticides.

Khanh described IPHM's core contribution as facilitating a decisive behavioral shift away from reliance on chemical pesticides toward prioritizing biological products and organic fertilizers. By preserving populations of natural predators and beneficial insects within the orchard, pest pressure has been brought under sustained control without resort to heavy chemical intervention.

"In the next phase, the sub-department will continue scaling up these models and expanding IPHM training to cover mango as well as other key crops in the province," Khanh said. "Alongside technical transfer, we will focus on helping farmers obtain and register growing area codes to support export objectives. Effective pesticide residue control will be the single most important factor in raising the value and establishing the reputation of Khanh Hoa mangoes in the marketplace."

The ground-level picture in Suoi Dau Commune is one of genuine agricultural renewal. IPHM-based mango farming is delivering not only sweeter, more marketable fruit and stronger livelihoods for farmers, but also a meaningful contribution to the broader goal of building a green, responsible, and sustainably developed agricultural sector.